Article: The new "nerd-dom"

[Sailor X]

This article appeared in The Commercial Appeal on Thursday. It's about "the new nerd-dom" or something like that. The page requires you to register with the site to read it, so I'll just post it here.

Nerds get respect, maybe revenge
By Phil Kloer, Cox News Service
July 8, 2004

ATLANTA - Let's start with Tina Fey's eyeglasses, seriously black-framed and slightly wing-tipped. They're the spectacles of a high school science fair winner, but they're also retro-chic and cool. They fit Fey's persona as perfectly as they fit her face: The anchor of "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live" and writer of the hit movie "Mean Girls" is both cutting-edge hip and a little nerdy.

The state of nerd-dom has never been more fluid. It used to be so simple - you were either a mouth-breathing, glasses-taping, pocket-protector-wearing, comic-book-collecting, nasal-chortling, socially maladroit misfit, or you were someone who made fun of them.

Now there's no way to tell who has the last laugh.

You have nerd hunks, such as Tobey Maguire, aka Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, who combines insecure stammering with washboard abs and adorableness - and who is dominating the box office.

You have nerd babes such as Fey or Morgan Webb, host of a TechTV cable show on computer gaming whom Playboy has been trying to recruit to pose (unsuccessfully so far), or some of the women who show up at Atlanta's huge DragonCon science-fiction convention every Labor Day weekend dressed to thrill.

One of the hottest hip-hop acts right now is N.E.R.D., a side project of super-producers the Neptunes.

"We weren't the coolest people in school," says Pharrell Williams, who named the act N.E.R.D. to "change the connotations" of the word. (It also stands for the more spiritually themed No One Ever Really Dies.) "Now when kids say 'nerd,' they might think about us," he says.

And you just know that if Harry Potter were stripped of his magic wand and plunked down in an American middle school, he'd be seriously wedgied before you could say "Four Eyes." But he's Harry Potter, fantasy dream-boy to millions.

This is not the old paradigm, where the high school nerd everyone picked on grows up to be a hot actress and lad-mag cover girl (Jessica Biel, self-proclaimed former nerd) or the world's richest man (Bill Gates). This is the blurring, and at times the removal, of the line between nerdy and cool.

What's traditionally one of the nerdiest pastimes? Computer hacker. Who's one of the coolest heroes of our time? Neo, the superpowered star of the "Matrix" trilogy, who starts off as a hacker.

"Modern nerds and their quirky fascinations are putting the pop in pop culture," says Laura Civiello, vice president of the cable channel TechTV, which has a whole show called "Nerd Nation."

Case in point: Five years ago, people who were really, really into "The Lord of the Rings" were considered, well, you know. Now, after the movie trilogy, people who are really, really into "The Lord of the Rings" are all of us.

The word itself first appeared in Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran the Zoo" in 1950 as one of the imaginary animals, but etymologists disagree as to whether that coinage led to the more widespread use, which dates to the 1960s. And what could be nerdier, in the classic sense, than studying the history of the word "nerd"?

In the new paradigm, there's no difference between nerdy and cool. Is there, Will Ferrell? Or "The O.C." character Seth Cohen, or Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller, who says he still has "the essential soul of a nerd"? Adam Sandler, you're right in the sweet spot of the culture, alongside Jack Black in "School of Rock."

Or take Clay Aiken. OK, don't take Clay Aiken.

Sometimes, a nerd is still just a nerd.

There's a tone to this article that I don't like, as if the person who wrote it is proud not to be a nerd. (Now, I'm proud to be a nerd... without glasses, that is. ) They're also late... it's been G4TechTV for a month now, unfortunately, and X-Play is for all video games, not just computer games. What do ya'll think about this?

[Tiff]

I think his tone was pretty neutral. And so what if he's proud not to be a nerd? *Shrug* to each his own. I'm proud not to be a prep. That shouldn't offend anybody who is secure with him/herself in that respect.

I found it somewhat amusing, since that IS the way the world is gonig nowadays.

[Sailorasteroid]

I don't think it was negative either, but neither do I think it was entirely accurate. Nerd culture isn't changing or evolving any more than any other subculture, it's just gaining a large enough economic base that the mainstream society is starting to take notice. Comic books need no longer be bought in little specialty stores in obscure quarters of town, they're right there in the large book chains next to the best-sellers. Owning a computer is so common that it's impossible to tell whether the user has attained nerd level in using it. And people are starting to partake of parts of the culture associated with nerds without immersing themselves in the whole.

But nerd culture has the same core principles it always had. Let me quote from All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Watching Star Trek:"Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about people." Nerd-dom is simply the unimportance of social convention. It doesn't matter to a nerd whether your teeth are perfect or if you can drink lots and wax nostalgic, it matters whether you can think and understand the world around you, whether you participate or not. Nerds don't like Lord of the Rings for Orlando or Viggo or Liv or Cate, they like it for the philology and the cartography and the ethics, even if they don't think of it in those terms. So the whole article is much ado about nothing, I think. It's great if mainstream culture recognizes the contributions of nerds, but it won't change them very much.

[ParaKiss_Groupie]

The author talks like this is something new. Geeks and nerds have been becoming more and more indistinguishable for years. I'm proud to be a geek. I'll shout it from the roof tops. I was an two hours early to Kill Bill 2 opening night, and I participated in arguments between other geeks and even non-geeks over different aspects of the movie.I've been proud to be a geek all my life.

There is one thing I don't get, though, and maybe it's because I'm just not familiar with it.

The state of nerd-dom has never been more fluid. It used to be so simple - you were either a mouth-breathing, glasses-taping, pocket-protector-wearing, comic-book-collecting, nasal-chortling, socially maladroit misfit, or you were someone who made fun of them.

That. I was most likely the biggest geek at my school, and people never made fun of me. That's not to say I was friends with all the super-popular people, but I got along with some of them. They were never actively mean to me, nor was I to them (with a few exceptions that led from arguments). Maybe it's because I defended myself the few times I was picked on? I don't know. But for me, teasing was never an issue.

[Tiff]

That. I was most likely the biggest geek at my school, and people never made fun of me. That's not to say I was friends with all the super-popular people, but I got along with some of them. They were never actively mean to me, nor was I to them (with a few exceptions that led from arguments). Maybe it's because I defended myself the few times I was picked on? I don't know. But for me, teasing was never an issue.

Ah, but see, for me it was. I endured a LOT of the teasing becuase I was smart, kept to myself, loved computers, etc. I think it depends on the school you go to, or perhaps your OWN self-esteem, because I didn't start standing up for myself until later in high school.

[Sailorasteroid]

That duality did exist in my school--it was pick or be picked on. It was virtually impossible for iconoclasts to stand up for themselves, because the popular kids travelled in packs, and the others, which included me, were pretty much loners. Becoming friends with the populars wasn't an option, because they wouldn't look twice at you to give you the chance.

[LadyFlameSniper]

Most of what the author says isn't anything new. He's basically saying what used to be exclusive to being nerdy is being embraced by the public in general. It doesn't sound like "not proud to be a nerd" but even if it did it wouldn't be a big deal to me. And to tell you the truth I never considered myself to be a nerd or geek. Sure I like video games and some anime but I don't think that automatically makes you a nerd or a geek or whatever. Well I don't care for social labels in the first place.

[Tiff]

That duality did exist in my school--it was pick or be picked on. It was virtually impossible for iconoclasts to stand up for themselves, because the popular kids travelled in packs, and the others, which included me, were pretty much loners. Becoming friends with the populars wasn't an option, because they wouldn't look twice at you to give you the chance.

*Nods* That's exactly how it was for me from middle to high school. I was usually alone, save for the few close friends I had. And if you weren't the bully, then you were the one BEING bullied. that went on for me until I hit Junior year, and I grew some balls...so to speak XD

[LadyFlameSniper]

It wasn't "pick on or be picked on "in my high school. But there were a lot of cliques, which I hated. I did have problems with people who were supposed to be my friends but never really picked on and teased. I got fed up with them. Eventually I chose to be alone most of the time, and I didn't even try to become friends with other people who wanted to (including some of the "popular" kids). I regret it now instead of giving other people a chance... I changed that all in college.


But way back in 5th I was picked on because I was shy, which was really stupid. It's weird how it was ONLY 5th grade and no other year. Especially since the previous year I started opening up to more people. In middle school a some girls had problems with me. And I had problems with them. It's a long story... really stupid and catty when I look back at it.

[RoastedTwinkies]

I had never been the bully myself (aside from mild teasing among friends, which isn't intended to be mean or rude, it's normal with everyone I think), but I had been bullied all through grade school. It was mild during the early elementary years and then it gradually got worse as time went on. Then it finally started to taper off by the time I got into high school (in Canada, high school starts in grade 10, btw). Junior high was definately the worst of it. I remember, people kept picking and picking on me, until finally, I snapped and beat the shit out of anyone who bullied me. Yet, people still did it, even after I threw a desk at them. These days, I no longer resort to violence because the last thing I need is an assault charge. I always make sure that the person I'm fighting with is the one at hits me first. I never make that first move anymore.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that my city recently implemented anti-bullying laws, since they see it as a form of harassment, so anyone who does it will get a fine, but I don't know how much that is right now.

[Sailor X]

Strange. I re-read the article and felt nothing about it. Oh, but it was 2 A.M. Maybe being online later than I'm supposed to contributed to this.
To add to the talk, except for constantly being labeled as gay when I first came to my school (I walk really fast and tend to stare at people a lot), and probably being talked about behind my back, I was never teased to my face. Except once in eighth grade, on the first day of Computer Tech, when some ugly asshole of a boy pointed to me and my friend and said "Look, it's the computer dorks," right in front of the girl I liked and that he knew I liked. It wasn't that embarassing, as we were the only people in the room, and it wouldn't have been bad at all if it hadn't been for my reaction. I turned myt head to an angle, raised one eyebrow, and stuck my tongue out. It just makes me feel embarassed everytime I think about it.