Being a Female Nerd
I love all things nerdy. I may not be the most stereotypical of nerds, yes I enjoy films, Doctor Who, sci-fi writing, Carl Sagan, and astrophysics (despite my iffy math skills). However, being a girl and really enjoying these things is still a bit of a non-real thing in mainstream culture.
- Isabelle Rizo
I love all things nerdy. I may not be the most stereotypical of nerds, yes I enjoy films, Doctor Who, sci-fi writing, Carl Sagan, and astrophysics (despite my iffy math skills). However, being a girl and really enjoying these things is still a bit of a non-real thing in mainstream culture.
It took me a while to embrace and be proud of my nerdiness. I would hide my love of Doctor Who from a crowd that seemed more interested in football and school rivalries. I had to stifle myself in class when a teacher would not connect the dots between a cool online video and the origination of the science of ornithology.
All that has changed with my pride in being intellectually curious. Something that society, especially in America sees as “lame.” I’m hopeful that books such as The Geek’s Guide to World Domination and Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture are trickling into mainstream culture and influencing it in a positive way.
And when it comes to being a female nerd, in a male dominated “nerd” world it is still not as common. However, women are infiltrating more of the media and especially the blogosphere, which is quite nice since blogs are becoming more and more popular in society (what you don’t have a blog?).
It took me a while, but I have embraced and celebrate the nerd in me. I celebrate intellectual curiosity in a world that seems to think that nerd is still a lingering negative connotation. And girls, do not be afraid to let the little nerd in you show up from time to time. That’s how culture changes, from one individual to the next.
Guest Post by Isabelle Rizo. You can find her blogging at The BellaVie.
I must admit I was a bit of a nerd at school but its all about your passion who cares what people think of you as long as youre happy
Awesome post! It really shows how different our perspective as nerds are towards male nerds. I think that we should just be honest with ourselves and let out our nerdiness for the world to know.
Great post Isabelle. I’m glad to hear you have embraced your nerdiness.
BTW, my dvr is filled with every space show Discovery or The Science Channel ever made and my math skills are pretty iffy as well.