Nerds remind me of hipsters, except their stunted world view thinks that the world acts out just like an 80's John Hughes movie where there's only nerds, girls, and jocks and no one else.
mate, your post history is there for everyone to see. you're fooling noone.
Yeah I never understood the anti-nerd attitude I sometimes see 'round these parts (or GAF). We're all here posting at a video game board... or a spinoff of a video game board. We're all at least a bit nerdy (I'll readily admit to being one... even if I'm not into the typical nerd stuff like Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter/Marvel).
I don't see why it's so shocking given that nerd culture is what helped birth gamergate. There's having interests and enjoying talking about it and then there's the culture surrounding it. Both are completely different things. The idea that only nerds like Star Wars is tied to nerd culture. Liking video games isn't. The idea that there's "true nerds" is a part of nerd culture. The idea of mass consuming products and thinking it makes you cultured is a part of nerd culture. Nerds thinking they're a special exclusive club for liking things like LOTR or Star Wars, properties that have made millions and billions, and that they're the only ones that truly get it is a part of nerd culture.
I reject the idea that liking ______ or even talking about _______ makes you a nerd, especially in today's landscape where it's something practically everyone does. When everyone's a nerd, no one's a nerd. So the label feels pointless.
As for me, I generally don't like their culture and the way it conducts itself and I'm not sure why I should just because I like comics or something. As if identifying with a culture just because you like ______ isn't weird and totally isn't something most people stopped doing past high school anyways.
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/10/the_plight_of_the_bitter_nerd_why_so_many_awkward_shy_guys_end_up_hating_feminism
Well I think there are many different layers of being a 'nerd' and whatnot. I mean I got routinely picked on while growing up for - skipping a grade and generally doing well academically / being horrible at and not having any interest whatsoever in sports / being cripplingly shy to even approach a girl / discuss minutia about obscure music/games/anime. And even today I work in that most stereotypical of 'nerd' jobs. Though I don't really feel the need to make a 'culture' out of it, I was always a bit more of a loner but I can emphathize with people who want to feel like they belong to something. It's cool bonding over something few know about.
I also understand how people feel angst at 'outsiders' coming in to their hobby... the mainstream commercial juggernaut tends to water down stuff that may be a bit more 'challenging' and those who originally liked the stuff have a bit more trouble finding those more intricate/challenging things. But I also argue this can be healthy in the long run for those core people... once mainstream interest in something dies out, there will always be a few people who may have gotten interested during its commercial apex and decide to stay on... these people fuel the underground. We have seen this with everything from old PC RPGs (how many people who funded Pillars of Eternity would have never gotten into western RPGs if it wasn't for Fallout 3 and Bioware's games? Probably a sizeable amount), to dance music time and time again.
Took a read through the Arthur Chu article, seems rather anecdotal and in my own experience, most of my 'nerd' peers are feminist or just like 'whatever', not pro-MRA anti-feminist. Then again, at least with my own failures with women for years, I never blamed anything other than my own shyness/awkwardness/unattractiveness and the fact I wasn't able to find many who were a good fit for me personality-wise.
The problem for me isn't latching on to things you to have a sense of place. That's pretty fucking normal, to want to find something that gives you enjoyment and to share that enjoyment. The problem for me is more about the people that make ____ , whether it's Star Wars or Game of Thrones or vidya and turn it into an insular cultural identity. We've seen what happens when things "threaten" their identity or culture. We had Gamergate, and it's not just that either. It's the Silicon Valley. It's the entire "fake nerd" thing, or the whole thought process that makes nerds out to be as superior to others because of their choice in entertainment or because they get good grades. It's the whole "fake gamer girl" thing. It's the toxic culture that surrounds the vapid consumerism. Nerd, like gamer, to me, is now a damaged goods term. You may say that the Arthur Chu article is anecdotal, and maybe it is, but that doesn't change the fact the face of nerd culture is a brewing, violent entity that's the face of that culture they claim to represent. None of this changes Jennifer Hepler being sent rape and death threats because of comments she made about RPGs. None of it takes away from the Jade Raymond/Assassin's Creed situation almost ten years back.
I find it no coincidence that less and less game players are willing to describe themselves as gamers. I wouldn't find it surprising less and less people who have "nerdy interests" are becoming less and less willing to describe themselves as nerds. To me, it's the same coin, different side.
A lot of people act like nerd culture doesn't merit criticism because "they've paid their dues, they've been made fun of their whole lives" or whatever. And I disagree.
In any case, to your original question: how come there's more and more people on here and on gaf hating on nerds? Much like anti-gamer sentiment, it's been brewing for some time.
http://www.avclub.com/article/simon-pegg-worried-our-obsession-nerd-culture-infa-219672Read that and then read the GoT rape thread on gaf.
