So there’s this:
And this has apparently outraged some non-geeks. Alexander Abad-Santos over at the Atlantic Wire had this to say:
Two major aspects of geek culture are supporting outsiders and rooting for underdog. So can someone please explain how it turned itself into its biggest villain: A giant, self-congratulating fratboy?
There’s the fact that the women on the top row (assuming we’re talking about the twitchy Stewart and not Bella Swan) are all real women and that the women on the bottom of the graphic are all the stuff of (science) fiction.
And another blogger quoted by Alexander had this to say:
Wouldn’t a more compelling, interesting, and challenging comparison for celebrating an alternative to mainstream role models for girls have been real-life women who are involved in geek culture? How about Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Or Lindsay Ellis, the Nostalgia Chick? Rebecca Watson, from Skepchick? Jane Goodall, the world-famous Primatologist? Dr. Alice Roberts, from Digging for Britain? Lisa Randall, the Harvard Physicist? Kate Beaton, the brilliant comic artist? Or Mayim Bialik, the actress turned neuroscientist turned actress?
Well, no, it wouldn’t actually. Why? Because the top row of “real” women are not real at all. Three of them are reality TV stars. What the public knows about them is so scripted and unreal as to be meaningless. No one really knows Kristen Stewart as Kristen Stewart, they know her as Bella. This may change over time if her acting career continues but, right now, that picture refers to Bella, not a real person. Lady Gaga is also a character. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta does not go to sleep in full make up and a meat dress. However, I don’t think Lady Gaga belongs in this particular grouping so I’ll concede that point.
The stinging truth of the above picture led some enterprising soul to make this one in response:
Yup, you got us, we male geeks like the female body as much as the next guy. But let’s take another look, shall we?
Let’s start with the top row:
Snooki – reality TV star famous for being a drunken idiot.
Bella – “Vapid, personality free, man dependent, in an abusive relationship.” Haven’t read the books or watched the movies so I’ll have to take someone else’s word for it.
Kim Kardashian – Famous for “leaking” a sex tape with Ray J (who?).
Kat von D – I actually don’t know a thing about her but they don’t give reality shows to stable, regular people. Presumably there is much “drama” and “outrageous” behavior.
Lady Gaga – Still doesn’t belong with this bunch.
Now let’s look at the second row:
Aeryn Sun – Took on two intergalactic empires. And won. Also an unstoppable killing machine.
Zoë Alleyne Washburne – Rabidly loyal soldier and tough as nails. Slightly stoppable killing machine.
Susan Ivanova – Futuristic Russian badass. Not to be trifled with.
Jadiza Dax – Smartest person in the series and that includes the genetically enhanced Dr. Bashir. Fights Klingons and Jem’hadar hand to hand. And wins. Unstoppable killing machine
Samantha “Sam” Carter – One of the smartest people on the planet Earth and several other planets, too. Fought Gods, monsters and alien armadas. And won. Blew up a star once. Unstoppable killing machine.
And now the “rebuttal” row that’s supposed to explain how geeks are just sexist losers:
Princess Leia – Watched her planet blow up, shrugged it off and helped defeat the Galactic Empire. Choked out Jabba the Hutt with a chain and her bare hands. Daughter of Darth Vader, an unstoppable killing machine. A Jedi herself (in the books), Leia is also an unstoppable killing machine.
Lelou “Mulitpass” Dallas – The Supreme Being. So far advanced beyond man that she is literally a weapon to destroy Evil made manifest. Unstoppable killing machine.
Power Woman – Possibly a Kryptonian, possibly not. Power Woman is one the most powerful women in all of the DC Universe. Would be an unstoppable killing machine if she wasn’t a hero.
Juliet Starling – Cheerleader zombie hunter. She uses a chainsaw to rack up a body count in the thousands. Unstoppable killing machine.
Orion “slave girl” – Orion women use their pheromones and other, more obvious, “assets” to ensnare men to do their bidding. As the Orion culture is one based on piracy and violence, Orion women can be stunningly lethal when the need arises.
So, it looks like even when geeks are being “sexist” they still prefer their women to be absolute badasses and not drunken attention junkies. Sorry, pop culture, you still lose.
Yeah, like that. I will occasionally bemoan the less thoroughly clad Geek Culture Chick, but by the same token, I will definitely take a moment to admire Ryan Reynolds or Hugh Jackman. I think you hit the nail right on the head that even the Chicks with more obvious assets could get Vadered & still be more awesome.
Shiny.
Smarter than Dr. Bashir? I was with ya up until there man
I am Female and how about this one, I can name all of the second row, none of the first. All of the women in the second row have 3 things the first doesn’t. Brains, Power, and Presence. If anyone in the first row had it I would be amazed. Geek culture has a habit of celebrating that women can be sexual, smart and a power to be reckoned with. Weather that is because geeks have a well ingrained respect for mother figures and women in general, or its because they want someone to lead them in a new and different way. Ill go for the Geek, I like it when men know that women are just as smart as men and aren’t afraid to love them for it!
I’d just like to weigh in that I do agree that the women listed in the article by Alexander are ones that should be considered roll models, but then, this diagram isnt about rollmodels so much as cultural female icons.
Kudos to your defense. Love every word.
I think I feel offended they left out Red Sonja.
Wait until the new movie.