Episode 46: Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity

A recent post by a well known business coach sparked some outrage about what it means to be a woman. According to her, anything less than high heels, sexy lingerie, and cooking naked in the kitchen for your man is not feminine enough. We TOTALLY disagree! Femininity comes in many different shapes and forms, and what’s right for one person might not feel right for the next.

As self-identified geek girls, or geeky women, we don’t necessarily like to dress up and wear heels. But does that make us any less feminine? NO!

Being a womxn means whatever you want it to mean. You don’t need to be all pink, frills, and lingerie if you don’t want to. You can be sneakers, t-shirts, and jeans if that’s what you want. The most important thing is that you are COMFORTABLE and HAPPY with what you do! Don’t try to fit into a box just because some coach says you should.

It’s like when we had our episode about The Mask You Live In where we talked about toxic masculinity in America. Feminine and masculine qualities fall on a spectrum, and really, most of the qualities that make us up are in the middle. We’re more in common than we sometimes think!

But when we get down to it: why do we identify as geek girls?

For us, it has nothing to do with the clothes we wear and everything to do with the feelings we have when we geek out about things. Being a geek girl is about getting excited about the things you love, and yeah, they’re usually rooted in some kind of pop culture. Being a geek girl is playing games with your friends or alone. And being a geek girl is about finding something you connect with, really, truly love, and not being afraid to express it.

Geekdom is self-care. Geeking out about what you love, whether you’re vocalising it like we do, wearing it with pride, putting it on your wall, sharing it on social media, sitting alone and contemplating, reading, watching, being… geekdom is simply about expressing who you are. And it’s pretty damn great.

Quotes

Your Identity is what you’re comfortable and confident in!

• Amanda

You can have your M&Ms and you can have your Skittles.
They are very similar but they are totally different and there are a lots of different colors.
If you mix them together you can really mix and match. They all look the same but they are all different aspects.

• Amanda

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Geek Girl Stereotypes: How the World Sees Us
• Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In (Exploring Toxic Masculinity)
• Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika