Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you may have noticed the concept of “fake geek” or “fake nerd” girls has kind of become a thing. The basic idea: a somewhat attractive girl who’s into geeky things? Man the guns! She wants your blood!

This idea is, of course, complete and utter bullshit. See, I am a geek. I enjoy geeky things. I am also a woman. I don’t watch anime, play video games, or read speculative fiction out of some kind of need to impress the opposite sex. I don’t actually give a fuck about impressing anyone. I engage in these activities because I actually enjoy them. And I’m guessing that the women who are given the “fake geek girl” title most likely enjoy them as well.

I think that this backlash comes from the fact that most geeky fandoms and pursuits have, historically, been fairly male-oriented. This is something that is beginning to shift. Hell, currently (or as of last year, at least) 47% of gamers are women.

A lot of people seem to view this influx of women into a sphere that has traditionally been occupied by men as a threat. Look at what happened with Anita Sarkeesian for example.

So the “true geeks” decide to other the women in their ranks by insisting that they’ can’t really be geeks and questioning their credentials at every turn. And I can assure you that this is not something that really happens to men, because male geeks are seen as the default.

So, in conclusion, the idea of “fake geek girls” is a load of sexist bullshit, and anyone who actually buys into this idea is fucking pathetic.