I was listening to the This Just In... From GenCon! podcast today when I heard mention of an event that made me think... There is a couple who is going to be getting married at the con, complete with gamer onlookers. This presented a quandary:
1. Stereotypical geeks live in their mother's basements, are male, and are usually overweight due to a diet consisting of, but not limited to, Cheetos, Mountain Dew, and pizza (the bigger, the greasier, the cheaper, the better).
2. Getting married in a nontraditional setting (a Renaissance Faire, et cetera) would be very geeky. Marriage at GenCon, arguably Geek Mecca for anyone in the role playing field (my apologies to anyone of the Islamic faith, no offense intended), is like turning up the Geek dial to 11.
Here comes the paradox part...
3. A geek, who by definition in this limited space, should have difficulty speaking to a female, much less tricking her into marrying him!
4. She happens to be referred to on the podcast as the "Chainmail Bikini Chick." This means that she is attractive, and can pull off such a getup.
It took me a few seconds to try to wrap my brain around that, and then I started looking at it in a personal way. Sure, the two stereotypes don't add up and play nice with each other, but how accurate is a stereotype? It is based on myopic, antagonistic views of people or issues, and that never tells the whole story. I mean, I am quite the geek, but I am a well-adjusted, social adult who is married to a beautiful woman, and we definitely don't live in my mother's basement. I applaud the couple and wish them the best; may you always roll 20s.
Besides, if we all lived in mom's basement, how could anybody afford to go to Indianapolis unescorted and in the bright, bright sunshine?
1. Stereotypical geeks live in their mother's basements, are male, and are usually overweight due to a diet consisting of, but not limited to, Cheetos, Mountain Dew, and pizza (the bigger, the greasier, the cheaper, the better).
2. Getting married in a nontraditional setting (a Renaissance Faire, et cetera) would be very geeky. Marriage at GenCon, arguably Geek Mecca for anyone in the role playing field (my apologies to anyone of the Islamic faith, no offense intended), is like turning up the Geek dial to 11.
Here comes the paradox part...
3. A geek, who by definition in this limited space, should have difficulty speaking to a female, much less tricking her into marrying him!
4. She happens to be referred to on the podcast as the "Chainmail Bikini Chick." This means that she is attractive, and can pull off such a getup.
It took me a few seconds to try to wrap my brain around that, and then I started looking at it in a personal way. Sure, the two stereotypes don't add up and play nice with each other, but how accurate is a stereotype? It is based on myopic, antagonistic views of people or issues, and that never tells the whole story. I mean, I am quite the geek, but I am a well-adjusted, social adult who is married to a beautiful woman, and we definitely don't live in my mother's basement. I applaud the couple and wish them the best; may you always roll 20s.
Besides, if we all lived in mom's basement, how could anybody afford to go to Indianapolis unescorted and in the bright, bright sunshine?
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