The notion of the "fake geek girl" came to the forefront last year thanks to several controversies over whether many female geeks–rather than simply being humans with particular interests–were inexplicably and deceitfully expending large amounts of time and energy "faking" their love of traditionally nerdy pursuits. This stereotype, encapsulated by the "Idiot Nerd Girl" meme (which naturally inspired a countermeme), gets addressed head on in a new music video for a song called "Nothing to Prove" by The Doubleclicks. Throughout the video, real women who watch Star Trek, play MMORPGs and write both comic books and code for a living tell their stories by holding up signs that explain why they have, well, nothing to prove.
For the many geek ladies who are subjected to constant eyebrow-raising, condescension, and credibility tests simply for being female and loving what they love, hearing members of their community question their right to be there–or require them to prove it in a way male fans would never need to–can be an incredibly demoralizing experience.
Artist Elisabeth Simins wrote and illustrated a particularly moving comic about the impact of these stereotypes on her as a young female gamer, how the simultaneous rejections by mainstream culture and gaming culture made her feel like she didn't fit in anywhere, and even compelled her to give up her passion–for a time. Sci-fi author John Scalzi also addressed the topic brilliantly in a post called "Who Gets to Be a Geek? Anyone Who Wants to Be":
Watch the video above closely and you'll see an appearance from Scalzi, as well as former Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton, Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage and Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue Deconnick. As two of the signs so eloquently remind us, "There are no fake geeks. Only real jerks."
