GamerGate - Geeks Are Dead Article by the Washington Post

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Comic-Con 2015 & gender parity: Here's why the geek stereotype will soon be dead. By Michael Cavna July 7 at 2:00 PM Follow @comicriffs https:llarchive.islXuBNO Fans by Gender and Relationship Status Non-binary Other 2% 49% 49% Male Female Gender Graphic courtesy of Rob Salkowitz Eventbrite THE STEREOTYPE persists, despite being as archaic as a codpiece packed in Spandex. When the pop-culture circus comes to town, the conventional thinking about nerd conventions goes, the immature, soft-tissue male emerges from his parents' basement and treks to the showroom floor, geekin,g out to collectibles and comic art almost exclusively with members of his same chromosomal tribe Part of killing the stereotype through research is understanding that "nerd culture" is so much more vast, of course, than mainstream superhero comics "But when you start to break it down according to how fans identify themselves, we find that no individual fandom is that even," continues Salkowitz, who will discuss his findings Sunday afternoon at Comic-Con "Comics, videogaming, hobby gaming and toy collecting are majority male, usually in the 55- to 60-percent range. Manga/anime, science fiction/fantasy and media fandom are 60- to 65-percent female. Because today's big conventions appeal to fans of everything, audiences coming to shows are pretty much gender-balanced. However, it's still the case that, say, 'comics' fandom tends more toward older guys, whereas manga appeals more to younger women." Part of what changed, MacDonald says, "is the overall acceptance of nerd culture' to the point where it's the major part of pop culture. It seems like the parts of the media that aren't touched by comic-book culture are dwindling into a small ivory tower. Seeing women more involved is no surprise, because the Avengers, for instance, are meant for everyone." Amid this shift, though, what will happen to any residual prejudice and lingering misogyny that will surely become more exposecd and less tolerated:? "That said, there's a difference between being the old guy telling the kids to get off his lawn, and harassing and stalking women online," Salkowitz says. "The stuff that's gone on around Gamergate is so plainly unacceptable, it's hard to believe it has any defenders. Comics has its problems, to be sure, but the misogynistic behavior doesn't seem as systematic, self- righteous and agenda-driven as that." REINVENTING COMICS How Imagination and Technol0g Are tevolutionizing an Art For Besides, Gender Parity isn't necessarily the final destination for this engine of change SCOTT McCLOUD AUTHOK R UNDERSTANDING COMIOS (1st Perennial /William Morrow

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SgtConscientiousObjector

Jul 08, 2015 at 09:27AM EDT

The irony is that the stereotype only persisted so long because no one in the "main stream" ever investigated sooner. You could probably blame the rise of comic movies and Dr.Who for making it popular and therefore giving people a reason to look and see that it isn't all guys (which it hasn't been for a bit longer than this author is likely aware).
Assuming I misused the word "irony" a second ago, the real irony is that attacking gamergate like that it playing to the stereotype they just tried to disprove.

+30

Garteam

Jul 08, 2015 at 08:21AM EDT

"it's hard to believe it has any defenders"

Maybe Gamergate has supporters because some people can see that "nerd culture" is a fine enough place as is and doesn't need to change itself to appeal to SWJs who will never pick up a video game or comic in their life.

+28

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