Comments on: Geek Social Fallacy #1

By: John P.

John P. — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 22:58:32 +0000

I was just reading the comments and then noticed the ad next to it …
Dudeiwantthat.com (“the coolest site for geeks, gear and gadgets on the net” – allegedly) showing a female model in a Batman mask, vest and hotpants. Oops!

I agree with Wednesday that geeks are more accepting of people’s behaviour but I think that is due to the nature of the interaction. Have you ever remembered a person you met at a games con because of the experience you had over the table but then struggle to recall much else about them? The person might be completely obnoxious in other departments but you might register them favourably because you had a good time playing the game. I know it’s happened to me anyway.

By: Chrissie Caulfield

Chrissie Caulfield — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 08:30:12 +0000

It’s both. Sexist comments and behaviour are defended as “free speech” and allowed to continue making them seem normal to the white male majority. For the most part the one feeds the other as otherwise sensible people line up to defend the arseholes.

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 14:18:44 +0000

That was my gut feeling, but being a priviledged male it’s near-impossible to tell.

I’m seeing a lot of calls to deal with sexism by turning up the volume of “call out culture”. If you and GMS are right that not only fails to tackle the real problems, but risks making things worse.

By: Wednesday

Wednesday — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 10:28:27 +0000

It’s definitely the latter – but then, when there is a general all-inclusiveness that means everyone is accepted and social ineptness is excused (to a large degree), then it can be hard for some to determine when sexist persons should be challenged to the point of being ousted. Geek Social Fallacy #1 (and 2 actually) – as you’ve pointed out elsewhere.

I like that the geek / alternative groups forgive general foibles and accept everyone, and I understand that it is difficult to make that decision with an individual displaying such behaviour – fortunately, it seems to be few and far between.

Whenever I’ve experienced sexist behaviour, I’ve found that it’s usually an aggressive, unintentional reaction due to shyness, or unfamiliarity with my gender, or something specific in an individual’s background. Fortunately, there are waaaaay more non-sexist people around in gaming groups and online forums, etc – as with anything, if you don’t like someone’s attitude, you don’t have to interact with them.

And if they still insist on interacting with you? Well – in my experience again, there’s always several people around who are willing to step forward and put them in their place, when it goes beyond the limits of tolerance.