CLASSIC GEN: What Do “Geeks” Look Like?
Jun 17, 2008 Author: aktrez | Filed under: Girl Talk
Now and again, the GEN team will bring back some of the more popular topics of the past to get some fresh commentary and opinions.
Pocket protectors, bad complexion, overweight, greasy hair. When you read these words what images comes to mind?
I have come across a lot of very interesting comments in my years in the online world. From starting off as “a fat tub of lard” to becoming a “Barbie attention whore” one thing has been a constant, the internets are full of colorful words!
I guess the question is, what does a geek really look like?
Do you believe that the picture below is that of a gamer or simply a model who is chosen to represent gaming?
The answer is that this person is a gamer, geek and good friend of mine.
Gregory Michael has been playing games since his Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, and is currently addicted to Rock Band, his Wii and WoW. He is also a working actor/model who would most likely send in his best modelling photo even when posting about his video games passion.
If Gregory was a girl, he would be called an attention whore for posting an attractive or posed photo. What if he posted a less “attractive” photo? He would be called out on all of his faults and quickly made fun of.
Through the years, the gaming and geek community has shunned those that they feel are “too attractive” or “not the norm”. They then make fun of anyone who they feel is “too ugly” or the”typical geek”. You can see this in many blogs around the internet.
Even those who are high profile members of the industry get picked on for looking “too good”, being “too wealthy” or being “too popular”. Take for example Tommy Tallarico, Cliffy B, Lorne Lanning and David Perry.
All of these gentlemen have made significant advancements in the gaming world. They also share the same distinction of being successful, attractive males in the industry. Now, do a little investigating around the internet and you will see that they are the ones who get the most hate on forums, blogs and podcasts. Coincidence?
Our culture has become one of star gazing (and I’m not talking about the stars in the sky) and enjoying a bit of schaudenfrude (which is a German word that means happiness at the misfortune of others) in our daily lives. Nothing illustrates this more than the Britney Spears debacle. Do we really need an update every time she is rushed to an emergency room or has her kids taken away? We want others to fail and to have faults so that it makes us feel better about our faults and failings. Although the media is a breeding ground and jumping board for this, no place is it more prevalent than in the world of the internets.
When did we become a culture where looking good, feeling good about yourself and wanting to be sexy become a negative thing? I don’t know of one person who would want to post their worst pictures on the internet for millions of eyes to see.
With our geek world growing and becoming more mainstream each day, we will slowly see these stereotypes change. I guess we have learned that a geek can look like you, like me, like anyone.
In the meantime, I encourage all of our readers to start by helping to empower those around you that positivity breeds positivity and to continue to work towards a brighter and more optimistic future for our communities.
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56 Responses for "CLASSIC GEN: What Do “Geeks” Look Like?"
I must admit… that Cliffy B., Lorne & DP are some sexy ass bitches!
T.T.
Hey, you ain’t too bad yourself, Tommy. But you didn’t hear me say that.
Anyway, I really can’t see why a geek has to look a certain way. That is like saying that all mexicans look alike. Or all philipinos. Or all white people. We are what we are and we come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
You make some excellent points. Stererotypes are are so bloody annoying, and the “ugly geek” one really should go away.
I shower and shave. Doesn’t make me any less of a geek:P
If it helps your argument, I’m also a good looking handsome devil.
My boyfriend’s good looking. Even though I kick his ass at Guitar Hero.
Thank you Becky for that, that was one of the best articles I’ve read. And it really helped! Thank you
TOMMY for the win!!!! By man is fine and really good at videogames..some say even better than me….only some…
o.O
I predict in ten years gaming will be mainstream
Well said Becky!
He good at what he dos and he geeks out on it when he talks about his knowledge 
and tommy I have to agree Cliffy B and the others are geekalicious lol. /looks around to see if her BF is reading her post this.
but my BF is sexy and is a geek in his field of Sound engineering. He mixes for concerts and what not
GEEKS ROCK!
Cliffy is pretty cute
and also… a lot of the pro gamers are pretty cute too. Everyone always makes fun of me for going to “nerd conventions with geeks crawling around” but they’re actually just normal lookin guys, and the ones who are the best, are actually sometimes the cutest ones.
Stermy and Fatal1ty are two of the pro players on the scene who have the most notarity. They are also def. not your typical “geek”.
http://blog.richterscale.org/images/E3-2006-F-Players-Fojii-Fatal1ty-Stermy.jpg
Posted it in a couple websites
http://www.gamertagpics.com/users/g/Gh/Ghost_Dog_3/index.php?i=1&blog=2008_02_02
So where are the female pictures
I kid I kid
TheDCD i’m also one of them handsome lil devils but other then that great article and it should put a different prospectives in peoples mind on how the average “geek” looks like… I’m confident on how I look and NEVER say anything to people online on how they look. BUT some people out there who do strike at people on how they look are usually the one’s that god didn’t spend that much time on…
man cliffy is one sexy beast. but whoever shuns hot gamers [guys or gals] should gtfo! i think that hot gamers are the best cause they prove to people that gaming isnt only for people who are fat and have no lives.
and people who believe that all gamers/geeks/nerds look alike really should read this and stop being losers.
Indeed, the stereotypes are changing as gaming becomes more mainstream. These can lead to both bad and good things…
In my opinion, it’s not a question of if you are deemed “attractive” or not…it’s how the individual uses it in order to gain that wanted popularity. I see a lot of this “attention whoring” coming from the younger generations of female gamers and it worries me. It worries me that these 15-16 year old girls think they have to “sex” themselves up in order to gain any attention….unfortunately, they are getting the wrong attention whether they know it or not.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a woman who feels good about herself…there is nothing wrong with wearing make-up and getting your hair done (hell, I would buy out M.A.C makeup if I could), and I have to admit, I’m sure I’ve been called an attention whore many of times…but still have my morals on what I will and won’t do. Unforuntely, some people don’t see that line.
Aktrez, I always admired you for how you changed yourself…you knew you were unfit, you changed it, and now you feel so much better about you as an individual and your health will thank you in the long run.
On a side note, I’d like to throw my fiancee in the bunch of attractive-male-gamers :p
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/412285795_4d8c77f5a9_o.jpg
And when we started playing on Halo 2 years ago, I had know idea what he looked like! :-p
Great points Moe. I agree with you whole heartedly. Sure there are the obvious ones that go above and beyond to be “actual” attention whores. What bothers me is that because of the advent of these ladies (and I believe it started with the ladies) it has become a place where EVERY attractive lady is now automatically put into that category.
Now, if you are attractive in ANY gender you are treated differently.
If you have a nice picture of yourself up as an avatar, a sexy picture, even a posed picture like a headshot - you are seen as an attention whore and immediately written off.
Aside from time, I don’t believe there is any way to really change this phenomenon. I believe that we all need to just continue to spread the positive word and hopefully it will eat away at the negativity until we are all in a land of rainbows and unicorns!
By the way, CONGRATS on the engagement!
Great blog, Becky! I totally agree. Same goes for the other way around - models and actors that are geeks? Totally unheard of! I tend to get the weird looks at fashion shows when I whip out my DS.
I’m a hardcore gamer and I’m dead sexy. lol
To combat the percieved attention whoring, I created an online persona more in line with many of the characters I play as in various tabletop RPGs. Plus, it’s more fun that way. Role-Playing FTW
…But people that aren’t secure enough in themselves to appreciate another person’s beauty suck.
Mind you, I enjoy a good train-wreck of a person (Courtney Love) but Brit went from that to…something completely different. She has issues and needs help. Anyone that actually roots for other human beings to turn out like that are my sowrn enemy.
*sworn. Illiteracy FTW
Yes Jinxie. Also, you question why it’s OK for actors to post sexy photos and be “attention whores” when in the gaming world that is bad. It’s almost as if people don’t want to cross polinate the two.
Isn’t it all simply entertainment?
I say look at it this way:
Our little fledging industry has never before been reliant on personalities like it’s bigger siblings (Movies, Music, etc.). Games were sold on their merits, and were faceless products: things we bought because of what it offered, not necessarily who sold it.
But because games are finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve, and are becoming more high-profile, Publishers and developers are attaching ‘eye-candy’ or ‘name’ people that worked on the project to promote games.
For the younger and more…easily-influenced…among us, a Jade Raymond could be the difference between Assassin’s Creed being a Prince of Persia rip-off and an awesome new gameplay experince (which it was anyway). But Jade’s attractiveness gave ubisoft a very marketable way to show it’s wares off to the public.
…And it also made Jade an unfair target, though to be honest it should be expected if you put your self out there.
(Which begs the question: how many of you GEN gals have already gotten asked out on dates or propositioned in a manner rated M for Mature? I mean, being that you are a. girls, b. gamers, and c. gaining notoriety, that’s a given right?)
Back on subject:
Peter Molyneux, Will Wright, Hideo Kojima, Nobuo Uematsu, and many other brilliant minds in gaming don’t sell games to the average gamer. To truly passionate gamers, these names are gold (Some may immediately flame me, but IMO none of these people fit the eye-candy profile, really).
But to bridge that gap between respectability and mass profitiability, it must be recognized that folks like CliffyB have value in the normal entertainment arena.
When sex began to sell for gaming, that means gaming grew up…that means sooner than later maybe it will be able to be looked at as an art form and premier medium to tell stories and give users experinences. every medium went through it, and actually it seems like it took gaming a long time to come this far.
You know, I think that our “positivity breeds positivity” mantra is working on the site. So far, our visitors have all been very positive and intelligent.
More of the flack we have gotten revolves around that we are “too posed” and that people don’t want to get their geek news from “Barbie”. This was truly the catalyst for this post.
I think that all of us will agree that we would love to take our gaming love and become a name in our industry. While many people feel that is a bad thing - I think that it’s no different from someone like Rosario Dawson who now uses her name as an actress to get our her newest comic book - O.C.T.F.
It doesn’t make her less of an actress and it doesn’t make her less of a geek either.
I still haven’t read a good argument for why wanting to forward a future in entertainment and have gaming or any other pop culture, as a part of that is a bad thing.
As far as personal aspirations…I have to create a brand–something I’m known by before my product (writing, music, art, games?), and I think that’s a fair way to go about it.
I don’t see a problem with it, especially in the way the gals around here do it.
Can you help that you aren’t trolls? No.
Can you help that (unfortunately) the perception is gamers don’t look like you do? No. Well…
Maybe yes on that one. I think the reason people think we as a community are eccentric and dorky is because of the lack of contact with us. As gaming grows, and gamers grow, non-gamers will be able to see there is no difference whatsoever between people passionate about games and people passionate about sports or cars or movies or anything else generally accepted.
Yes, there are levels of fandom, but that goes for all hobbies and pastimes.
Being completely honest though, I’m a different breed of person. I blend in fine with everybody almost immediately, and have personally witnessed all kinds of people game and be good at it.
It will be a culture clash, but sites like this one help bridge the gap between gamers and non-gamers.
The fewer barriers and negative stereotypes people have regarding something they aren’t familiar with, the better we understand each other.
*Note: self-confidence is an issue in our society, so obviously being referred to as a Barbie is an obvious effort to up themselves by downing you (and the rest of the gals). This isn’t the forum for it, but honestly if fols valued themselves higher and appreciated themsleves for who they are, there’d be less of that.
There’s no need to knock somebody else when I know I’m good.*
Great post! I especially liked the part “When did we become a culture where looking good, feeling good about yourself and wanting to be sexy become a negative thing?”
At this point I don’t think the words gamer and geek are necessarily synonymous. Maybe it’s because I spend the majority of my time around sports gamers, but a lot of hardcore gamers I know don’t even consider themselves geeks.
We’re now at a place where you have all kinds of people who call themselves gamers. You could have just as easily posted a picture of a 38 year old soccer mom, a college aged sports nut, or an entire family and posed the same question. People would look at those pictures and “gamer” is the last thing that would come to mind.
I’m sure there are a lot of people who still don’t know any better than to assume that someone who spends a lot of time with video games is overweight, socially inept, loves math, or lives in their parents’ basement, but those of us who do call ourselves gamers know the deal.
In terms of sex and whether or not there is a place for that in gaming, I couldn’t personally care less what gamers look like. But if that’s something people want to celebrate I can’t knock their hustle either.
Yo raczilla,
I agree 100%. I think continuing to refer to people who like comic books, video games and anime as “geeks” is pretty much an insult at this point and labeling us/them as such will only help to hold back those industries to the mainstream.
The definition of “geek” as described in the dictionary is pretty sad:
geek Slang.
–noun 1. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
2. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
Even the “geek” dictionary Wikipedia gives this description:
A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream.
I prefer to help forward the video game industry into the mainstream and therefore do not refer to myself as a “geek”. Just the definition of the word itself refers that it can’t be mainstream.
I’m sure the word may mean different things to different people (Becky loves the word… I hate it). But to turn off any segment of society because of what they believe the label may or may not mean is probably not a good thing (in my opinion).
Tommy
Well Becky we all know how beautiful you are. Plus the rest of your clan. Megan, raychul and the rest. I however am one ugly dude but it’s nice to see the rest of you guys breaking the mold.
“Do you believe that the picture below is that of a gamer or simply a model who is chosen to represent gaming?” Why can’t he be both? He is a model, but he plays games, I don’t see how someone who is attractive can not play games.
The reason why an attractive person who shows off their looks is considered an “attention whore” is because unattractive gamers do not flaunt their looks, while the attractive ones who do are generally looking for attention.
I know many attractive gamers who do not show off or take a billion pictures of themselves, they are just a gamer who happens to be attractive, they don’t have to whore themself out by trying to capitalize on both.
I don’t think anyone “shuns” attractive gamers — they shun gamers who feel the need to use their looks for their own personal benefit. The beauty of gaming is that you generally do not have to look at your opponent, so any appearance is irrelevant to the game, but when people make it an issue then it is a problem.
Also, I find it strange that basically everyone in “your” clan is an attractive female — seems pretty selective to me. Are you saying there are no pro-gamers who are unattractive an overweight? It sure seems that way, especially when you take a billion pictures and show them off at every instance.
Gaming has become mainstream. You don’t see attractive movie watchers constantly putting pictures of themself up and commenting on how there are attractive movie watchers. Why can’t we just get past all this and move on? Looks has NOTHING to do with gaming, but when you parade around and constantly show pictures of yourself all dolled up, you try to make it have to do something with gaming.
Personally, I’d love to see the reactions you’d get if you anonymously posted reviews and interview as you do now, but instead of having attractive girls, use extremely ugly girls. That would be a true test to see if people are interested in your insights about the gaming world and not just your looks.
Stexe,
I completely understand where you are coming from and appreciate your opinion.
Our goal on this site is most definitely not to “flaunt” our looks. We happen to all be attractive girls. We also all happen to LOVE what we do and talk about pop culture.
I’m going to be honest with you, as a business person and also as an actress, I understand how image plays an important role in mainstream media. We aren’t just talking about gaming here. We are talking about a much broader demographic.
So, when I chose the girls who were writing for the site, of course I’m going to choose a group who I feel is marketable. Girls who others can relate to and who are confident in the media and in front of a camera. Again, we aren’t just a news site or a blog site. We are an entertainment site and so all of these things play a very big factor.
That being said, the girls who write for GEN are by no means super models! We are normal girls. We are all shapes, sizes and colors. We are also still in beta and are constantly looking to add new girls to the mix. Those girls, like the ones who we currently have, will be chosen by their personality, writing and marketability.
So, when you say you would like to see us anonymously posting reviews with ugly girls …. why? Isn’t that MORE segregating than what we are doing now? Why hide behind a fake ID.
I think my main issue is with the word “Attention whore”. It’s so derogatory. Do we like attention, I think we can all say yes we do. Are we “whores”? Not at all. We are no different than any actor/actress/model or rock star. We like affecting our audience and providing entertainment. We just choose to also mix that in with our passion for pop culture.
I hope this explains things a bit.
Very well said Aktrez!
And to add, we all met each other because most of us are friends and decided to start this with other friends.
*^_^*
In general, attractive people have an easier time becoming successful in the world. Better looking people don’t have to work as hard and can sometimes get by in the entertainment industry on looks alone. So when an attractive hard-working person comes along and has all this crazy success, people get jealous. Joe Shmoe may have just as much passion and talent as Billy BlueEyes, but because he isn’t marketable or desirable, he won’t make it as far in the industry.
If you stand in a person’s shoes who REALLY wants to make it into the industry, has all the drive and talent to do so, but hasn’t got “the look” to make it happen, you can probably understand why she may resent those who do. Like I said, it’s commonly believed that better looking people get what they want in this world. And for the most part, it’s true.
It’s not, of course, true for everybody. The list of guys Aktrez used as examples of good looking “geeks” in the industry are obviously very hard-workers to get where they are. And I’m sure Aktrez and the rest of the girls worked just as hard to get where they are. But smart, sexy women know that sex sells in the industry and realize that they need to look the part to get the part.
I’ll use myself as an example to my point. I have been passionate about “geeky” things all my life - videogames, comics, anime, role playing games, etc. I’m pretty enough that I’m happy with who I am and I don’t hate other people for being good looking and successful. But I’ll also be the first to admit that I don’t look enough like Becky or Jessica Chobot to get me in any doors. So there will always be some longing for what they have, because I share their interests and passions, but not their level of beauty or sex appeal. I can understand why some “geeks” will bash them for what they have and call them out as attention whores.
I’ve probably gotten off topic - but I think the point remains the same. In any high-profile industry - which is what gaming is becoming - looks count. And maybe most typical looking “geeks” aren’t ready for that.
Well, the term attention whore means you crave attention and “whore” yourself out to get that attention. To me, it seems like many of the girls here do that. They will spend effort to doll themselves up and take countless photos in an attempt to get more views. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing — it is just a choice on how they choose to live their life. This term would also be applicable to basically all models, most actors, and some musicians. Not all of them seek out attention in any way they can get it — many try to stay under the radar and just do their job (Natalie Portman comes to mind).
I’m not “bashing” anyone, I’m just trying to open up the other side of the arguement and play Devil’s Advocate, for lack of a better term.
As to the posting as an “ugly” girl, it would just be a test (not something that reoccurs, unless you get positive feedback) to see how many views and comments you would get compared to being an attractive girl and posting the same material. I’m sure the views would be lower and the comments much harsher. So that would tell you something about the shallowness of the readers.
From a marketing stand point, you are correct, it is probably better to go with attractive girls. Although that could lead to many amazing gamer girls being over looked (which would make girls seem like worse gamers). I’d like to see people judged by their skill level or interest in the subject, not by their looks. Also, I’d prefer someone who is interested in games, but not simply as a way of getting attention or getting money. Personally, I read no matter the appearance of the person — as long as I like their writing and style. Appearance should not factor in who you choose to write for your site, only for girls who will happen to be in the spotlight, and even then I would be more flexible than you have been before. Why not break the mold and try something new? You might even get more attention for that
Stexe,
To be honest with you, looks don’t matter THAT much to us here either. In otherwords, I am not going to go out of my way to try to find someone I deem unattractive just to have that “type” writing on the site.
Again, I want girls who are comfortable taking pictures and in front of a camera. Any entertainment website that does video and works in the public eye has to be full of girls who are comfortable being in the spotlight.
If a girl who society didn’t find attractive came to me, was a great writer, had a great personality and was comfortable being on camera - I would bring her on board. I have NEVER turned anyone away.
That being said, I also have never found a girl like that. Most girls who are comfortable being in the public eye are ones who are comfortable in their own skin. It is a VERY mean industry and even those of us who you find “attractive” on this site get a TON of hate from the community on our looks.
aktrez,
No, no. I mean you will go out of your way to find someone attractive who might only be very moderately into games — not the other way around. You’d turn an attractive person into a game, not just find a regular female gamer.
Why does the girl have to be comfortable in front of a camera? Why do you need pictures of writers? The creator’s of Penny Arcade, the most popular online comic based on games, rarely have pictures of themselves.
In fact, most online writers don’t seem to have many pictures of themselves unless they are seeking attention from “lusters.”
Yes, the world in general is a “mean industry,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t break the mold. Also, people get hate from anyone, no matter who successful, popular, or attractive they are — or vice versa. But that point is moot.
I’m just saying that constantly bringing attention to yourselves by taking countless pictures just puts you into stereotype of girls who use games solely for marketing purposes. I see tons of girls that “get into games” because there is a lack of girls and seek to be unique and get attention because of it — and to me that screams “sell out.”
Anyway, I’m not saying that this is the case for you, or any of the girls on the site (although I have not talked to all of them, only a few). Just mentioning this concept in general and how it fits with the whole “looks in the industry.”
You misunderstand Stexe,
We aren’t just a blog site. We are a multimedia site. We DO do film work and we DO do photoshoots for our sponsors. We aren’t journalists. We cover this site with writing, video, photo blogs.. etc. So, yes, we do need girls confident in front of a camera.
All you see right now is the journalist side while the site is still in beta.
We were all gamers first. We don’t need to “get into gaming”. I have girls on this site who write because of passion not because it’s a leg up in the industry.
Sorry, I guess I just feel the need to jump in a bit.
Steve, you mention this: “I’m just saying that constantly bringing attention to yourselves by taking countless pictures just puts you into stereotype of girls who use games solely for marketing purposes.”
And this: ” To me, it seems like many of the girls here do that. They will spend effort to doll themselves up and take countless photos in an attempt to get more views.”
I’m curious as to what you are basing these statements on. Our site is more about content and less about pictures. We really strive to provide good reads and features, not photos of ourselves. We do have a photo gallery, but we always put our blogs and info on the front page. We all have personal lives and jobs aside from GEN, and some of us happen to be models and actors. Photos are a tool for us, not a means for attention.
It seems lately I have come across a lot of fuss about this stuff.
Why feel the need to label others as “sell outs” (or whatnot) simply because they are comfortable with themselves and enjoy getting in front of the camera talking about gaming? Heck, I think it’s awesome! They are being themselves! Why rag on them about that?
I am not exactly what you would call ‘camera’ material (a proud size 16) but everyone here is really great, and you can tell that they enjoy games, media, anime… all that nerdy stuff! Model or not, it’s really awesome to know there are other people out there enjoying this stuff. I might not do it, but that’s because it’s not my thing.
Like the lady that took her sexy pictures with the big arse python. It was cool, because it was unique, and something that she enjoyed doing.
What the heck is wrong with that?
I dunno… I felt I got off topic? You know what?! I love to paint and take pictures! I bet if I painted and took pictures of nerdy entertainment-ness, I wouldn’t get dissed. Everyone is different. RESPECT *sings*
well just because someone is a model or an actor doesn’t mean they aren’t a regular person, with tastes just like regular people. Some people have a hard time wrapping there head around that issue. They have some preconceived notion that a guy like Matt Damon must sit by a fire and read literature with his hot model girlfriend while wearing a turtle neck and sipping a whipacino of some sorts.
Athletes are the same way. I have wrestled for 14 years, and I enjoy, gaming, gadgets, comics (pretty much everything on this site) I dont know what a geek is but if liking those is what qualifies a geek than sign me up, becasue I could care less, and honestly if someone is sitting there hating on someone becasue they are attractive than they have deeper issues than just being a geek.
What people fail to realize that the reason the “attractive people” market themselves around with pictures is because that is a source of income for them. That doesn’t mean they don’t love or enjoy games etc etc. I know plenty of people that enjoy what they do for a living. This is no different. If the attractive people can make money off of it good for them. Those are the breaks in all walks of life just not gaming.
jinxie, it is Stexe, not Steve
Also, I’m basing my statements on the girls featured on the website, not the website. I’ve talked to a few of them before, and seen even more of their MySpace pages, and base it on that.
Now, this might be off basis, but it is just a quick reflection of the impression I get — for all I know it could be completely off.
I don’t think it is wrong for people to be comfortable in front of the camera or “strut” their stuff in a sense. I think it is wrong when people turn to games to get more attention. I’ve seen a few girls who go into the gaming scene as a way of being different and to jumpstar their career or as a way to get attention by being “out of the norm.” They don’t do it because they love games, they do it because they like the attention and uniqueness it brings. That just screams “sell out” to me.
Now I’m not saying that any girls on this site do that, I’m just saying that in an abstract concept.
Lorne Lanning is such a handsome man. x.x
But Stexe,
There have been pin ups in the world for YEARS! You don’t think the girls who pose on cars are REALLY into cars do you? Or the girls who pose with guns… or whatever other masculene hobby.
I think that we can’t really turn our nose up to ANYONE anymore. Gaming is becoming so mainstream that it’s unfair to turn anyone away at this point.
Here is a GREAT example of this. I met a girl at the AVN (porn show) this year. We were interviewing them for a piece on gaming. This girl says “I was a model for that Nerdcore poster! I’m a huge gamer now. I loved what I was playing with!”
I mean, do we really care HOW people get into the industry? Why should it matter if a model wants to pose with a controller!? It does have a purpose. There are MANY men out there (and women too) find it sexy. I know I do. I look at that and say “Wow, that’s beautiful”. Would I do it? Probably, if I had the body and confidence for it.
Anyhow, I think too many people in gaming/geek worlds care too much about what other people do. If we were more open to other people than perhaps our hobbies would grow and become even more amazing.
Sorry about that Stexe. I should know better, my name is spelled Jessika and everyone always gets it wrong!
Anyway, just to respond to your comment, I think it’s unfair to base your statements on myspaces and other profiles. It’s unrelated to the site as a whole. I have to agree with Aktrez’s latest comment, except that we love gaming, unlike many other models (like car models, or import models as they are called) who are simply doing a job.
I’m really happy that I can put two things together that I love - modeling/acting and gaming.
So theres cute geek guys and not so cute geek guys
All this just stems from shallow people that like to hate on others because of pure jealousy or envy for what that person has. It’s annoying and I am guilty of making fun of people by calling them “pretty boys” or “conceded” but I make sure they know I’m joking. The fact of the matter is you can’t hate someone for what they do if it’s positive.
I mean lets say Tommy kicked babies (and I’m not saying he his to the best of my knowledge) but also helped further the awareness of games in the main stream. Maybe the people that don’t like games would concentrate on that fact he was a baby kicker just to help bring negativity and hinder his cause. Same thing goes with the fact that he his more attractive then the average stereo typed gamer. So they attack him for being a pretty boy (as being a negative) just because it makes them feel better about their bitter lacking lives. If someone can find something negative to say about someone they will say it just because they want to be in their shoes making the differences they do. These people are console fanboys on the nth degree where they would rather bash the people behind the games then the games themselves.
In short if you don’t know them then don’t judge them. It’s a life lesson people need to learn but few ever do.
Personally, I don’t think button up shirts and glasses are bad look, even though some consider it less attractive.
It keeps sites like http://www.jinx.com in business, and from a geeks perspective it’s damn cool.
You can’t spot a geek at first glance. You’ll know there a geek when you engage them in conversation.
SOME geeks you can spot at first glance. When my boyfriend and I go to the mall, we like to point out the level 70 paladins.
I just heard of this site from Mega64 so I decided to check it out. I don’t think geeks have a look unless they are trying to be one. People that play games have all kinds of looks. Some carry pocket protectors and that kind of stuff, but a lot of people just look like regular old people. There are gamers of both sexes that are attractive. I don’t think anyone should be shot down for playing games. I actually think we should all have each other’s backs. I don’t know any girl gamers in real life unfortunately, but I see the comments all the time on craigslist saying they are ugly or shouldn’t be playing games or whatever. I think that kinda crap is stupid, girls that play games are awesome and I wish I knew some. It is annoying when people make stereotypes about gamers. I’m tall and built, and people sometimes assume I’m a college basketball player, and I’ve been called a “pretty boy” before back in high school (which I hate) but I love games. I don’t know anyone that lives near me that is as much of a hardcore gamer as me. I like gamers of all types, no matter what they look like. I want to see our industry strive and make progress. Screw the haters.
Alexis Cruz ain’t so bad either…. (I might be biased
Ha ha. BlkCat makes an unscheduled appearance
Everyone… check your pockets. :p
I agree that there is no uniform level of attractiveness for geeks that is below the average of the rest of the world. Beautiful people can be just as nerdy as someone less attractive and vice-versa. I also think that there are certain looks that advertise to the world that you are a geek. The emergence of “geek chic” fashion is proof of that. I think the hating of the “attractive” geek is mainly backlash from those who were part of a somewhat exclusive club that is no longer exclusive as it becomes more mainstream. When geek culture truly becomes mainstream this problem will go away because these hobbies will have become ubiquitous throughout the culture. Everyone will be a gamer so there will be no way distinguish them from “normal” people and the non-gamers will be the ones who are out of place (assuming the culture identifies a set of stereotypical characteristics to identify non-gamers).
Ha! Yeah that’s right kids! Im in ur hoodz stealn ur geeks!
At Orionsaint: lol at you if you don’t think gaming is already main stream. At everyone: I am not going to say I’m a good-looking guy because I would be a liar but I still agree with this article. If you want to be attractive or you just are and are a gamer/geek, why should that matter. TO EACH HIS PWN!
just fyi - Cliffy B prefers to be called ‘Cliff Bleszinski’ now - much like Fergie and Prince he’s changed his name up after being in the spotlight for so many years - hah!
He will always be Cliffy B to us….
HAHAHA PWN!!!
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