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What is a Geek?
Since both nerd and geek are essentially stolen words, I use the following definitions to both define them and to make them useful in actual conversation/argument.
Geeks and nerds have the same types, depths, and levels of interest. They are people with deep, often (but not always) esoteric interests that go well beyond those of the average person. A geek/nerd hobbyist is distinct from a mere hobbyist only in their depth and dedication.
So, what then is the difference between a geek and a nerd?
A geek is someone who has the deep, sometimes esoteric interests, yet shares a common bond with others who have similar depths. An anime geek will get along just fine with a videogame geek or a comic geek. A sports geek can find common ground with a film geek.
A nerd has the depth, but not the common bond. A comic nerd isn't comfortable hanging out with non-comic nerds. A sports nerd can talk shop with a sports fan, but would have difficulty with a manga fan/nerd/geek.
Nerds and geeks bond with other nerds and geeks within the spheres of their common interests, be it anime or MMORPGs or what have you. Anime geeks and anime nerds are indistinct from one another within the confines of anime fandom.
The geeks, however, also bond with other geeks of other spheres. They break bread not just over their mutual love of, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but also over the understanding and commonality of having that deep of an interest at all. The Buffy geek feels a bond with the chess geek, and they can relate to one another.
Nerds bond over an interest. So do geeks. Geeks also bond over having an interest.
Geeks and nerds have the same types, depths, and levels of interest. They are people with deep, often (but not always) esoteric interests that go well beyond those of the average person. A geek/nerd hobbyist is distinct from a mere hobbyist only in their depth and dedication.
So, what then is the difference between a geek and a nerd?
A geek is someone who has the deep, sometimes esoteric interests, yet shares a common bond with others who have similar depths. An anime geek will get along just fine with a videogame geek or a comic geek. A sports geek can find common ground with a film geek.
A nerd has the depth, but not the common bond. A comic nerd isn't comfortable hanging out with non-comic nerds. A sports nerd can talk shop with a sports fan, but would have difficulty with a manga fan/nerd/geek.
Nerds and geeks bond with other nerds and geeks within the spheres of their common interests, be it anime or MMORPGs or what have you. Anime geeks and anime nerds are indistinct from one another within the confines of anime fandom.
The geeks, however, also bond with other geeks of other spheres. They break bread not just over their mutual love of, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but also over the understanding and commonality of having that deep of an interest at all. The Buffy geek feels a bond with the chess geek, and they can relate to one another.
Nerds bond over an interest. So do geeks. Geeks also bond over having an interest.
Comments
This is most notable in the case of my friend “Ellenâ€. After sophomore year she lost a lot of weight, became much more attractive and decided that the best way to expand her social circles and get a date was to become much less geeky. While I still enjoy her company, her decided decline in geekiness hasn’t made her anymore socially adept but the lack of engaging hobbies has made her less interesting. People should realize that begin a geek, and thus having an avid hobby, really only makes you more intriguing.
Considering the ratio of male geeks to female geeks is in the neighborhood of 100:1 I do not see how there could be a social stigma there...
I agree with Hopallee in that I'm much more attracted (socially or otherwise) to people who have passions and interests. I cannot abide the company of uninteresting people.
I find that it is nothing but another stereotype created so Americans can label people.
At first geek and nerd were used as derogatory terms and were considered insulting, but as time went on people starting calling themselves geeks just as people call themselves jocks/preps/etc making the term non derogatory. But It's still a stereotype; something that becomes too broad too find a definition for.
I got called goth, geek, and many other labels through my college life, but if you ask ten "goths" what is "goth" you will probably end up with 11 different answers.
That same statement will hold true of you ask ten different "geeks" what geek is.
((Sorry for the poorly worded rant here.))
I give you an example. In the situation where you, for whatever reason, need to connect with someone, when you find out they're into Star Trek hardcore, or can quote all of Monty Python, or knows every single Dragonball's plot, it's much easier to connect with them.
You live in a scary and foreign land.
While other forms of geekdom are less gender equal, of lot of that has to do with the “genre†itself. Underwear pervert comics are a prime example. I love comics but it takes extra effort for me to finds something that appeals to me as a 20 something female who gets really sick of blonds in thongs.
Female geeks may seem more rare than they in fact are because young women will often hide geeky interests and traits. One could propose that the pressure a girl feels to suppress her geekiness is an offshoot of the social pressure girls experience against being “too smartâ€Â. This phenomenon has plagued our society for ages and seems strongest during adolescence (aka High school). Society has worked hard to create a dichotomy between intelligence (and by association geekiness) and femininity (and by association attractiveness). So I think the “lack†of female geeks is really part of a much larger issue.
While I know male geeks would love for more female geeks to come out of the woodwork, I’m sorry but society is fighting against you fellas