A Geek Girl Anthem? Or Geek Girls Gone Wild?

on September 23, 2010 in Uncategorized

The lastest Katy Perry parody viral video is Geek and Gamer Girls by Team Unicorn – whose motto is “Geek Girls: Like unicorns, we’re not supposed to exist.”


Geek and Gamer Girls Song – Watch more Funny Videos

With over 1 million views since it was first posted, the video has received praise for acknowledging and celebrating female fandom, and criticism for catering to male fantasy in its depiction of women.

Team Unicorn Production Still

According to an article on IGN:

When it came to those moments, Grant noted, “That’s where we’re getting a lot of negative feedback from, is actually those particular American Beauty shots, which we don’t really understand. We don’t really understand why it’s bad to be sexy. We are who we are and we happen to love all of those things. I think that if we were different shapes and sizes, we probably would have done the exact same set up, and maybe people wouldn’t be giving us such a hard time. We weren’t trying to alienate any female gamers out there who don’t physically match our descriptions. We were actually trying to be inclusive. When we first started talking about the video, the most major point of discussion that we had was doing our best to not alienate any females whatsoever. We were actually really surprised by the negative reaction from that, because after all, we’re showing as much skin as any girl would show in a bikini.”

On the one hand, I think part of this video is a really cheeky cute celebration of female geeks and fandom. The lyrics are playful, and I appreciate seeing women enjoying spending time together.

Team Unicorn Production Still

On the other, I find the visual reference to American Beauty problematic.

Screen Shot Via Action Flick Chick

What purpose does a naked woman lying flat on her back – – in a reference to Lolita – -serve? Who are these images meant to appeal to? However they want to define beauty and sensuality geek women have the right to be sexy, or hot, or gorgeous, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But how are these particular images empowering to women (assuming that was the intention)? One of the questions Team Unicorn asks in response to criticism is “we don’t understand why it’s bad to be sexy” – – but that’s not really the issue. It’s how they’re choosing to be sexy. One can claim they are being sexy for themselves, but in actuality they are deriving pleasure from being sexy for male attention. That’s fine, but let’s call it what is.

Personally, I don’t really see how images like these can be beneficial to women, help geek girls be taken seriously, or encourage culture industries to depict our fictional characters as multi-dimensional. If geek girls, especially prominent geek girls, are willing to show themselves as objects of male fantasy, why would male-dominated industries such as comics, film, or even television, bother to represent women as anything else? I’m not advocating that any woman should depict themselves as “sexless,” and any one piece of work or celebration of geek girl culture can’t possibly represent every one of us, but I’d hope that as culture-makers we’d give more critical thought to the images we ourselves are producing.

Additionally, I’m concerned that some are framing this discussion as a war of “hot” geek girls against “other” geek girls. That’s not the issue either. There are plenty of hot geek/nerd/fan women of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages, and preferences who appeal to different desires and who wouldn’t feel that showing off their body or using their sexuality was an appropriate or productive way to promote their tastes. But pitting geek girls against one another further marginalizes us as women, as audiences and as a market.

I’m also concerned by comments that the women of Team Unicorn are too hot to actually be geeks, as well as those that cheer the idea that “hot” geek girls are being represented (with suggestions that we’re “not all fat, ugly, basement dwellers” – – as if we not only have to prove our geek cred but our sexuality too). Both of these positions are sexist.

Kat Hill, aka The Action Flick Chick, has compiled a round-up of responses to the video from the web that I recommend reviewing and I applaud her for facilitating this conversation. Hill also interviewed Team Unicorn about the video.

For more on gender and media literacy I’m currently reading and recommending Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done by Susan J. Douglas and Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age by Kathleen Sweeney.

4 Responses to “A Geek Girl Anthem? Or Geek Girls Gone Wild?”

  1. […] with them. That’s all you need, right? A hot body and a willingness to watch anime?“ Jennifer K. Stuller: “What purpose does a naked woman lying flat on her back – – in a reference to Lolita […]

  2. “Who are these images meant to appeal to? However they want to define beauty and sensuality geek women have the right to be sexy, or hot, or gorgeous, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But how are these particular images empowering to women (assuming that was the intention)? One of the questions Team Unicorn asks in response to criticism is “we don’t understand why it’s bad to be sexy” – – but that’s not really the issue. ”

    Bang on. I did a write up about this earlier, along the same lines: https://andrewliptak.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/pop-era-geeks-gender/

    It’s not just this video, but things like the Rachel Bloom’s ‘Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury’ and to a lesser extent, (Do You Want To Date My) Avatar, by Felcia Day, sets up a worrying trend that as geek culture becomes more mainstream, there’s more drive to ‘sell it’ to a bigger audience. I watched Geeks and Gamer Girls, and while I can see the desire to celebrate Girl Geeks, what came through more for me was marketing team behind it. This was very one-dimensional, I thought, with the only thing showing in it skin, with a recitation of popular geek things.

  3. I don’t see “Geeks and Gamer Girls” as having a marketing team, rather that it adheres to dominant ideas about gender and sexuality (even as it claims to celebrate something unexpected in the Geek Girl).

    Also, I think that Rachel Bloom’s “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” is only superficially similar. While it has geeky lyrics, and is a viral video, Bloom is active in her sexuality. She’s singing about her fantasy, rather than posing as someone else’s. It’s subtle, but I think it’s an important difference.

  4. […] Jennifer K. Stuller (@InkAmazon) Book: Ink-Stained Amazons & Cinematic Warriors Previous Panel: Where Are the Action Chicks? Relevant Post: “Anthem? Or Geek Girls Gone Wild?” […]

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