Is it less socially acceptable for women to be geeky?

I find that older sci-fi a bit problematic from a feminist point of view actually. Even when there's not anything actually offensive, it just feels very...dated, and a sense that the author thinks of women as a separate category, rather than as people IYSWIM. I know you have to take these things as a product of their time, it just grates a bit sometimes.

I have to admit though I've only read one Asimov, and got annoyed that there was only one female character IIRC and a contrived plot to get her walking around topless in low-gravity .

Yeah that reminds me I haven't dug out my Foundation books for ages, I'll have to remember that next time I can get into that cupboard....

A Kurt Vonnegut one at the moment, so its only 60s rather than properly old. Asimov, Robert Silverberg, that kind of era.

I'm a geek. I work in IT and a self confessed data junkie. It's still a fairly male area, I was one of 3 women on my computing MSC and pissed the guys off when I found it easier than them and walked off with the academic prizes

You may find a spiritual home here

My trainset isn't in the loft, it's small enough to tuck neatly away in a sort of sideboard/chest thing. But that's because it's tiny little Z-guage trains.

No trainspotting, but an interest in preserved steam railways.

I don't think sci-fi is all that modern really, not the stuff I'm reading at the momet anyway....

Loving SGVB's hobby list!!

I've noticed everyone is concentrating on more modern types of 'geekiness' - RPGs, sci-fi, computer games etc.

Do any of you engage in the more traditional geeky pursuits...
Trainspotting?
Stamp Collecting?
Trainset in the loft?
Pigeon fancying?

I think of Star Wars as decidedly "mainstream" tbh! Gadgets similarly.

To me a geek is what is often politely termed an "enthusiast".

It's just I tend to think of 'geeky' as first and foremost 'computers/gadgets/Star Wars'

(hurriedly namechanges)

Am loving SGVB's distinction between geeky and weird! I reckon I'm more on the "weird" side. And definitely remember the culture shock when I joined our local NCT Mums Group with my baby. It was not at all like my RPGing friends. No siree.

The MNers I have met, however, are waaaaaay more interesting than the NCT mums group. Same goes for the people in my local feminist group, many of whom are far geekier than I.

Or possibly MNs/feminists are just more likely to declare slightly obscure and not entirely patriarchy-compliant interests :-)

Needless to say, the NCT Mums Group no longer counts me as a member!

Do prog rock records count as geeky then? I was giving myself quite a moderate geek-rating, but prog rock would certainly increase my tally by a fair bit....

Despite the frankly startling public ullulation over Steve Jobs dying, geeks of any gender are still seen as a bit unacceptable by mundanes. I'm not terribly geeky myself (a bit of a div with computers, hate Star Wars, haven't played D&D for 20 years... love obscure feminist sword and sorcery, have been known to hang out with LARPers, have a few prog rock records... erm, OK.) but I am 'wierd' (morris dancing, BDSM, heritage railways, dress sense that has had people tryingto give me makeovers all my life) and I am still not quite over the awful culture shock of DS's toddler days when I had to take him to toddler groups and had nothing in common with anyone.

plush die

Practically all females in all RPGs wear unsuitable clothing. Their male counterparts will be in armour that makes them look like walking tanks, while the females wear an adaptation of Princess Leia's gold bikini.

Realistically, every roll should be "roll perfect 20 to not get stabbed in your fleshy exposed stomach"

I'm in rural Lincolnshire, miles away from anything except sugar beet!
The illustrations in the books are always a bit questionable aren't they, I don't think anyone thought of a female Market for rp games. Vampire must be popular with a wide audience after all that twilight business though.

Maybe that's a gap in the Market, rp for girls, but it would just end up either riddled with stereotypes or so right on as to be no fun whatsoever.

I think you can buy plush 20Ds.
Also, the rest of the D&D (all male) were lovely and the GM did apologised on his behalf. He was a right weirdo, to be fair.

"childebeest" arf!

I'd be up for the mum's d&d group, the babies would chow down on the dice though wouldn't they, perfect size and such tasty looking colours!

I did a masters as a mature student a couple of years ago and totally freaked out the roleplaying soc at uni. Such fun, but then I gave myself a stern telling off for cramping the 18yr old boy geeks 'style'. It also occurred to me that past me 15 years ago would think current me was a saddo so I got back in my box.

I've played a bit of most things, and graduated to LARP, but don't tell anyone, even amonst geeks it's probably a bridge too far (but so much fun)

I know what you mean about losing yourself mrschemist, I'm quite tempted by some OU maths myself, so best of luck with that.

I know plenty of women, including some mothers, who would be classed as geeky by the points above - owning collections of multi-sided dice (ok, that's me), playing Cthulu Mythos, running a steampunk jewellery business, attending Buffy cons, writing slashfic (or whatever it's called), but unlike most of their male counterparts, they have some concept of personal hygiene, are capable of conversing about subjects other than obscure 1980s horror movies, and are no longer virgins.

See I agree with the above - and I class myself as a geek (name gives it away really) but only by my actions and not necessarily how I look?

Goldenbrown, a "delightful" fellow's first words to me when meeting a new D&D group were, "A girl? Playing D&D?"
then pulling a face as if the mere presence of a vagina in the room offended him greatly.