"Vacant" Geek Girls

[TW for sexism and ageism.]

So, I'm a huge webcomics nerd.  I read dozens of them: Goblins, Girl Genius, OOTS, Girls with Slingshots, Questionable Content, Gunnerkrigg Court, Dumbing of Age, XKCD, The Meek, YAFGC, Lackadaisy, Sinfest, on and on.  In addition to keeping up with all these, I'm always on the hunt for new stuff, and have a ginormous bookmark folder full of "to read" comics.  Currently, I'm devouring Weregeek.

I'm also a huge geek in general - I love fantasy/sci-fi and gaming.  So, I'm positively adoring Weregeek because it appeals to all of my dorky interests.

This morning, reading along in the Weregeek archives, I came across this strip.  (If you can't see it, it's basically a four-panel comic strip in which one of the main characters has a fiery rant about a NYTimes article which posits that Game of Thrones couldn't possibly be of interest to women.)  I love reading outraged comments to horrible articles, so of course I scrolled to the comments below the strip.  And it was great!  I'm reading through these, nodding and internally cheering at the snark, and then.

Some douchebag made a comment that perfectly exemplifies why I'm hesitant to join a local LARP, or do cosplay, or D&D, or any of the things that Weregeek is about that I would love to participate in.

By commenter rb:

too bad that (vacant) geek girls appealing to the eye in my circles are as rare as epic (or similar) grade loot in a newbie area. or way off age D=

Seriously?

I read on, desperate to find among the people snarking that sexist article, someone also snarking that sexist comment.  But he went completely ignored.

I'm not here to condemn people for not calling him out.  I'm here to do it myself.

"rb", you are a misogynist (and ageist) asshole.  You remind me rather strongly of Mike from Something*Positive.  Before he started the superhero gig and actually became vaguely likeable.

Vacant is not synonymous with single.  What on earth possessed you to use that term?  It sounds like you think of single women as a parking spot that simply hasn't been taken yet.  Which is obviously so wrongheaded, I can't even.  You are the quintessential, entitled Nice Guy™.  We are not here to be easy on your eyes.  We are not here to be your potential romance.

We are here to do over-the-top roleplay of fantasy characters and go on epic quests.

Venting

[TW for sexism, racism, jingoism and classism.]

Okay, I just need to rant for a bit.

I'm a fan of country music.  I love the sound, and many of the songs are absolutely fantastic, and deal with difficult topics that most mainstream music avoids (e.g., cancer, abuse, etc.).

On the other hand, country music is a proud bastion for so many things that are horrible: racism, sexism, jingoism, BOOTSTRAPS.  This has intensified to absurd levels since 9/11.

But the one I need to rant about today is probably the most egregious example of sexism that I can think of off the top of my head (how sad is that?): Keep Me in Mind by The Zac Brown Band.

The way I listen to music is that I pretty much completely ignore the words for the first five listens, and then suddenly the words are there.  Now, Keep Me in Mind is the catchiest song EVER, and Zac is an excellent vocalist, so I kept hearing this fun new song and kind of hearing the words but not really. And then, suddenly the horrible, horrible words registered.  I don't even have to go past the first stanza, because IT IS THE WORST.  One line at a time:

How come all the pretty girls like you are taken, baby?

Ugh.  Yet another message of many reminding single women (NOT GIRLS FFS) that they're single because they're ugly, and that men are superficial enough to only be interested in women that meet the conventional standard of beauty.  Isn't it the feminists that are supposed to hate men?   Dudebros, y u hate men so much?

I've been looking for someone like you to save me

Men are not infants that require being saved.  Again with the misandry.  Which, of course, doesn't actually result in the marginalization of men but rather the women (saviors), and so it is misogyny masquerading as misandry.  Boys will be boys, and all that.

Life's too easy to be so damn complicated

If your biggest life complication is yearning after a woman you can't have (and you're whining about it like a toddler denied candy), then you are on a level of Not Getting It that no one can touch.  You are standing on top of Privilege Peak, and the reality down in the foothills is completely obscured by the mists of your white, straight, rich dudeliness.

Take your time and I'll be waiting

YOU ARE A CREEP NOW.  Go find a woman that is actually available.  OH WAIT all of the pretty girls are taken!  Well, gosh, that just leaves you in a pickle now, doesn't it?

Go away, think about your life for a while, and come back when you've moved beyond frat boy levels of sociability.

Health is More Than Physical

I was on the phone just a moment ago while at work, talking with a prospective tenant when the maintenance man overheard me describe the apartment management's age restriction policy: Minimum of age 62 or 55 with a disability. When I hung up, he chirped, "Unless it's a mental disability!" And laughed.

I stared at him for a moment, then informed him that our policy is, in fact, inclusive of the mentally disabled, to which he laughed again, said "I know," and wandered off.

Really? Some people genuinely find that funny? Oh, wait, they do.

For a person to be 100% healthy, zie must be both physically and mentally hale. If someone is perfectly physically fit but has debilitating mental illness, then zie is not healthy. It is terribly bigoted to even joke about invisible disability - mental or otherwise - as invalid, because it is marginializing to the people who have to live with it every day, not to mention the very existence of such jokes bolsters the negative stigma of having a mental illness:



Transcript after the jump.