/dev/null/kevin

OK, I'm not the first person to think up this word (see technosexual.org) but that just proves that there is a new trend in the geek community.

While Hollywood's stereotype of the geek, complete with pocket protector, may live on in movies like Revenge of the Nerds, we rarely, if ever, meet people like that.

Ricky Montalvo likes to define technosexual in a materialistic way: dandyish narcissist in love with not only himself, but also his urban lifestyle & gadgets. While that may be a fun definition, I see the force that binds the geek community as a deeper bond than just gadgets. Obviously, we're all into technology, but on a different level we seem to share the desire to be different. Society has already separated us to some degree, and we are embracing that separation. We see it as a badge of honor and see ourselves (privately) as "separate, but better." To be "average" is to fail. What's good enough for everyone else just isn't good enough for us.

Example: ask a geek what kind of music he or she likes. While you will get a wide variety of answers from classical and jazz to progessive rock and thrash metal, I bet you don't get any "Top 40 Pop" answers. You just aren't going to find a geek who admits to liking Britney Spears (her music anyway), Ashlee Simpson, N*Sync or Destiny's Child. These are hugely popular groups, but only a tiny percentage of the geek community likes this kind of music and a smaller percentage would ever admit it because it shows a kind of weakness in the eyes of fellow geeks.

Another example is movies and TV. It should surprise no one to find titles from Star Wars and Star Trek on any geeks favorite list (with the caveat that "the older stuff is better"), but you're also going to find more obscure shows. Shows like Babylon 5, Firefly and Black Adder will be on more than a just a few lists, along with other shows that never made it to mainstream popularity. Again, you won't find too many favorite lists with Beverly Hill 90210 and The O.C. on them. Shows about outcasts with special powers will always win over shows about popular people in the hearts of geeks.

A final common trait that I see in the technosexual geek is their choice of hobbies and pastimes. If there is one thing that the technosexual geeks like to do, it's to rebuff the stereotype of a geek. To that end, they generally have at least one non-geek hobby. Sure, they're still going to play computer games and may even particpate in a RenFair (or not, blah!), but don't be surprised if you see any of the following on a geek's hobby list: skydiving, car racing, motorcycles, hockey, cycling, rock climbing, paintball, soccer, cricket and music. And these aren't just occasional hobbies, either; expect these people to be doing these things at least weekly, if not daily. Also expect the geek to spends hundreds or thousands of dollars on their hobby every year.

So, to be a geek requires a constant balancing act between "fitting in" and "being an individual." We constantly buy gadgets that allow us to stay connected, but remain isolated as well. We accept our geekness, but still strive to break the stereotype. I am geek, hear me think.
Tags:
October 27, 2004 12:58 PM PDT Permalink | |