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An Analysis of Geek Culture and Geek Identity Honors Research Project in Anthropology Matthew Lee Lai Professor Brian Givens Student ID#100769101 April 14, 2014

Thanks to: Professor Brian Givens, for all of his helpful support and insight; To my family and friends for always supporting me no matter what; And the participants of my questionnaire, for without your experiences and responses, my research would be incomplete

Introduction

Geek Culture can be defined as: A subculture that is defined primarily through its media. In many ways, geek media is geek culture; not only is it created with geeks in mind, drawing on the rich history of geek involvement with media, but it is also a mechanism through which geeks self-select by their engagement with the material (Yung, 2010, p. 12). Geek Culture focuses on the hobbies of people that are unrealistic and transcends the normal explanation of human thinking. There are many different genres/series of Geek Culture which is a: Blend of superheroes, animation, movies, video games, television shows, art, fashion, toys, accessories, and personalities (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 15). Each different genre/series has many different stories that delivers joy to people that has made people become avid followers. People have made their interest of Geek Culture become a part of their identity as their imagination and creativity has made even more stories. Geek Culture is seen as a subculture of Popular Culture. The term subcultural refersto cultural variants displayed by certain segments of the population. Subcultures are distinguished not by one or two isolated traits-they constitute relatively cohesive social systems. They are worlds within the larger world of our national culture (Jenks, 2005, p. 7). Like all other subcultures, there are different boundaries and limitations that each genre/series puts in place in order to protect participants from being. What makes Geek Culture a subculture is how it is an escape from reality, where people did not fit into traditional social hierarchies and were left without friends. Geek Culture is about people coming together to appreciate their love of different stories that was rejected by everyone else in society. The stories of Geek Culture take people beyond their imaginations that connects them to other people with similar interests. Geek Culture has evolved throughout history as it has become a part of mainstream society and is open to everyone. Comics fandom transcends economic class, race, religion, education attainment, and (despite stereotypes) gender (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 15). Geek Culture is no longer exclusive to just males as now everyone can participate in

whatever genre/series they feel comfortable with. Geek culture has become diverse and is seen in many different places of the world as many people have a part of their identity based off of Geek Culture. In recent years, people have taken Geek Culture really seriously as they are quoting and acting like their favourite characters from their favourite series. It is from a true fans dedication and love for Geek Culture that can make it transcend from being a culture, to being worshipped as a sacred religion as we see with the Star Wars franchise. As part of an attempt to have it declared an official religion in Australia, 70, 509 people declared their as Jedi Knight in a recent census. One in 270 respondents, or 0.37 of the entire population of Australia, responded to the census question by writing in the name of Lucass creation under Religion (Wetmore Jr., 2005, p. 78-79). It is from this petition that many other people from New Zealand, England, and the United States that have also joined the crusade to make Jediism an official religion in their country and the world. Some other instances of Geek Culture strongly influencing people is that from the fantasy novel Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games; people have started naming their babies after popular characters from the series (Morrissey, 2012). It is from these instances that I discuss how people have made Geek Culture a part of their identity. Peoples identity emanates from what they do for a living or at least a central part of their identity, we end up understanding the impact such a society has on its citizens (Konzack 2006, p. 2). Identity is a set of characteristics (behavioural or personal) that an individual is recognized by that makes them a member of a group or culture. Identity is a process that is constantly changing with unstable points of identification that are made within the discourses of history and culture. With this in mind, Geek Culture has allowed many people to identify themselves as part of their favorite genre or series within Geek Culture. Invented religions are an inevitable of a society addicted to the consumption of novelties, in which the exercise of creativity and innovation in the development of products is rewarded by wealth and fame (Cusack, 2010, p. 18). Going back to the Star Wars franchise becoming a religion, Star Wars has made billions of dollars from its fan in the numerous movies, television shows, novels, and merchandise that

have been produced. The creators of Star Wars had nothing to do with people rallying to have Jediism become an official religion. Many other series in Geek Culture have been adopted by this formula of becoming more than just a genre or series of Geek Culture. The story of any series becoming more than just a hobby to its fans is because it has brought people together in a way that nothing else in society could do. People want to be a part of something special that accepts them for who they are and does not have them change their personality. There are several other ways Geek Culture and identity entwine with each other. Many different games (ex. tabletop games, video games, etc.) have players design their own characters. This aspect of identity construction is self-reflective as to the players it means more than just playing a game, its who they are. Role-playing is a self-reflective endeavor, and as such RPG narratives present a complex structure of fantasy; characters are more than just their players senses and limbs, they are their representatives of the players inner selves (Hendricks et al., 2006, p. 136). The characters people create within their adventures of any medium of Geek Culture, is an extension of themselves. Geek Culture has given people a way to express themselves in a way that they could never do in society as in the past, most people who participated in Geek Culture were either shy or bullied. It has allowed people to use their imaginations to show that they are not the stereotypes portrayed in the media. These games make players feel more alive because when they are playing, as it is a way of life where their true personality traits (ex. courage, intelligence, etc.) shines through them to express their true feelings and thoughts. With Geek Culture being as popular as it is right now, people do not need to hide this part of their identity from society as people of all different races, gender, and sexuality are allowed to take part and forge new relationships. It is here that we must make an important note of how the terms like Geek and Nerd have changed as they are most often thought of as the same thing in context. The definition of Geek means someone who is not popular because they wear unfashionable clothes, do not know how to behave in social situations, or do strange things (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2009, p. 726) while Nerd means someone who seems only interested in computers and other technical things and someone who seems very boring and unfashionable and is not good in

social situations (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2009, p. 1169). From these definitions, these terms would appear to be the same. However, the main difference between the two terms is that:
More than likely, the main confusion between the terms comes from their common association with specific areas of knowledge that seems to require a high level intelligence (for example, mathematics and science). Thus a geek who was obsessed by the pursuit of mathematical or scientific knowledge, might also be classified as a "nerd" as society considers such pursuits to be intellectual in nature and as requiring high intelligence. The difference between geek and nerd is as you might already have noticed not that interesting unless of course you are a part of these ongoing murky debates about geeks vs. nerds. As for this paper there will be no real distinction between the two terms. For that reason geek culture and nerd culture will be seen as the one and the same cultural movement (Konzack, 2006, p. 2).

Geeks and nerds have a fascination with particular subjects or genres, however, they may not necessarily have high intelligence. That is why in the context of this thesis, the terms geeks and nerds will also mean the same thing as written in the previous statement as both geeks and nerds have both undergone the same ridicule and have become more accepted as time has gone by as. People have been called either a geek or nerd regardless because their interests are different and obscure (ex. reading comic books, playing Dungeons and Dragons, etc.) from the interests of mainstream society such as sports and fashion. To some people, the terms geek and nerd are still offense. So instead, people started to call themselves fanboys or fangirls if they liked something within Geek Culture. The slang term fanboys is often used to describe not only Star Wars fans, but also those of other subcultures, such as those who are fans of graphic novels, the Star Trek series, and/or other science fiction, science fantasy, and speculative fictions in a variety of medias (Wetmore Jr., 2005, p. 4). It is important to note that you can be a geek or fanboy just by liking just one genre or series of Geek Culture. For example, you can just be a fan of the series Star Trek and still be considered a geek even if you dont like or consume any other series or genre from Geek Culture as people will always have different interests. This brought upon some changes within Geek Culture that was both positive and negative. The positives are that fans devote themselves to their favourite genres/series of Geek Culture. The negative side of this is how some people that do show their loyalty to one company, game, and/or series whether or not they make good quality, make negative comments about other

peoples interests in Geek Culture, as some things that comes from this negativity is people telling other people they are not real fans because they do not like specific series of Geek Culture or being told you are not a fan because you do not have enough knowledge of Geek Culture. It is because of these statements that has created a sense of elitism within Geek Culture. Elitism in Geek Culture is considered to be the belief that people who do not have specific knowledge of a series as other members do, should not be considered fans of that series. Also, people will reject other people who indulge themselves in mediocre series of Geek Culture. The sense that certain people deserve better treatment or have more prestige than others in Geek Culture, is what turns away people from joining social groups on the Internet, attend conventions, or joining clubs at their local comic book stores and schools as their opinions and interests are condemned and do not count as being interesting. Even if people do not like a particular series or genre, people should not be judgmental of other peoples interests as it hurts the development of Geek Culture. A reason I chose this topic is because I myself, am a geek enthusiast that has participated in many different genres/series of Geek Culture. My interests evolved from watching Saturday morning Cartoons about superheroes to video games. While I do not have much knowledge in technology other than starting my computer, typing, and surfing the internet; I am very knowledgeable in other aspects of Geek Culture and can give an insider perspective such as comic books, manga, television shows, movies, and video games. Only in the past year, did I attend my first Comic-Con and start to understand how influential Geek Culture is and how much people really do love their favourite series. The phenomena of Geek Culture has created many social and cultural relationships, ideologies, and structures through various media sources and created many different types of Geek Culture. There are many contributions this research will provide to the field of anthropology as it will analyze how Geek Culture has become more popular in recent years. With the rise of the Internet, many different trends have occurred between people as they have been to communicate with other people from across the world. An example of this would be Internet Forums that people use to discuss the stories and opinions of their favourite series in

Geek Culture. This Honors Research Essay analyzes Geek Culture from a sociocultural anthropological perspective. In many different genres of Geek Culture, the morality of doing what is right or wrong is always central to the plot to many of these genres and it is worth researching how Geek culture influences peoples actions within society. For years, geeks have tried to find their identity while being subjected and somewhat ridiculed by non-geeks for being different and not conforming to societys ideals and norms. This has recently changed as Geek Culture has become very popular and interests have become united and support each other with the technological advances of the modern age. An example of this would be YouTube videos. YouTube represents new media practices, creating a hybrid domain of self-expression, community, and marketing. More than a collection of millions of home videos, YouTube also constitutes an emotional and social space, as well as a space for virtual community and cultural politics (Kosut, 2012, p. 450). YouTube has created a community for geeks to celebrate and even create jobs for geeks to talk about their passion for different series of Geek Culture (ex. video games, comic books, tabletop games, etc.) and support one other in their endeavors. YouTube is just one of the prime examples of Geek Culture changing and bringing people of different backgrounds together as they share each others ideas and interests. The evolution of Geek Culture has allowed the many genres and series of it to become more socially acceptable. Geeks not only participate in Geek Culture, they like to create their own characters and stories. Loving something other people do not understand is what being a geek all is about is an important aspect of being a geek is having special knowledge about a particular genre or its details that few other people know. It even goes as far as some people creating their own stories and worlds. Fantasy gamers, in common with other fantisizers, construct a world imbued with meaning. Theirs is a social world that is not inherently meaningful but is made meaningful by the significance given to it by its participants (Fine, 1983, p. 231). The reason why geeks have become very emotionally invested in their hobbies as it has become a major part of their life as it becomes a part of their identity which is why they create they own fantasy worlds with other geeks such as role-playing games like Dungeons and

Dragons. Geeks feel that their identity and self-esteem is being compromised whenever their favourite series is being attacked and that they must defend it as they have based their life upon the foundation of their favourite series. This explains why geeks are passionate about their favourite series as it is more than just a hobby to them. My research question looks at how people of this culture form their identity in terms of how males and females are seen through the context and material that they partake in. From here, this research will look at the many references and the different types of genres within Geek Culture. The important things that will be focused on throughout the research being conducted looks at how Geek Culture has evolved through the: various theories that explain how Geek Culture has become so far, how Geek Culture started, how Geek Culture functions in establishing a persons identity in society for both males and female geeks, how Geek Culture has created institutions and become a business.

Methodology

The methodology section of this thesis will be divided into two parts. The first part will take the form of a literature review that will look at the many different aspects of geek culture from the perspective of books, journals, previously submitted essays, and various media outlets. There are many different aspects of Geek Culture to explore. This thesis will look at how people communicate with each other and how they interpret the issues within Geek Culture. There are many different theories surrounding peoples interests in Geek Culture, however, I chose to only focus on the theories that looks at the characteristics of Geek Culture and how it has become what it is today. I then start the literature review by looking at the history of Geek Culture and how it has evolved from the negative stereotypes of geeks to become more socially accepted. The different representations and interpretations of each gender that is explained, looks at how people are influenced by Geek Culture and how perceive and interact with others in their social

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communities. Geek Culture has become commercialized and a business model through media representations and conventions which is integral to what Geek Culture has become. The second part of the methodology takes the form of a questionnaire that addresses the issues that are raised in Geek Culture and how the person being interviewed is influenced by Geek Culture. The interview that I conduct asks questions to people who participate in different types of Geek Culture. For this particular survey, I ask both male and female participants to get a better understanding of the gender balance in Geek Culture and how far Geek Culture has come in accepting females as geeks. The questions I ask to the participants of the include their definition and differences between the terms geek and nerd; how do they participate in Geek Culture, how much money they invest in their hobbies, how they are influenced by Geek Culture, are females and males represented well in Geek Culture, the negative aspects of Geek Culture and their thoughts on the commercialization of Geek Culture. The point of the questionnaire is to see how Geek Culture has changed the way people think and has made it possible for fantasy to become a reality to people.

Theoretical Perspectives

Throughout this research, it has been hard trying to find theories that analyze why people are so interested in Geek Culture. As I have mentioned previously, Geek Culture is a subculture of Popular Culture and the theories of Popular Culture also explain why people are so fascinated around the many things that surround Geek Culture. The research that I have read on theories revolving around Geek Culture include the past and present theories of social-anthropological studies that explain why people are so interested and live by Geek Culture. These theories focus on how geeks in the past, have been labelled as outcasts and shunned from society to the present, when geeks are accepted and nearly everyone participates in some form of Geek Culture. There are many different interpretations and theories that explain the interest people have in Geek

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Culture. The first theories to try and explain the functions and parameters of Geek Culture is the institution known as the Frankfurt School. The Frankfurt School (founded in 1923) is a school developed from neo-Marxist social theories in association with the Institute for Social Research at the Goethe University located in Frankfurt, Germany hence the name the Frankfurt School. Some members of the school diverged from the theories and writings of Marx and looked to other theorists to explain the social development and the conditions of social change that Marx could not explain and devoted their thoughts to explain and understanding why Popular Culture and its subcultures are so influential in impacting a persons life. The findings of the Frankfurt School has shown how Geek Culture has been consumed by the population. The Frankfurt School has analyzed how the economy has capitalized on emulating a persons feelings and desires towards wanting Geek Culture to become more than just a hobby to them as it has connected them with other people that are just like them that share the same passion and values.
According to the Frankfurt School, the culture industry reflects the consolidation of commodity fetishism, the domination of exchange value and the ascendancy of state monopoly capitalism. It shapes the tastes and preferences of the masses, thereby moulding their consciousness by inculcating the desire for false needs. It therefore works to exclude real or true needs, alternative and radical concepts or theories, and politically oppositional ways of thinking and acting (Strinati, 1995, p. 61).

The Frankfurt Schools analysis of how Geek Culture has become a reality to many people is through the term commodity fetishism. Commodity fetishism explains how from social relationships, objects are produced to accommodate the desires of mass society. Commodity fetishism transforms items that are not beneficial to peoples survival abstract e into real objects to have an economic value, which then allows people to believe that these items have a personal and social value. Geek Culture is a prime example of commodity fetishism as it has made the transition from fantasy to social reality. Geek Culture have props replicated from popular series/genres that are marketed to its fans as some people believe that not having any kind of replica from Geek Culture means that you do not support that series/genre. The market has exploited this as many things relating to Geek Culture have been made into commodities. Having these props made from their favourite

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series, shows peoples adoration and love for that particular series. Armor/weapons, concept art prints, costumes, clothing, buttons, toys, trading cards, bags and other accessories are made Geek Culture are just a few examples of how props from Geek Culture are commoditized. An example of this would be how Marvel superheroes are marketed to the public as they first started out as comic books and now have made movie franchises, numerous toys, and accessories that has made a fortune from their fans support and love for these superheroes. This is how big Geek Culture has become, as the Frankfurt Schools concept of commodity fetishism has shown how the fantasy worlds of Geek Culture have transcended fiction and become a reality. An important theory explaining why Geek Culture has become so popular is how people have adapted the actions of their favourite characters to their own personality. Mary Bucholtz in her article, uses the two important theories of Practice Theory and Habitus to explain how and why Geek Culture is so important to people. Starting with the Practice Theory, this theory explains how social beings can create and transform the world in which we live through their diverse motives and intentions. This theory is built upon human action and structure working together in a dynamic relationship to explain how a social phenomenon such as Geek Culture has happened. I argue that nerd identity, contrary to popular perceptions, is not a stigma imposed by others, but a purposefully chosen alternative to mainstream gender identities which is achieved and maintained through language and other social practices (Bucholtz, 1999, p. 204). What Bucholtz has researched is how Practice Theory has given people the chance to express themselves in a way that they could not before. People not only have accepted Geek Culture, they chose to live and create their own rules that makes them comfortable. In other words, they are constructing and performing an interpretation of themselves.
Performance as condensed, distilled, concentrated life -an occasion when ones energies are intensive focused. One may also speak of performances as set apart, marked by various signals as distinct from ordinary routines of living. And one must speak of performances as embodying meaning. A performance is not deliberately so; a performance is, among other things, a deliberate effort to represent, to something about something (Appel & Schechner, 1990, p. 208).

Play act like the characters they have made up in a video game/Tabletop role-playing game or characters they have seen in the media. What people want is to be seen like the characters from

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Geek Culture that stand for their courage and nobility. People act like the characters they see and read from Geek Culture in order to gain the courage to do the things they could not usually do such as standing up for themselves or asking their crush out on a date. People take the right characteristics of different characters from Geek Culture (ex. the ability to see the good in people, heroic, politeness, etc.) in order to make themselves become a better person as this is as a representation of how Geek Culture is influential in peoples lives. Practice Theory explains that Geek Culture has given people a new way to look at life, that gives them the courage to do the right thing, and create new worlds from their imaginations with others like themselves that forge new relationships they could not have made without Geek Culture.
Superheroes inspire us. They are engaged in a never -ending fight against crime and villainy. They fight the good fight even when theyre tired, burned out, or have c rises in their personal lives. When its hard to know what the right decision is, they generally dont get flummoxed. They are decisive. In these ways, they are like real soldiers. Their exploits and dedication are inspiring. Moreover, they have a clarity of purpose, and a moral compass that is usually enviable, even if we dont agree with the specifics (Rosenberg, 2013, p. 14-15).

This shows how a persons hobby can influence them to act a certain way. Superheroes are role models to people who do not have anyone in their life to inspire them. These people then inspire others to do the right thing as well. While people might not have superpowers like the characters in Geek Culture, they teach people a value lesson of people coming together to stand for the rights and freedoms of society and the people. Drawing influence from the Practice Theory, comes another term that was made famous by Pierre Bourdieu is habitus, which explains how people interested in Geek Culture act in society. The starting point of practice is Habitus, the set of dispositions to act (e.g. speak, walk, read, or eat) in particular ways which are inculcated in each individual through implicit and explicit socialization. These dispositions are linked to particular social dimensions such as class and gender (Bucholtz, 1999, p. 205). In terms of Geek Culture, habitus defines how Geek Culture is a social structure that influences the way a person acts within their society. Geek Culture has changed the thought process, mannerisms, speech, and personality of people as each different series or genre within Geek Culture offers and provides elements of a story that are very admirable and likable that people want to imitate. Peoples lifestyle has become a product of

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Geek Culture, exhibiting personality traits very similar to their favourite series that they partake in that helps them overcome their problems and makes them more likely to reproduce the social dynamics of their actions and habits by getting their friends to indulge in their favourite series of Geek Culture. Finally, the work of Clifford Geertz in symbolic anthropology explains how Geek Culture and Geek fans are interconnected to each other. According to Geertz, the relationship between the cultural phenomenon of Geek Culture and its fans are symbiotic. What this means is that culture, rather than being added on, so to speak, to a finished or virtually finished animal, was ingredient, and centrally ingredient, in the production of that animal itself (Geertz, 1973, p. 47). Without any fans watching the television show or movie and buying merchandise, a series/story or social institution of Geek Culture cannot survive. An example of this would be the television show Firefly. This Sci-Fi show was cancelled in its first few episodes and caused a great deal of disappointment to its fans. Refusing to accept this decision, fans made petitions and alternative stories to this story. In the end, the fans support of Firefly won, as a movie was made (Serenity) based off the television show as well as a fan documentary (Done the Impossible: The Fans' Tale of 'Firefly' and 'Serenity') detailing fans love for the show and how their dedication made it possible for the movie to be produced. The fans uniting to back their favourite show is a representation of how passionately they felt for this show and how the shows cancellation represents a part of themselves that had been repressed by people saying that their opinions and interests did not matter. Geertz was correct in his analysis as a culture needs people to follow and practice the culture. The theories that I looked at have explained the phenomenon of Geek Culture, how this culture has been formed and evolved from the imaginations of its followers to create a world where anyone can join and be accepted from who they are. It is hard to explain a persons interests, unless it directly comes from themselves as everyone has different interests and opinions. People contribute their imaginations to Geek Culture to expand the stories and lore of the series that they love. It is from peoples fascinations of Geek Culture that has allowed them

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to build upon their various communities and form symbolic and social bonds through internet forums, fan-fiction, and gatherings at comic book stores. From here, it has evolved into the massive fan gatherings at conventions such as Comic-Con. Conventions bring people together with similar interests and lets them interact with each other to form new friendships and in some cases, relationships as I will discuss later in the literature review.

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Past Literature Review

The Beginnings of Geek Culture

The first introduction of the standard format for American comic books was Funnies on Parade in 1933. By the early 1940s, a lucrative market of comic books for children and adolescents existed with a variety of genres: adventure, action, mystery, superhero, teen, romance, and jungle queen. In 1938, Action Comics #1 introduced Superman, the first comic book superhero (Lopes, 2006, p. 399). This can be seen as the beginning of when Geek Culture first started to emerge. Comic books was the first genre of Geek Culture that influenced other genres of Geek Culture such as Manga (Japanese version of comic books). People loved these new stories and were engaged with the characters. People wanted an alternative to the part of their lives that caused them stress and unpleasant memories as the stories brought along the hope that readers can find something better in their lives like the characters in these new stories. The main reason why the genres of Geek Culture first gained momentum from their fans is because: America yearned for someone who would stand up to the bully, the racketeer, the wife beater, the crooked politician, the corrupt cop, the greedy businessman who treated his workers like dirt (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 71). All genres of Geek Culture demonstrate the underdog hero overcoming many trials to get the happiness they deserve as Geek Culture can be considered an escape from reality that taught people values of honor and courage to stand up for what you believe is right. Video games become an extension from this as video games have become a very important genre within Geek Culture as the business has made billions of dollars and is blamed for being a violent influence on young children despite the rating systems in place. The 1970s marked the birth of video games as an industry, and paved the way for gaming consoles much like the ones we use today. Most importantly, perhaps, the 1970s established video games as a

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cultural phenomenon (Egenfeldt-Nelson et al., 2013, p. 60). The evolution of video games started with basic computers, gaming consoles, and arcades that has created many jobs across the world. Currently in 2014, there are video games such as League of Legends that are played by professional video gamers where teams complete to win up to one million dollars. Video games have redefined entertainment and become one of the most talked of Geek Culture in how it influences people. The rise of the Technological Age is what really made Geek Culture popular as it allowed people access to a new world that could connect them to others around the world. The rapid growth in the number of people consuming Geek Culture as a hobby since 1990s has made this phenomenon a significant aspect of popular culture as: Actors appropriate the Internet in various and diverse social practices, which creates new socio-cultural forms and patterns of interaction and communication (Wessels, 2010, p. 52). The Internet has enabled many people to create social networks and websites centered on activities related to Geek Culture, while forums allow people to share stories, photographs, news, and general information. The internet is what has allowed easier access for geeks to view their favourite series as well as to share and discuss with each other their opinions of Geek Culture. It is the imagination of people that has changed and influenced new generations of geeks everywhere. Everyone will have a different perspective of what Geek Culture means to them. It grows with them as Geek Culture changes and has brought cheerfulness to their lives. Geeks love their favourite series so much, they create their own fantasy worlds in games like Dungeons and Dragons. A better description of this, examines how:
Geeks are incredibly creative minded. They like to c ontribute artistically to the geek culture, not just consuming it. That is their distinctive way of having fun. The geeks dont just read comics, but make their own drawings as well. The geeks are not just playing games, but try to make game content too. The geeks produce machinima, write fan-fiction, blog, etc. Fantasy worlds and counterfactual history are highly popular among geeks because these imaginary worlds (or sub creations) are open-ended, providing the geeks with material for further development when creating or co-creating these universes of fun and excitement (Konzack, 2006 p. 6 -7).

Geek Culture started with the imagination and courage of people to be different. Stories have extended from one genre to another. This analysis shows that having a different interest than everyone in society can be worthwhile as many Geeks have created their own stories and some

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of these stories have become successful. It is the imagination of geeks creating new stories within Geek Culture that makes people become fans every year.

Stereotypes of Geeks

It is important to address the stereotypes that are associated with geeks. Geeks were regarded as outcasts, victims of an incompatible value system (Yung, 2010, p. 29), as anyone who wore glasses, was unattractive, do not have a social life, lived in their parents basement, had asthma inhalers, was unfit, dressed terribly, and were interested in things like Star Trek, were stereotyped as geeks. One of the participants of the questionnaire said how: Representations of nerd culture by the media that does not seek to understand it always claim we're racist, sexist, socially dead inside, homophobic, and virgins for life (Personal Interview, March 15, 2014). The association that all geeks like Star Trek is not correct. Everyone has different interests and should not be judged in this context. Interests of geeks was rejected and they were bullied by others for having different interests such as reading comic cards, playing trading card games or Dungeons and Dragons. It is important to note that at one point in time, all of these stereotypes of geeks are somewhat true. These stereotypes describe that:
Nerds are smart, especially in math, and also physically repulsive. They dont drink as much as other young people, and they dont have sex except over the Internet. They are interested in things that bore the crap out of nonnerds, things like chess, Star Trek, anagrams, and band. And, as the fanny pack and pocket protectors demonstrate, they are more interested in practically than they are in looking cool (Anderegg, 2007, p. 18).

What these stereotypes did was to make a social hierarchy that judged peoples interests as Geek interests were put at the very bottom than everyone elses own in society. Geeks did not fit with anyone else, so this subculture was perfect for them as it accepted them when the rest of society would not accept them. From this, Geeks created their own institutions (e.g. comic book stores and conventions) and social realms for everyone that had particular tastes in Geek Culture. Geek

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Culture has made people feel wanted and accepted; they should not have to change who they are because disagrees with their lifestyle and looks. The appearance of geeks has changed drastically. Geeks have proven that you can be good-looking and smart. The fear of being bullied is why Closet Geeks (geeks who love Geek Culture but have kept it hidden because they did not want to be ridiculed) existed. However, this is no longer the case as:
While theres no denying that these stereotypes are true of a visible minority of the g eek subculture, they are by no means the norm. Many, if not most, geeks are charming, articulate, well-groomed, and, since the IT explosion, financially successful individuals. In many cases, it would be difficult to identify these people as geeks without getting to know them. Despite the integration of the geek subculture into mainstream society, the element of subculture in the geek community is present. It manifests itself in language, values, and beh aviors (Johnson, 2010, p. 1).

The geeks that were once regarded as being socially awkward have changed the norm of society as many people now take part in some form of Geek Culture. Their hobbies are a part of their life and identity, however, they do not constantly talk about Geek Culture and are not obsessed by it either. Geek Culture is about acceptance and embracement of each others interests and has given people a chance to speak their own mind anything in their life when no one else would listen to them. Geek Culture has started a worldwide trend that has created countless series that has loyal followers that shows how the previous stereotypes of geeks are fading.

Female Representation in Geek Culture

There are still some barriers that have to be broken for women in Geek Culture as females are still treated as prizes to be won, objectified, sexualized, captured, and/or subservient to the audiences point of view. Women often occupied peripheral roles to the male protagonist of the film, as secondary-wives, lovers, daughters, victims-but rarely fully-fledged, complex characters in their own right. In addition, feminists working in this field claim that these images both reflected and constructed womens subordination in society (Toffoletti, 2007, p. 51). An example of this would be the genre of anime. Anime is produced by Japanese companies which features hand-drawn or computer animation often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastic themes. This genre depicts women in a negative fashion as most Anime

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depicts their female characters as being some of the most intelligent, strongest, and interesting characters but then they are turned into sexual objects, who then act very stupidly in certain events and provide what avid watchers call fan-service which places women in scantily clad clothing or shots of their underwear. More examples of negative images in Geek Culture would be Booth Babes. These are beautiful women that are hired at venues and conventions in order to attract males to sell products and most often, do not know anything about the products they are selling. Because of these hired models, female cosplayers are often targets for ridicule. Cosplayers are people who wear costumes and accessories based on their favourite character from Geek Culture. Some people think that female cosplayers are just using their bodies for attention, when in fact they are displaying their affection for their series in Geek Culture. In an interview, a female cosplayer said how much joy cosplaying means to her: Every time we go to a con in London, we pretty much travel in cosplay from my front door to the convention and back again. We get a lot of looks. The lovely woman who works at my train station gets much delight seeing us every single time in something new. Other people recognise the characters, and sometimes children come up and give me hugs (Dunlop & Lumby, 2010, p. 9). There are still some people that do not accept women into Geek Culture because of elitism. As previously mentioned, elitism in Geek Culture has people excluding others because they have not met specific conditions or that they like a particular series that no one else likes. Females have received the most negative responses when appreciating anything in Geek Culture. The many reasons why women are not thought of as being geeks is because females are thought to be real geeks and they are only using the popularity of Geek Culture to cash in on the popularity modelling opportunities that comes with it. This is not the case as it was for the Booth Babe phenomenon as many female creators in Geek Culture are successful. An example of a series in Geek Culture that is marketed towards females and has received heavy criticism is the Twilight novels. The Twilight series (first a four part novel, then a movie franchise) is about a teenage girl that falls in love with a vampire and must deal with the consequences of their love. The series

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has changed the history of how vampires and werewolves were written previously. A way of seeing the reaction to Twilight is how males are trying to take back Geek Culture from females. Perhaps this is why Twilight phenomenon activates such intense passions among the ComicCon crowd. Back in 2008, when the Con was invaded by thousands of young, female Twilight fanatics, some guys caused a ruckus by walking the floor with signs and T-shirts reading, Twilight Is Ruining Comic-Con! (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 78). The population of females whether they are at a young age or an old age have shown a great deal of support for their favourite series. There is no reason anyone should make fun of anyone else for their interests. Male geeks should understand what it is like for people to be ridiculed for their interests and should be understanding and sympathetic to new followers and their interests as they have also been ridiculed for being geeks. The incident with Twilight can be compared to a lot of other instances of people excluding other people for their particular interests in Geek Culture as elitism has caused a sense of alienation from each other that has made people feel that they are better than others, so they get to judge other people and if they do not like that persons preferences, they are reject people from joining forums and clubs. Elitism represents a negative aspect of Geek Culture as it has turned people away from making new relationships with others like them as they have encountered the few prestigious people that lowers their self-esteem as it is elitism, which has given this Geek Culture a bad repetition. With all of the negatively surrounding females in Geek Culture, female creators have taken it upon themselves to change the way how females were viewed and treated in Geek Culture. From Donna Haraways observations in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, she notes how females have been exploited because they have allowed themselves to be used as tools and the ways women can change this perspective of themselves. Haraways explanation states how:
Communications technologies and biotechnologies are the crucial tools recrafting our bodies. These tools embody and enforce new social relations for women world-wide. Technologies and scientific discourses can be partially understood as formalizations, i.e., as frozen moments, of the fluid social interactions constituting them, but they should also be viewed as instruments for enforcing meanings. The boundary is permeable between tool and myth, instrument and concept, historical systems of social relations and historical anatomies of possible bodies, including objects of knowledge. Indeed, myth and tool mutually constitute each other (Haraway, 1991, p. 164).

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Both female creators and fans of Geek Culture have acknowledged that females have been portrayed negatively in many different stories within Geek Culture that has degraded women in the past like Anime has done in the past. Female creators have made the effort to change this negative image of women to protect the rights of women and allow them to be able to participant in Geek Culture without being discriminated or thought of as sexual objects. It was not until the Technological Age where women could finally voice their opinion. The rise of the Internet poured gasoline on the fire, creating spaces for feminerds to come out of the woodwork and share their passions. Many of todays best online comic and fantasy-genre news sites and discussion groups were started by, and remain powered by women. Today, there are increasing numbers of proud girl geeks of all ages (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 77). Using the large amounts of technology at their disposal, more women started standing up for their rights and are great role models for everyone in Geek Culture. For example, some displays of strong female characters in Geek Culture are Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Zoe Washburne of Firefly as they do not play the traditional roles of women as they are hero of the story and the voice of reason. Some examples of real life female geeks that are creators and geek enthusiasts are Felicia Day (creator of the web series The Guild), and JK Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books). They have proven that you can be a woman and turn your hobby into a career as these leading ladies have made various contributions to Geek Culture and have left an impression on others which inspires others to do the same and be held back because of their gender.

Male Representation in Geek Culture

For males, Geek Culture can be defined as their identity that counters the jock identity. Growing up, male geeks have believed that they are changing the traditional definition of masculinity by reclaiming and self-identifying themselves with the term geek. From following

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traditional high school social hierarchies, jocks are the high-status, alpha males and male geeks are the low-status, beta males as they were bullied and pranks were pulled on them. Like females, males also have to deal with the pressure of looking a certain way because of the general stereotypes of males in Geek Culture as well as the heroes that are featured in all genres of Geek Culture. An example of this would be how action figures are marketed towards young boys. Playthings for boys now present body images just as unattainable as those of Barbie dolls have always been, and boys are responding the way girls have for years: with increasingly self-destructive efforts to look like G.I. Joe (Anderegg, 2007, p. 55). As outlined in the stereotypes of geeks, male geeks were seen as being unattractive and having low self-esteem. What males saw in Geek Culture was hope. By going to comic book stores and conventions to talk about their favourite characters, male geeks were able to made friends with others like them that have bullied and were treated with no respect. With the rise of the Internet, it not only became easier for male geeks to talk to each other as they could safely create their own stories and games based off Geek Culture without being bullied. The stories from Geek Culture made males believe that they can overcome the difficulties of life and be beloved and successful as their heroes in Geek Culture such as Stan Lee (creator of many Marvel comic books). This proves how males do not have to have oversized muscles to get what they want in life, all they really need is to be themselves.

Representation of Geeks in the Media

The power of the media is a very strong influence on how people act and look in society. There are many different interpretations of geeks in the media. The stereotypes of geeks are still present in the media. In many examples of Geek Culture in the media, the story follows how:
The geeks generally become successful, experience fantastical adventures, and gain the romantic interest of an attractive female character. This can be seen as a form of meta-escapism, in which geek audiences identify with a character who is subjected to a transformative narrative in which the

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character himselfand it is almost exclusively a male provenanceis allowed to escape from the mundane pressures of everyday life (Yung, 2010, p. 22 -23).

The protagonists of the story are very intelligent, are not athletic, and have the same interests in Geek Culture as their audience does. Males are shown as being very knowledgeable in many areas of science, while the females being portrayed are beautiful but not intelligent. Shows that feature female geeks, display the females they are smart and beautiful, however; they have very low self-esteem and do not know how to handle social situations. The television shows The Big Bang Theory and The IT Crowd as well as the web series The Guild shows the traditional stereotypes of geeks such as geeks being socially awkward and unable to date people. However, the characters of these shows adapt to their lives while overcoming these stereotypes in order to fit in with the rest of society. Though nerds have broken through to achieve greater recognition and a modicum of respect in the mainstream culture, portrayals such as those on CBSs popular comedy The Big Bang Theory are funny because they are kind of true (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 129). While some people find it offensive that geeks are still stereotyped, it is very necessary to show how geeks have been represented in movies and television that reflect their past, present, and future. These shows are an accurate portrayal of how geeks can be successful in live. In a way, the characters from popular series within Geek Culture are celebrities and heroes. They serve as role models to their fans as they know what it is like to be teased and bullied by others for their interests. The evolution of the media in Geek Culture started with the rise of the Internet in 1991. It has allowed fans to celebrate, critique, and criticize their favourite series within Geek Culture has become a tradition as fans have a big influence in Geek Culture. If any of the history or lore in a series is disrupted or altered in a way that fans do not seem acceptable to the fans, they use various media outlets such YouTube channels and fan-faction internet blogs to create alternative universes that gives the perspective of fans rather than corporate companies. The fact that the environment that people are enacting is a fantasy allows considered leeway in the interpretation of a self (Fine, 1983, p. 228). Who better to represent geeks in the media than geeks themselves? Geeks are the only ones that can truly capture the success and struggles of people like themselves. With geeks being able to make and control their fantasy stories, they wont

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make the same mistakes of corporate companies exploiting and ruining their lifestyle for profit. Geeks will be able to tell their own story and share it with everyone across the world. The media has shown how the identity of geeks has transformed throughout history and how geeks interpret themselves as well as the different genres of Geek Culture.

Comic-Con

Geek Culture has gained a lot of recognition and has become a part of peoples lives and is mostly, no longer seen as an alternative to mainstream ideologies. Being able to communicate with other people that share the same interests as you is important to people as it makes them feel that someone understands and values your opinion. It is from the fans adoration that conventions celebrating Geek Culture were formed. Conventions are large meeting places that are between people who share a common goal or interest. Previously, the only meeting places for Geeks to discuss anything relating to Geek Culture was comic book shops, however; that changed when conventions celebrating Geek Culture were institutionalized by their fans. The most famous of these conventions is Comic-Con. Comic-Con is a large yearly comic book and Geek Culture convention that fans and celebrities attend. While most countries have their own Comic-Con, the most prestigious of these conventions that started the trend of having conventions relating to Geek Culture is the San Diego Comic-Con held annually since 1970 that takes place during the summer. There is a large number of things to do at Comic-Con which include: getting autographs and pictures from celebrities, attending panels about different series, Masquerade events, vendors selling merchandise and art from peoples favourite series, and playing in trading card and tabletop game tournaments as geeks connect with other people from across the world that share the same interests as they do. As conventions have gotten really popular, the crowds in the event space have caused little moving space for people to get to the different attractions.

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A really big influence to geeks are the celebrities and creators within Geek Culture as they have dedicated their life to their hobbies which has turned into their profession. It has become necessary for conventions to have at least a few high profile celebrities to attract more people to come to the event. People flock to see the celebrities and creators of their favourite series in Geek Culture as: People of all ages and backgrounds want to engage with comics, discuss their favourite characters, meet creators, and immerse themselves in the phantasmagoric landscapes of imagination that comics call into being (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 18). The reason why celebrities in Geek Culture are admired is because they not only bring joy to their viewers, but they are also geeks themselves that know what their fans want and have experienced ridicule in their lives as well. They have inspired their fans to never change what they love about Geek Culture and have even inspired their fans to go into careers based off their interests of Geek Culture (ex. YouTube Channels). Without the support of the fans, Comic-Con would not exist. The sentimentality and nostalgia that inspired the early fans are woven into the DNA of the institutions they created, including Comic-Con (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 126). Comic-Con has inspired new generations of fans every year with new stories and games being created. People attend Comic-Con to have fun playing games, cosplay, learning about how to develop movies and games, make new friends, lessons in different languages of Geek Culture (ex. Klingon from Star Trek), and buy different items relating to their favourite series in Geek Culture. Comic-Con is just an example of how far Geek Culture has come in terms of being accepted into society as it has attracted many people to these conventions.

Business in Geek Culture

Geek Culture has created a business within itself. As mentioned previously in the theoretical perspectives, commodity fetishism is seen in Geek Culture more than just the selling

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of comic books, movies, television shows, trading cards, board games, and video games. Many items that come from the mediums of different series within Geek Culture have been made. In order to prove their love and knowledge of their favourite series in Geek Culture, people collect and own memorabilia from different series to not only support their favourite series, but as well as to meet others who share the same passion for that particular series. Considered to be one of the first business stores revolving around Geek Culture, comic book stores were the first place geeks gathered together to discuss Geek Culture and buy comics, play Tabletop games, and talk to other geeks. This business model has gone through economic hardships throughout the years as many stores have been forced to close their doors. In order to be a successful comic book store, the store must become more than just a store, it must be a gathering place that welcomes anyone that enters. Stores are the social center of the hobby, and the best ones understand that they are not just selling comics; they are selling the experience of buying comics. Many comics stores host gaming tournaments, film, and anime screenings, art shows, creator appearances, art workshops, and other events designed to bring fans together (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 147). Unfriendly stores that are only interested in money dont succeed as it does not give geeks a reason to come back to the store. A comic book store has to be more than just be friendly, it has to cater to all different types of geeks, both newcomers and experienced. Just selling comics in the store alone is not enough to keep the store from going bankrupt, the store must have a friendly environment that encourages and engages geeks to participate in many events that are held at the comic book store. Comic book stores despite the advancement of technology, have remained one of the most common businesses in Geek Culture that provides more than just a service for its customers, it has given them a place of sanctuary where they can talk about any aspect of Geek Culture with other geek enthusiasts. A major distinct change in the model of business in Geek Culture has been how independent contractors have started their own businesses by creating the replicas of props and items used in many famous Geek Culture series as well as art prints, clothing, and buttons bearing many logos and phrases from these series. An example of this would be how people

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design costumes for Cosplayers as a living. In the book Cosplay Fever Red, before showing countless pictures of people in full costumes of their favourite characters in Geek Culture, the authors interview successful Cosplay designers about the reasons why they turned their hobby of Cosplaying to a business and how successful they have become. In one of the authors interviews, a Cosplay designer goes into detail about their business model. I do commissions now, which Im doing more as a business, and so the most important thing is to use high quality materials (Dunlop & Lumby, 2010, p. 8). Geek Culture has inspired people to have a career that they love as it gives them a chance to do something out of the ordinary. The only thing that hurts independent contractors are that they have very little marketing resources at their disposal. That is why they depend on other sources of media on the Internet to advertise their talents which has worked as websites such as Esty, Inc. that advertises many things relating to Geek Culture. Comic-Con has also become commercialized over the years and become Hollywoodized. Ticket prices have increased over the years due to the demand to attend high profile events such as San Diego Comic-Con. While Comic-Con generates money for the local economy of the location where it is held, inside the event: Big booths sponsored by publishers, movie studios, video-game companies, and networks are elaborate multidecked affairs featuring full-sized props from movies (the Batmobile, a life-sized X-Wing Fighter) (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 46). Companies put in a lot of money to advertise their brand items/supplies. While this strategy works for companies, independent artists and developers suffer as a result of it. Independent businesses pay for all of the expanses including renting the booth space for the duration of the event and travel expanses and very few have been successful. Some independent companies have been successful creating their own comic books and video games (or Indie games as they have come to be known as). Indie games are the result of peoples hopes and dreams of creating their own successful story in Geek Culture. Independent developers have found it possible to work (and even make a living) outside the standard publishing model. Indeed, the standard model has been visibly deflated by inventions as Apples App Store and social networks like Facebook, which have proved more than willing to serve as

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game distribution (Egenfeldt-Nelson et al., 2013, p. 15). Due the dishonesty and monetization of video games in recent years by executive companies, the reason why independent developers have not joined large companies is because they do not just want to create games, they want an environment that is safe for them to express their true vision for their projects without companies ruining and compromising their creation and integrity with the companies input and care to make money rather than the creative purpose of the project. The video game Minecraft is an example of how successful independent developers can be, as the creator of the game has made over more than a million dollars. From this, we see how companies have made millions of dollars from Geek Culture. The most popular genre of Geek Culture are superheroes as they are all over the media especially movies where it makes the most money. Only in the late 1990s did high budget movies based on comic books start to come out. An example of this would be the Spider-Man and The Dark Knight movies that have become franchises because of the popularity and success of the different series.
Studios have stuck with the comics formula, despite the hit -or-miss quality of the marketing payoff and the spotty track record of comics properties in both critical and commercial terms, because when movies of this kind hit, they hit big. And they spin off sequels and create the coveted franchise, a moneymaking machine that brings in bigger audiences with reduced marketing costs each time out (Salkowitz, 2012, p. 107).

These movies may not be the best movies in theatres but they are most often the movies that make the most money in the box office as it shows how dominant Geek Culture is in society. Many companies and people have tried using previous ideas from Geek Culture to create their own fantasy worlds with stories and characters that they hope will become franchises whether it be movies, television, video games or any other medium of Geek Culture. What all of this shows is how anything in Geek Culture can be turned into an object that be sold to the consumers to appease them.

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Analysis of Survey Questions

In the survey I conducted, there was a total of ten participants consisting of two females and eight males. Each participant has a unique outlook and participates in Geek Culture in very different ways. The responses that I gathered were from an internet blog called Nerd Forum. On the forum, there is mutual respect between everyone on the forum no matter what their gender, sexuality, race, or interest is. Anyone can post topics relating to different aspects of Geek Culture such what their favourite series or genre is and discuss events occurring within the Geek community. When conducting the survey, I modified the questionnaire to refer to Geek Culture as Nerd Culture as well to see what participants thought whether or not geeks and nerds are the same. Also, I purposely left out a question revolving around how much time participants spend on the various activities they partake within Geek Culture as the people that have responded to the survey put in a great deal of time for their hobbies. The purpose of this survey is to get the perspective of people who identified themselves as geeks or nerds and how they interact with each other. Also, I wanted the opinions of the geek/nerd community to cross-reference their answers with the topics that I have discussed previously in the Literature Review as I wanted to get a better representation from actual people who have an understanding of what occurs in Geek Culture. The first question of the survey asked what the participants thought about they about the term geek/nerd. While some people thought that the two terms were the same thing, others replied how there is a significant difference between geek and nerd. People who said that the two terms are the same said that geeks and nerds are very passionate about one or more series or genres of Geek Culture. The participants who said geek and nerd were different said how geeks were people who deeply cared and put a large amount of time into their hobbies, while nerds are similar to geeks but are more interested in mathematics and science which displays how interchangeable these terms are according to the participants.

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In the absence of comic book stores or conventions, all of the participants use Internet blogs/social media websites such as Nerd Forum, to talk about particular issues or series of Geek Culture. Each participant partakes in Geek Culture in very different ways other than watching and reading the different series and genres Geek Culture has to offer. Some of these include: writing on internet blogs, attending card tournaments/small conventions, playing video games, organizing Geek Culture meetings for clubs, and building small-scale robots. Geek Culture has also influenced some participants to study engineering, film, or computer science. Participants are interested in the story and history each different series has to offer which is why Geek Culture has impacted each participants behaviour, social life, and personality in some way. One response said that: Video games and anime have defined me since the beginning, pretty much. I always wanted to be The Hero, and those mediums allowed me to do so or to believe in such things. I emulated one character or another for years at a time in my life for a very long time, indeed before actually having the courage to be myself (Personal interview, March 17, 2014). While some participants have felt that their personality has been suited to the different aspects of Geek Culture, participants have also found that Geek Culture has given them comfort from the harsh reality of life as it accepts people for who they are, made friends from interactions with other people like them, they make references to jokes and knowledge from different series, and lets participants act as different characters. What this shows is how Geek Culture has become a very important part of peoples lives. When participants were asked to what they thought about conventions such as ComicCon, responses were that conventions are an amazing and interesting spectacle, however; some participants have also agreed that Comic-Con has become commercialized as it has lost some of its meaning and values as it is become to be treated as Hollywood. Many of the participants have not attended any kind of convention before because of the rising prices for tickets of conventions, they do not have the time and travel accommodations. One of the participants that did attend a convention like Comic-Con said how: Ticket costs and travel are too expensive for me to actually go. I did go to Pax Prime last year and it was fun but all the running around in large groups gets irksome by the end (Personal interview, March 16th, 2014).

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From this question, leads to another question of how much money participants spend on items relating to Geek Culture per month. The responses of the ten participants ranged from $0$100. Some participants said how it is the price of the video games that they play that costs more than $60. Other participants rarely spend money on collectibles or memorabilia and only buy the newest edition of the series in Geek Culture that they are following. This shows how people are not like the medias portrayal and interpretation of geeks such as how the television show The Big Bang Theory portrays them as. People do not have frivolous amounts of money to spend on expansive memorabilia. Instead, they show their appreciation for Geek Culture in other ways such as blogging which is easier for them and less expensive. When asked about the representation of females in Geek Culture, participants in the survey commented on how women have been portrayed negatively. However, responses also commented on how women are becoming more accepted in Geek Culture as well as not being portrayed negatively by creators of various series within Geek Culture. One response said how: The portrayal of women in many parts of the subculture bothers me. Too many of these characters seem to be top heavy bimbos designed for the sake of fan service. There are some excellent exceptions, though. The Alien Quadrilogy is an excellent example. I find female protagonists in film to be an area worth exploring (Personal interview, March 29, 2014). The negative images of gender do not only apply to women. When discussing the different perspectives of males within Geek Culture, two different views of males came from the responses which either depicted males as having oversized muscles or males being the stereotypical smart and weak character. Participants have commented that both genders have been represented into impossible standards of what society desires in their life and think is true beauty. Participants then describe certain creators or series of Geek Culture that portray both women and men as equals and heroes which has broken the barriers of the stereotypes of both genders. On the subject of celebrities within Geek Culture, participants all admire different talents of celebrities ranging from talented actors/actresses, creators, artists, cosplayers, and voice actors/actresses. Not only do these celebrities entertain and educate their viewers, the reason

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participants admire celebrities in Geek Culture, at one point were just like the respondents of this survey. They loved certain aspects of Geek Culture (ex. cosplaying, playing video games, reading comic books, etc.) and they have turned their passions into a full-time profession which has created new series within Geek Culture that inspires new generations of geeks to believe that can do the same things that celebrities have done such as starting off small and creating a YouTube channel that expresses their own opinions and visions of Geek Culture. It is also important to point out how participants also agreed that not all celebrities of Geek Culture do not deserve the amount of praise they get. Some celebrities have used the attention they have received just to make money and have become sellouts that have advocated for the elitism that is found within Geek Culture that has caused many problems for new followers that are trying to join Geek Culture. Celebrities of Geek Culture function as role models to their audiences and their actions impact how the geek community is seen. In regards to the negative aspects of Geek Culture, participants responded that not only are the misrepresentations of genders a negative aspect of Geek Culture, but there are also bullies/elitism, stereotypes, and flame wars (people who argue a particular series, technology, or genre is better than all the others). One participant said how that: I find there's an annoying sense of elitism that comes from it, like accusing others of not really being a nerd for one reason or another. Really, most everyone has that one thing (or more) they're really passionate about and denying that they have that passion just because they don't fit the part in your mind is wrong (Personal interview, March 16, 2014). Participants feel that these misinterpretations of Geek Culture have caused a strain upon Geek Culture which alienates people from each other as they fight with each other and write hurtful comments towards each other. Participates feel that these are the reasons why some of Geek Culture is not accepting of new followers. It is because of peoples different tastes is why people dont accept each others own interests. However, despite all of these negative backlashes, participants feel that there is still a moderate ratio of people that do accept others with welcoming arms, as they also know how cruel other people can be to each other and understand how hard it is to make friends within Geek Culture. The responses of each participant

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demonstrates how far Geek Culture has come and how it has united many different people across the world.

Conclusion

Throughout this Honours Research Essay, I have looked at the different aspects of what makes Geek Culture. It is has been very hard to define what Geek Culture is as there are many ways to interpret it. There is always going to be new series or genres that redefines Geek Culture and influences new people to join. Due to time constraints, I could not explore others aspects involved in Geek Culture such as how sexuality and race are seen and influenced by Geek Culture, however, the information I found out regarding Geek Culture was overwhelming and extensive. The number of different theories that could be applied to Geek Culture was astounding. I thought it would be the most difficult part of this HRP, but it turned out to be the section that was the easiest to research as I looked for patterns in Geek Culture that could be linked to theories such as Pierre Bourdieu and Clifford Geertz that looks at how geeks participate in Geek Culture and how it becomes a part of their identity. I was really surprised at all of the different sources that contributed to my research from online periodicals to books on the subject of Geek Culture, even though I had to navigate through some difficult online searches to find particular sources for each topic. In a way, Geek Culture becoming commercialized is both good and bad. It is good because this means that more people will be aware of Geek Culture and have easier access to all the different series and genres it has to offer. The only negative part of Geek Culture being commercialized is that the true message of Geek Culture is lost in translation because of Geek Culture being treated as if it was a product placement advertisement. The true message Geek Culture has to offer is that it is okay to be different, there are people just like them that will

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accept them for who they are. Through the new technological advancements of society, Geek Culture has allowed people to reinvent themselves in ways they could not have done before as people have forged new relationships with each other as the growing community of people talking about Geek Culture on internet blogs and YouTube has caused new series of Geek Culture to be created and entertain people. The media has become very powerful in Geek Culture as it is a representation of the hardships geeks have gone through and how far geeks have come to being accepted in society. The large turnouts at Geek conventions such as Comic-Con stands as one of the most well-known structures that celebrates Geek Culture. Comic-Con makes people happy to attend and see their favourite celebrities, participate in the many events held at the convention, buy memorabilia, and meet other people who share the same enthusiasm for Geek Culture as they do. It is because of the continued dedication and loyalty of geeks that has made Comic-Con what it is today and has increased the amount of people who attend it every year, no matter where it is held. From my own personal experience as well as the research participants that attended these conventions, I can say how when walking around and seeing the numerous vendors and people in cosplay, there is a sense of nostalgia that you feel as Comic-Con reminds you that this is a place where you belong and that there are people here that accepts you for whatever interests you may have, no matter what your gender, race, or sexuality is. The only negative aspect of Geek Culture that I found was the elitism that makes some people think that they are better than everyone one. For all the torment geeks have gone through in the past such as being stuffed in lockers or being told that being a geek is not socially accepted, some geeks have become bullies as they are not letting other people join social structures of Geek Culture to celebrate their favourite series and characters. Not being accepted by modern social convention norms is something geeks should understand. Geek Culture has brought strangers together and has created many new friendships based on a mutual interest of theirs. When comparing the answers of research participants to the Literature Review, I found

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that the personal experience of the participants and how it shaped their life was more informative than the literature review was more of a history of how Geek Culture has evolved to being socially accepted in most places. The reason why I understood the participants of the questionnaire more than the scholar sources I researched is because, I have felt what the participants have gone through at some point in time as Geek Culture has become a part of your identity. The format of using an online questionnaire I felt was better for conducting my research as it was easier for people to access the internet and post questions on an Internet Forum where they regularly visit and they feel more comfortable online rather than being asked questions in person. It also was easier to send the questionnaire to people on the same day and obtain results the following day than schedule a time to meet people that could potentially inconvenience either myself or the participants. The process of creating and conducting online questionnaires was not that difficult for me as I have posted many things on Internet Forums before. However, I did not know how the regular users of NerdForum would respond to my request of participating in my survey. Thankfully, the right number of people I wanted responded to my request. I sent them my questionnaire and gave them all the time they needed to complete it at their own leisure. All participants gave answers that were very meaningful and informative as they enjoy many different aspects of Geek Culture. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the responses as all participants supported the things they love about Geek Culture and that geek identity is a persons true self that lies inside a person. My main goal of this Honors Research Project was to represent what Geek Culture is, how it has changed and become very popular in mainstream society. One thing that can be taken from Geek Culture is how it is all about having fun and meeting new people. Geek Culture is more than just a hobby or interest, it is a persons life. Certain series or genres of Geek Culture (ex. Video games and superheroes) have been blamed for causing people to commit violent acts and objectifying women. People are always trying to find the bad in everything, when they should look at the positives that these things have to offer society. Geek Culture is no exception to this. Instead of forming elitist clubs, these geeks should stop acting like they are better than

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others and stand together with to protect what is sacred to them. The best way to do this is to set up charities (ex. The Childs Play Charity Organization) to teach outsiders how Geek Culture does not make people become violent or antisocial, it brings people together for multiple reasons and causes. I feel like my personality was always suited to nerd culture. I think it is just a community that doesn't judge you as long as you don't publicly try to change it. Nerd culture is a breeding ground of spontaneous order. Fans appreciating the things they love with other fans and turning that into a sense of community (Personal interview, March 15, 2014). This response from a participant shows what it means to be a geek. The geek community has overcome many negative stereotypes and continues to overcome many other obstacles that hinder the growth of Geek Culture. Geek Culture has always been a subculture. With this subculture becoming more popular and mainstream thanks to the media and institutions such as Comic-Con, more people will become fans of Geek Culture. While some geeks may think that newcomers may ruin Geek Culture, they are actually helping to inspire new generations of fans and ensure the survival of future series and genres of Geek Culture. This socio-anthropological study has examined what Geek Culture and Geek Identity is. A persons identity in terms of Geek Culture is one that they have created from their favorite series and genres. It has shown in great detail how geeks have been ridiculed and how become accepted by most people. Geek Culture still has some problems to fix as women are still objectified, elitism discourages people from joining clubs and Internet forums; and people still are blaming Geek Culture for influencing children to become violen.t As time goes by and new series and characters are created, people will adapt more noble qualities of these characters to themselves. Geeks are far more than they appear, as they are very intellectual and social individuals that care about Geek Culture and the numerous friends that they have made from their experiences and will protect Geek Culture by saying how it has inspired them and many others to do the right thing like their favourite superheroes would do.

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