3 ms·

I can't help but feel that a large portion of the current "geek culture" is a collection of appropriations from a different group, selected for "authenticity",

by Torgo 13y ago

I can't help but feel that a large portion of the current "geek culture" is a collection of appropriations from a different group, selected for "authenticity", similar to criticisms of the wider hipster culture. I wore thick-rim glasses because 1. I didn't/couldn't care about fashion 2. my parents didn't have the money for nicer frames and 3. I actually could not see without glasses. So yeah, when I see thick rim glasses being worn _because_ they "look geeky," or worse, without even any lenses because the person has perfect vision, it annoys me a little bit. Because I got treated like dog shit by the exact same class of person who now dresses in a parody of my life as a frivolous fashion decision.

md224 13y ago
I grew up wearing "dorky" glasses, switched to vertically narrower frames, and now wear a pair of Warby Parker retro-ish glasses (http://bit.ly/1btLNTC http://bit.ly/1btLNTC for reference). So as someone who's been on both sides, I find your response pretty interesting. I can understand your annoyance and you're certainly entitled to it. I suppose the first thing I did when I read your post is ask myself "Well, why do I wear these glasses?" The simple answer is that my girlfriend thought I should get new glasses, so we picked out a bunch from Warby Parker to try on and she liked these the best. But even though she picked them out, I was complicit in the choice; if she had picked out some sort of bizarrely-shaped polka-dotted frame, I'm pretty sure I would've vetoed that. So there was some part of me that said "hey, I kinda like how I look in these." Now, does this mean I'm appropriating a look that was formerly a magnet for bullies? Maybe. But the key thing to remember when considering the relationship between ridicule and compliments is that both are equally arbitrary. There was no reason for people to mock you or me for our choice of glasses back then, just like there's no intrinsic reason that these same glasses should appear attractive 10 years later. That's just how fashion/culture works. I think if someone personally harassed someone else for wearing "dorky" glasses, and then later decided to wear that same style of glasses to appear fashionable while continuing to deride people that don't share their taste in clothing, then yeah, that would seem pretty hypocritical.
sequoia 13y ago
> Because I got treated like dog shit by the exact same class of person who now dresses in a parody of my life What suggests to you that these are the same people? Like, if I wore lensless glasses for kicks, would that put me into the "high school bully" class? You're doing what TFA complains about: making assumptions about people & speaking ill of them because of how they dress. Why make assumptions? Why get mad because some guy wears a V-neck?
- Torgo 13y ago
  Because it's not arbitrary. I didn't get punched in the guts when I was a kid because I was wearing tight pants driving a pennyfarthing. I was punched in the guts because I was a "nerd" which meant "not cool." So when someone copies the cartoon version of me to be "cool" I'm entitled to be annoyed. I was who I was, I wasn't trying to fit an "image." Unlike hipsters, which are a real thing, I didn't get the privilege of being made fun of for trying so desperately hard to look a certain way; I was made fun of for being who I really was. It's "cool" to be a nerd now, only in the sense that you can generally like whatever you want and be accepted for it. And I think that's great. Wish it was like that when I was a kid. Hipsters tried to make being a "nerd" "cool" in their usual exclusionary fashion, by ironically appropriating what they thought was ugly and awkward. Unsurprisingly us ugly, awkward folks didn't like that. EDIT: I have nothing against the guy in the article, to make that clear.
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    Why do you think any given hipster wasn't also punched in the gut for being a nerd? Who are you to say that your nerd style sense is somehow more "real" than their adopted image now? For all you know they were a nerd then, continue to be a nerd now, and have merely refined how they carry themselves. Maybe hipsters look like cool kids trying to make "nerd" cool because they are actually nerds who are cool. Who the hell knows? Not you. You are just judging them for their style and how well they can pull it off. This tells you nothing of who they actually are.
  - flumbaps 13y ago
    I don't know, like the article says, it's easy to confuse deep sincerity for irony. Some of hipster/geek chic is about beauty shining through unflattering clothes and awkwardness. Some of it is genuine appreciation for unusual things. Both part of a movement towards being more accepting of differences.
smsm42 13y ago
So you are hating some actual person because years ago some other person which has absolutely nothing to do with the first person except for you classifying the as "same class of person" did something bad to you? Are you realizing that in this scenario you are the problem and if only you stopped classifying people by "classes" and started treating them as individuals there would be no reason for annoyance at all?

by Torgo 13y ago

md224 13y ago

I grew up wearing "dorky" glasses, switched to vertically narrower frames, and now wear a pair of Warby Parker retro-ish glasses (http://bit.ly/1btLNTC http://bit.ly/1btLNTC for reference). So as someone who's been on both sides, I find your response pretty interesting. I can understand your annoyance and you're certainly entitled to it. I suppose the first thing I did when I read your post is ask myself "Well, why do I wear these glasses?" The simple answer is that my girlfriend thought I should get new glasses, so we picked out a bunch from Warby Parker to try on and she liked these the best. But even though she picked them out, I was complicit in the choice; if she had picked out some sort of bizarrely-shaped polka-dotted frame, I'm pretty sure I would've vetoed that. So there was some part of me that said "hey, I kinda like how I look in these." Now, does this mean I'm appropriating a look that was formerly a magnet for bullies? Maybe. But the key thing to remember when considering the relationship between ridicule and compliments is that both are equally arbitrary. There was no reason for people to mock you or me for our choice of glasses back then, just like there's no intrinsic reason that these same glasses should appear attractive 10 years later. That's just how fashion/culture works. I think if someone personally harassed someone else for wearing "dorky" glasses, and then later decided to wear that same style of glasses to appear fashionable while continuing to deride people that don't share their taste in clothing, then yeah, that would seem pretty hypocritical.

sequoia 13y ago

> Because I got treated like dog shit by the exact same class of person who now dresses in a parody of my life What suggests to you that these are the same people? Like, if I wore lensless glasses for kicks, would that put me into the "high school bully" class? You're doing what TFA complains about: making assumptions about people & speaking ill of them because of how they dress. Why make assumptions? Why get mad because some guy wears a V-neck?

Torgo 13y ago
Because it's not arbitrary. I didn't get punched in the guts when I was a kid because I was wearing tight pants driving a pennyfarthing. I was punched in the guts because I was a "nerd" which meant "not cool." So when someone copies the cartoon version of me to be "cool" I'm entitled to be annoyed. I was who I was, I wasn't trying to fit an "image." Unlike hipsters, which are a real thing, I didn't get the privilege of being made fun of for trying so desperately hard to look a certain way; I was made fun of for being who I really was. It's "cool" to be a nerd now, only in the sense that you can generally like whatever you want and be accepted for it. And I think that's great. Wish it was like that when I was a kid. Hipsters tried to make being a "nerd" "cool" in their usual exclusionary fashion, by ironically appropriating what they thought was ugly and awkward. Unsurprisingly us ugly, awkward folks didn't like that. EDIT: I have nothing against the guy in the article, to make that clear.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Why do you think any given hipster wasn't also punched in the gut for being a nerd? Who are you to say that your nerd style sense is somehow more "real" than their adopted image now? For all you know they were a nerd then, continue to be a nerd now, and have merely refined how they carry themselves. Maybe hipsters look like cool kids trying to make "nerd" cool because they are actually nerds who are cool. Who the hell knows? Not you. You are just judging them for their style and how well they can pull it off. This tells you nothing of who they actually are.
- flumbaps 13y ago
  I don't know, like the article says, it's easy to confuse deep sincerity for irony. Some of hipster/geek chic is about beauty shining through unflattering clothes and awkwardness. Some of it is genuine appreciation for unusual things. Both part of a movement towards being more accepting of differences.

smsm42 13y ago

So you are hating some actual person because years ago some other person which has absolutely nothing to do with the first person except for you classifying the as "same class of person" did something bad to you? Are you realizing that in this scenario you are the problem and if only you stopped classifying people by "classes" and started treating them as individuals there would be no reason for annoyance at all?