Why YOU Are a Nerd

You don't know how many time I've heard it before: Oh, no, I'm not a nerd.

Bull. Shit.

I'm sorry to tell you, but modern society, anyone exposed to media culture, is nerdy. We can't really help it, and I wish people would stop trying. You're a nerd. Your brother is a nerd. That homeless guy down the street? I bet he's a nerd, too.

What? How can that possibly be? Why, it's preposterous.

Again: bullshit.

Let's take a look at fashion. What are people saying is the next huge thing? Steampunk of course.

But, but, steampunk isn't nerdy! It's popular.

How many more times can I call BS on that kind of thing?

Steampunk is retrofuturistic sci-fi. Sci-fi, folks! It's origins are in nerddom, along with cyberpunk, Harry Potter, Twilight, all the Marvel movies. We are a nerd culture. The more quickly we accept this, the happier we'll all be, I think.

Let me break open the arcane world of SF/F conventions for you that haven't been, for you that scoff at the idea of setting foot in that place.

We have folk music, belly dancers, fire-breathers.

People walk around with snakes, women wearing corsets and scanty clothes, men wearing nothing but leather shorts.

Scotch-tasting tents, impeccable reproductions of costumes, smiling, laughing, drinking, handmade jewelry, drinking, midnight raves, dancing the Time Warp in the hallway, taking pictures with strangers because they, like you, admit that they're nerds.

Need more? How many of you watched all the Harry Potter movies, read all the books? Or The Hunger Games? Twilight? Lord of the Rings? The Chronicles of Narnia? Kung Fu Panda? Despicable Me? V for Vendetta? Batman? Superman? Deadpool? The X-Men? What the hell do you think is going on with all of those? They are NERDY! Not to mention Star Wars. One of the biggest cultural phenomena.

Just because something get popular doesn't mean it's no longer nerdy. I want you to say it loud and proud: I am nerd! Hear the mighty roll of my D20!

Voss