From the point of view of any group, or class, or sub-culture, or whatever perspective you happen to be involved in, a perspective that probably changes from hour to hour depending on what environment you’re in, there is a tendency to snub our noses at the other people. I’m a moderate metal head; I don’t understand hip-hop, and I especially don’t appreciate rap, but I do understand there’s a culture that does, and there are worldviews and experiences that are immersed in what this stands for, whatever that might be from perspective to perspective. Even so, my first reaction when hearing the obnoxious bass drive by, or see the fifty-five fifty flat brim ridiculousness walk by, is to frown, curse, stick-out my tongue, or generate some other form of dis-like for this other way of thinking & doing.
The same can be said against the jersey shore class, or the hipsters that I see springing up in the 18 – 25 year olds. This latter I noticed the most among the strippers that I happened to be around over the past 48 hours. Resembling the same clone, they all had the trendy black rimmed glasses, though to be fair, the lack of clothes might have left signs that this wasn’t what they were going for to remain a mystery… To my surprise, one of these hipster, barely legal girls, plopped themselves down next to us, and with many likes and oh my gods, proceeded to exclaim, “Your brother said you guys were total nerds.” I, naturally, turned around to yell up to the DJ booth, “The term is geek! GEEEK!” This girl was already explaining that her favorite comic book characters were Wolverine and Gambit, and my boyfriend was already rolling his eyes. Our comic book project, Fool’s Journey came up, and I was fishing out my phone to show pics and direct a new fan to the blog site where the first pages will be released. Already were the pre-conceptions that this girl could not possibly relate to our geekdom gone. Our geekiness had transcended the social barriers that would have otherwise kept us apart. Showing a picture of Toni Darling, as Thor, sealed our geek godhood; the girl shrieked, “I see that girl everywhere!” That she’s my sister, Stephanie Steele’s roommate, made us all the more cool osmotically (isn’t it great how that can work 
).
The next day, I found myself sitting in the most adorable tattoo shop, The Ink Spot, rap & hip-hop playing underneath the buzz of a tattoo machine, thinking about this geeky stripper. The Twisted Geek’s had run a show where they discussed some of their issues growing up as outcasts because of their geekiness, that made them the focus of ridicule and bullying. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on where you might be sitting, I was considered a jock in high school, though after practices I would be shut into my basement bedroom, clacking away at my keyboard, writing stories of vampires and supergirls. I never experienced this ridicule, so directly I can not relate, though I can understand a little just from the raised eyebrows and smirks I’ve seen from the non-gamers I’m surrounded by when my obsession for WOW, or Mass Effect, or the entire Elder Scrolls series brings my life to a halt. What had come up in this Twisted Geeks show, was the question about geeks becoming mainstream, that it was mainstream, with the help of Hot Topic, and especially with the ever-increasing popularity of comic book movies, etc. There was a torn consensus amongst these veteran geeks: on one hand, great that these things that once gotten them beat up, is now be considered worthy of mainstream society. On the other hand, these things were what banded them together, in some ways, defined them, and helped give them their identity. Before goth was in, before gamers were everywhere, they were these things. Yet, as they were looked down on, they too looked back down. My jock title in high school still follows me, 15 years later, and loses me credibility (the small amount I may have earned), at times when immersed in a conversation amongst veterans. Granted, this comes out in sarcastic joking and friendly fired verbal shots, but the fact that it comes up suggests an underlying truth to these lines that are difficult to let go of, even if they may not be necessary. What happens when these lines are too blurry to make out? There might not be anyone to hate!!
Not sure if I quite agree with the hierarchy, but fun none-the-less –>>
Geek was described by one as being anyone who is ridiculously passionate about something. Sitting in the tattoo shop, it occurred to me that this one artist we’re here to see is a geek, even if he’s never picked up a comic, or heard of Batman, or played a video game. I always considered myself a nerd over geek, because of the mediums that I most immerse myself in. I’m not that big of a comic book fan; I love novels. I will choose PC platform over gaming consoles every time, if given the chance. (One of my favorite games of all time is Vampire: The Masquerade, Bloodlines, which I think was available only on PC). Yet, in these mediums, I geek out frequently. During these geek-outs, I have fans in strippers, hip-hop tattoo artists, and normal squares. Could Geekdom, once simply another sub-group of outcasts, be bringing everyone together?
Written by Cynthi Marie
Check out her blog site! 
My first, and greatest love was always books, which turned into writing early on. Then came movies. Games didn’t enter my life until PS2 came out. I tend to stay away from games as they suck my world into oblivion. I stop sleeping. I stop paying attention to everything else when I get into them, though I break this for Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Gears, and FF. Recently entering the amateur indie film scene, Stealing Shade Productions (stealingshade.com) was born. I’m also working on a comic book (stealingshade.indieaisle.com) and 2 novels. There are bets on whether these will get finished Find me on Facebook @facebook.com/StealingShadeProductions or check out my alter ego at shutthehealthup.wordpress.com.
