CANOE – Lifewise Sex & Romance – Lovewise: 7 reasons to date a geek
Noticed this title when I was browsing around the Canoe.ca web site (I have no idea why I go there – every time I do I find something that offends me), and I had to look at it.
Am I the only person in the world who sees why this is grotesquely offensive? I mean, would they post and article on “7 reasons to date a cripple”?, or “7 reasons to date a black guy”?, or “7 reasons to date a bimbo”?
Hardly.
(well, CANOE might)
Other terms used in this article:
- super-geek
- nerd
- dork
Also mentioned is that you may never need to call tech support again, and that “dating a geek is a safe bet because the nerd needs you more than you need the nerd”
When will people see that terminology such as “geek” and “nerd”, and the idea of dating someone because you can use them and control them, is offensive and not acceptable? And that these attitudes are a big part of the reason why many kids in our culture do NOT go into scientific and technical fields.
(note that I am consciously using offensive terms above to make the point).
FredSpace 
You missed a couple important things from the article:
– The first sentence of is “Geekiness is the new cool.” Your reaction seems to stem entirely from the presupposition that “geek” is an insult. In fact, it’s not–it’s a title that geeks proudly give themselves. It’s a personality type; a culture.
– The comment about “needing you more than you need them” begins with “Some egoists might argue”, indicating that it’s not the author’s personal opinion. I think the point of this paragraph is to comment on geeks’ loyalty.
I don’t see anything about “using” or “controlling”. Geeks don’t expect expensive gifts or fancy meals and don’t say anything about bad hair or ugly clothes. It’s not because they’re desperate and afraid of losing you. It’s because they have a different set of priorities and genuinely don’t care. And the reason it’s easy to find a single geek is not because they’re pathetic and afraid; it’s because introverts are, by definition, content with themselves and probably not actively seeking someone.
The article in fact didn’t mention any of these stereotypes; you apparently just attached it all to the word “geek” and assumed the author felt the same.
I’m a geek, and I was not offended by the article. I was somewhat annoyed that it considered it interchangeable with “dork” and “nerd”, but not so much as I was annoyed at the fact that you think the word “geek” belongs in the same category as the word “bimbo”.
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