Geek Masculinity

Reddit is a platform which anyone can create their own community. Creating an account allows people to subscribe to topics of interests and will narrow each individual interest and show on their page. With this, comes a term called geek masculinity. “Geek masculinity is both liminal and performative. Geek masculinity embraces facts of hypermasculinity by valorizing intellect over social and emotional intelligence. At the same time, geek masculinity rejects other hypermasculine traits, as “the geek” may show little interest in physical sports and may also demonstrate awkwardness regarding sexual/romantic relationships (Kendall, 2011).” Every time someone posts something on the internet, there will be a name label for whatever the topic is based of off. Geek masculinity is classified as white men, usually feeling/considered weird or odd. “Geek masculinity also embraces a kind of techno/cyber libertarian ethos, valuing the notion of a rational, autonomous individual and meritocratic idealism (Turner, 2006).”

Furthermore, spaces that are dedicated geek culture and STEM interests tend to view women as “objects of sexual desire or unwelcome interlopers or both--- making them doubly unwelcoming for women” (Varma, 2007). Through Herring and Stoerger’s work details ways in which online discourse works as a barrier to entry for women. Reagle states ways in which norms and values of different communities shape female participation and ways in which these spaces are contested. This includes “argumentation style often characteristic of geek culture, the openness of communities which often leads to them being dominated by trolls or other problematic members, and a “rhetoric of freedom and choice” which over emphasizes individual choice as the reason why women may not participate and ultimately devalues such conversations as infringing upon members’ freedom of speech. (Reagle, 2007).

References

Adrienne Massanari, “#Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures”