The Measure of a Man Is Not His Cheekbones

Recently, I mused on facebook why the "Geek" section of Pinterest hadn't already been changed to the Gallery of Tom Hiddleston, David Tennant and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Honestly.  Cheekbones, moody stares, dramatic coats and fantastic hair galore.  So little posted about Stargate, or X-Files, or Flash Gordon or  Star Trek: The Next Generation (other than those awesome Picard memes).

I don't know what happened, exactly, but somewhere along the line, society has confused fangirls and geek-girls.  Which is sort of embarrassing for me.  And this is a problem.

Allow me to explain. 

It's like the difference between a football fan and, say a Troy Polamalu fan.  You can like Troy without being a fan of the Steelers.  You can like Troy without being a fan of football at all, really.  You can just admire him, think he's attractive, or nice, or a great player, or whatever other reason that makes you like him.

But a football fan likes football, no matter who's which teams are playing, who is traded, or who's out for the season.  Football, to them, is football.  It's bigger than the sum of its players.

So it is with geek girls.  We like science fiction and/or fantasy because they're cool.  Personally, I liked the Avengers movie because the special effects were great, the exploration of the characters' relationships was satisfying, it was funny and exciting, the acting was super, the actors obviously cared about - even loved - their roles, and the fandom that has risen up around it is epic.  I love seeing the interviews and how the cast interacted off-screen.  I enjoy the BBC's Sherlock series because I am fascinated at the way they are reworking classic literature in a way that is not only palatable but riveting to a modern audience.  I am transfixed by the technology used.  I am loving the development of the characters.  The acting is beyond brilliant.  I am incredibly excited to see all of these actors take on new roles (The Hobbit, anyone?!)

Yes.  The actors playing the heroes - and villains - are obscenely good-looking human beings.  (I admit, though, I prefer short-ish blue-eyed bald guys - one in particular.  Call me old-fashioned.)  Giving them superpowers (or near superpowers) makes them even more attractive.  But this is the thing, people.  Being admirers of Loki, or Hawkeye, or Sherlock, or the actors playing them...this is the entirety of fangirl-ness.  It doesn't proceed past that!  A fangirl might further research an actor or role because she finds him (or her) sexy or interesting, and then post 3,422 pictures of said actor or character on Pinterest, but that's it. 

Being a fangirl without progressing to a geek-girlhood as well is like nibbling on nothing but a turkey leg while ignoring the whole decadent Thanksgiving spread before you.  A geek girl devours her prey whole.  Even the vegetables.  A turkey leg - even an, um, sexy one - doesn't ultimately give you everything you need.

A geek-girl can also be a fangirl.  But a fangirl isn't necessarily a geek-girl.  There's nothing wrong with a fangirl.  We need fangirls.  They are great.  They are fun.  They dream.  They are passionate. 

But I'll be darned the next time I hear a fangirl talk about how much she loves comics when the only Marvel characters she can name came directly from a recently released major motion picture.

And if she doesn't know Loki was once a woman.

Please.