So, I’m not a particularly girly girl. I don’t like… wear a lot of makeup, or wearing matching outfits, or thrive on the drooling compliments of frat bros.

In high school, I definitely wasn’t attractive, but it didn’t really matter. I was still pretty cool relative to the other mathletes. But getting hit on by fellow geeks is not the same as getting hit on out and about in the real world. (The contrast between ‘umm, if you, umm, didn’t have anything better to umm, do, on umm, sunday, umm…’ and ‘wanna bang?’ is subtle, but detectable.)

For example, the other day I’m walking into the liquor store, and these like, hippity hoppity guys shout out “Hey baby…” Clearly, I looked around to see who in the world they could possibly be talking to. After guessing that it wasn’t the Toyota Tercel behind me, I looked at them. “What you doin’ baby?” they continued. 

I know, I must’ve like put on makeup or like, forgot to wear a bra or something… and i just kind of keep walking, due to a great deal of social awkwardness and a general lack of ability to deal with that sort of thing, so I just go into the liquor store, and buy my industrial size bottle of irish whiskey, and head back out to my car.

But, the dudes are still there, and one of them says to me (and at this point it’s quite clear that he is indeed talking to me). “Hey baby, where’s the party at tonight?” And so I’m going to be honest, after all, I’m an honest lady, so I say, “You know what? I have no idea.” And, I keep walking, but these dudes are rather insistent, and they reply with, “Well, what are you doing tonight baby?” Once again, I’m an honest lady, so I hold up the bottle and tell them, “You know, the regular, whiskey and Battlestar Galactica”.

And they are floored. They stop. No more words exit their mouths. I am no longer an acceptable target. And at that moment, I realize that Sci Fi is like this magical showstopper with normal people. You can tell, let’s call them potential suitors, that you have a boyfriend, they still hit on you, you up the ante to being married, still hit on you, even if you go for being a radical wiccan lesbian, they still keep on keepin’ on, but the SECOND you say your interests include sci fi, game’s over.

But, this realization has come to be quite handy. It’s now like my awesome shield (makes lasers being deflected noises) against sleazy. On the rare occasion that I do go out with my friends, what was previously a well-you-know-im-not-really-interested or a well-you-know-i’ve-got-a-boyfriend conversation goes a lot faster. Instead of trying to rationalize with them, you just have to mention your favourite sci fi show (of note: you’d think the more obscure the better, but if you go with farscape or firefly, odds are they will have no idea what you’re talking about and will likely continue to have a conversation with your boobs).

go team geek!