I’m on a roll today!

This article on geeks (which I found via this entry at Geek Philosophy) totally cheesed me off.
Go read it, then read my letter to the writer.

Dear Tracey Lomrantz,
I read your article, “Nerds make better lovers” with more than a little trepidation. It was linked from a blog I read, and the author of that blog was more than a little disgruntled with your piece.
After reading it for myself, I have to agree with her.
Your article makes it sound like non-geek women are deigning to date geeks – they are advised not to “always” feel superior to their geek boyfriends, to look past the guy’s geekiness and not give up too fast, and so on.
I say, if you don’t like geeks, don’t date them! It leaves a better selection for those of us who aren’t so shallow and doesn’t give the guy false hopes. My boyfriend is incredibly geeky (he once tied for state champion in a California math competition and now makes a living as a software engineer) and I have always thought that was one of his most endearing qualities, NOT something I had to look past.
Another thing about your article that annoyed me more than a little was the constant implication that all geeks are men. The closest you come to a hint that some geeks are women is the paragraph about the “Geek to Geek” dating service… but it sounds like you’re suggesting that non-geek gals use it to land a geek for themselves.
Frankly, that’s sexist. I’m a gal and I’m a geek! I upgraded my computer’s hardware and operating system myself, code HTML and CSS by hand, and am learning Perl. I grew up going to Sci-Fi conventions, SCA events, and anime screenings. I have loved Star Wars and Star Trek my whole life, and can not only quote them but meta-quote them by way of shows like “Undergrads” and “Clerks: The Animated Series.”
I’m not the only one, either. I have geeky gal friends who have happily hooked up with geeky guys. I think those shallow gals who want a geek ‘cos it’s trendy now should stick to the smoothies and frat boys, and leave our beloved geek men alone.
Sincerely,
Ealasaid Haas
Silicon Valley, CA
www.ealasaid.com