Lesbian and the Geek

Lesbian trends have gone through quite a few changes as the decades have done their dance of time. In the 60’s and 70’s they were bra burning feminists making a stand for all of woman-kind. In the 80’s they were mullet-wearing sports nuts who made the fashion of the time seem even more deplorable. In the 90’s they were crunchy, hippie Lilith Fairies who’s passions included peasant shirts and powerbeads.

Today’s lesbians tend to define themselves in a fashion that used to be looked down upon by all parties. Geeks truly have established themselves in this new generation, but nowhere is geekdom perceived more as a turn on than in the lesbian community. The average straight girl doesn’t get her jollies off thinking about the cast of The Big Bang Theory, but you put an episode of fourth season Buffy on at a party full of dykes and you’ll have the crowd creaming their pants over Willow and Tara’s magic tricks in no time.

Spend a little time on the Girls seeking Girls section on Ok Cupid and one word that constantly pops up is ‘geek’. Geek is the new “I’m laid back” or “I’m just a down-to-earth girl.” To be completely honest, I won’t really consider dating a girl if she isn’t a geek in some way, because that’s what I’m attracted to. There’s even a correlation linking how desirable your profile is based on what fandoms you might be into. While Star Trek and Xena are on a bit of a downswing, putting Dr. Who or Buffy on your list of favorite TV shows is the lesbian equivalent of a straight guy saying his biggest influence in life is Edward Cullen.

But how did this happen? When did the socially awkward lesbian who finds solace in Marion Zimmer Bradley become a hot date?

Probably when we all started to realize that geek culture has allowed more opportunity for queer characters to enter their ranks. Sci-fi/Fantasy producers noticed early on that there was an large market of homosexuals getting into their stuff. Some of the first gay fanfiction ever written was based on Star Trek the original series. From there slash-fiction became a staple of nearly every Science Fiction program out there. Xena/Gabrielle, Buffy/Faith, Starbuck/Rosalyn… it’s all out there. And the powers that control our favorite mediums of entertainment understand that. Gay subtext can be found in even the most unlikely of places, but it draws in the intended audience and gets them to talk about their favorite new shows.

But past the obvious geekery, there’s a mountain of other stuff to geek out about. Music nerds, foodies, gamers… Having at least one obsession promotes the fact that you’re passionate about something and, in the end, I think that’s really what the lesbian population gets off on. So while opening a conversation with “I’m an aspiring singer song writer” may not go as far today as “I was once on an elevator with David Tennant” it’s cut from the same cloth. But, damn, am I glad to be a lesbian during a time when a pair of glasses and a fanfiction pen name are favorable traits. Long live the lezzy geek!