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There's a funny thing that sometimes happens in geek culture. Despite the fact that gamers, role-players, costumers, re-enactors, etc. tend to be the misfit toys of the social hierarchy, and are often some of the most accepting, open-hearted, welcoming folks around, some not-so-nice discrimination does occur.
For example, I found in my research for my book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks that, universally, members of most subcultures I explored all made fun of one group: the Furries. Furry fandom refers to groups of fans who like to dress up and role-play as their favorite fictional anthropomorphic animal characters: Think of that person in the Mickey Mouse outfit at Disneyland. You can be Yogi Bear, Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, DangerMouse, a Pussycat from Josie and the Pussycats. Wear a fox tail and be naughty. It's good, (mostly) clean fun. Yes, dear uninitiated, this does exist.
For whatever reasons, this group resides at the bottom of the subculture totem pole. Perhaps because it seems the most childlike, silliest, pointless of all the activities on the fantasy-gaming continuum. Furries aren't exactly going off on raid to storm Castle Badkeep and mow down zombies, orcs or balrogs. At least, not most furries.
Of course, furrry fandom is just as legit as any other subculture. But it's human nature to rank, order and feel superior to another. People who look like giant teddy bears are easy targets—unlike, say, that ZZ Top-like biker dude who plays Warhammer. Don't mess with him.
Another explanation: Geeks got picked on after school and picked last for the kickball team, so maybe subconsciously they can't help but wreak revenge on the innocent and seemingly weak.
Another curious phenomenon: Geeks can feel protective or exclusionary about their particular geekery or fandom. Again, you'd think the more Dungeons & Dragons or Settlers of Catan players the better; the more sirs and ladies into medieval re-enactment, the more healthy and robust the activity or hobby will be. But I've witnessed some curious behaviors from, for example, old-time torch-bearing fans whose passion—say, for Tolkien—was burning strong long before the Peter Jackson movies came along. Some of the veteran fans looked down their noses at the newbies. "They're only Tolkien fans because of Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom," they scoffed.
But as I note in my article about steampunk—a hyrbid fantasy inspired by Jules Verne and the Industrial-Victorian ages of brass, steam and gears—the genre tends to welcome all. Steampunker Jake von Slatt (real name: Sean Slattery, of Littleton, Mass.) likens the philosophy behind steampunk to the open-source software movement. "There is a real focus on sharing, exploring things together, building community," he told me.
Every culture that embraces steampunk seems to make it their own. Part of its appeal lies in its largely optimistic and romantic, not dark and cautionary, outlook. It's not gloomy, dystopian Road Warrior-esque science fiction. Unlike other genres or fandom communities, says Tom Sepe, a steampunk artist and performer, "It doesn't take itself too seriously." [read the rest of my article "Steampunk: the New Goth" here]
Plus, whereas other genre fans can niggle over the small stuff, steampunk tends to be more open-ended. Jeff Mach, one of the partners behind New Jersey's Steampunk World's Fair, remembers Goths back in the 1990s sniping at one another for not being "Goth enough." You might not wear the right clothes, or use the proper white pancake makeup or mascara, or sport the correct piercings. No so with steampunk, which is a more inclusive cultural mashup. "It's not starting from a single point but many points," he says.
Steampunk is a melting pot of genres, as well as activities. It takes form both as an aesthetic movement and a community of artists; and it embraces role-players; visionaries; and those who use the tools of literature, film, music, fashion, science, design, architecture. There's no barrier to entry or gatekeepers.
So the next time you find yourself looking down at a Furry, or feeling wary of that newbie who wants to cozy up to your geeky hobby, remember, you were on the outsider once, too. Give that geek a big fuzzy hug.
Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of the award-winning, travel memoir/pop culture investigation Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms (now in paperback). Follow his adventures at http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com.
