Nerd girl

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The nerd girl is a stock character of late-20th and 21st-century fiction. She is not simply a female nerd but has distinctive characteristics of her own.

[edit] Similarities to male nerds

The nerd girl has the following similarities to the stock character of the male nerd:

• often wears eyeglasses, which typically have large lenses and thick frames - in comics, particularly, this is an easy shorthand way of indicating that a character is a Nerd Girl.
• dresses unfashionably, not as a statement but because she doesn't care about fashion. Typically her clothes will be loose and comfortable (but see Subtypes below); they may be somewhat "young" for her.
• wears her hair in unfashionable styles (such as a ponytail or pigtails; while male nerds have messy hair or flattops, sometimes with hair gel)
• is obviously intelligent
• has expertise or knowledge in a specialised area, and/or a wide general knowledge
• is fascinated by some area of knowledge, usually liberal arts and humanities as opposed to science and tech-related fields of the male nerds.
• is not popular
• is not considered conventionally attractive (exception: male nerds)
• is shy and may be somewhat socially inept in groups
• uninterested in and unskilled at sports (distinguishing her from the tomboy)
• may be slightly overweight (usually not much) or notably thin, also normal/average weight

[edit] Additional Distinctive Characteristics

In part because of her female status, in part because of her later appearance as a stock character, the nerd girl may have the following characteristics which are not normally part of the male nerd's stereotype:

• kind and good-hearted
• passionate about causes such as politics, social justice or the environment (in actual fact, many real-life male nerds share these concerns, but this reality has developed since the origin of the male nerd stereotype and is not often included in it)
• may be feminist or postfeminist
• good one-on-one interpersonal skills
• aware of her own emotional states
• often small in stature

[edit] Likely Events

A nerd girl is likely to have one or more of the following events occur to her:

• Rejected by more "popular" peers
• Attracted to someone who can't see past her nerdishness at first
• Has "makeover" which renders her conventionally attractive
• Comes up with the piece of knowledge which enables the plot to be resolved
• Rants at clueless male character(s)
• Makes the male characters talk and listen to each other/her

[edit] Subtypes

The following are some subtypes of the nerd girl (for examples, see below):

• the whiz kid or know-it-all - a young nerd girl who may associate with people older than herself because she is academically advanced (or unusually mature) for her age. Often has freckles.
• the librarian or school marm - not necessarily a literal librarian/schoolteacher, but has the large glasses, dresses in a conservative, somewhat uptight way and wears her hair up. This conventionally conceals the fact that she is beautiful.

[edit] Examples

The following table gives examples of the nerd girl from popular culture:

[edit] References