Nerd girl

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

Contents

[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. This should not be confused with dressing in alternative or eclectic fashions such as indie, goth, or bohemian, although in recent years, some nerd girls (especially self-styled), have begun doing so in an attempt to generate a more interesting outward image.
  • 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 cultural, 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

In popular culture, the nerd-girl is often proposed as the ideal romantic match for the male nerd. This is just as often not the case as there are typically just as many differences as there are similarities, even if they share the same basic interests. Also, many male nerds admit to fantasies of polar-opposite females experiencing attraction toward them. This is due to the general perception that such women are mostly inaccessible to nerds due to the "like attracts like" principle. Possibly, the most famous example of this is the relationship between fictional characters Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

[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, although environmentalism may be an exception due to its relationship to biological sciences.)
  • 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 or, in some cases, zits.
  • 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.

Nerds are normally rejected, but really nice people.

[edit] Examples

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

[edit] References

Example Characteristics
Deb in Napoleon Dynamite Loose clothing, shy, wears hair in an unusual style, photographer, able to talk about her feelings.
Silicon Valerie in Danger Girl Whiz Kid type, with freckles; technical expert; thin.
Sora Hasegawa in Oh My Goddess! Glasses, shy, unskilled at sports, technical interests, small stature, appears young.
Gadget Hackwrench in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Absent-minded, modest, intelligent, resourceful, principled, technical expert, dresses in mechanic's coveralls and goggles, unaware of and/or and uninterested in the advances of Chip 'n Dale or her own attractiveness.
Diana Prince in Wonder Woman Librarian type - uses same disguise as Superman, glasses and a different hairstyle and "nerdish" persona.
Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons Intelligent, mature for age, strongly principled and idealistic, unpopular.
Connie Souphanousinphone in King of the Hill Smart, dresses like a boy, always studying and therefore getting high grades.
Hermione Granger in Harry Potter Intelligent, idealistic, bookish, unusual hairstyle, not conventionally attractive, academically competitive, bossy.
Liz Lemon in 30 Rock Glasses, unfashionable clothing, intelligent, not conventionally attractive, somewhat small stature, television writer, rather poor social skills, fan of Star Wars
Gracie Hart (the Sandra Bullock character) in Miss Congeniality An example (like Romancing the Stone) of the absurd convention of pretending that a very attractive actress is unattractive in "Nerd Girl" mode, until given a "makeover".
Toula Portokalos (the Nia Vardalos character) in My Big Fat Greek Wedding Glasses, overweight until the "makeover", intelligent, describes herself as "frump girl".
Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Intelligent, bookish, shy, unusual fashion sense, unconventionally attractive, thin and small, and awkward.
Lisa Crockett in the Backyard Sports video game series Very intelligent, bookish, has triangular glasses, not attractive, does not like conversations, very slow, always says words like "what?", "are you still here?" and "whatever", always tidies up her skirt when she is on the bleachers.
Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell Intelligent, feminist, strongly principled, workaholic, academically competitive, not conventionally attractive, student body president, campaigner for various causes.
Lizzie Devine from Codename: Kids Next Door Stereotypical physical traits, (such as wearing glasses, being slightly overweight, etc.) works for her principal, bossy, dislikes recess, surprisingly adept at operating machinery, and obsesses over her boyfriend, Numbuh 1. Lizzie seems to deviate from the stereotype in that she cares about how she and others look, displays a rather outgoing and aggressive personality, and has a few admirers, a bit like the "popular girl" stock character.
Darla Simmons from Martin Mystery Generally keeps to herself, and dresses very conservatively.
Taylor McKessie from High School Musical Dresses very conservatively, very intelligent and bookish, unconventionally attractive.
Heidi Hoffman from Heidi, Geek Girl Detective Glasses, ponytail, computer whiz, solves cyber-related mysteries.
Yomiko Readman from Read or Die Thick glasses, extremely bookish and absent-minded, dresses very conservatively, often disheveled.
Daria Wears glasses, intelligent, not very popular, tends to be highly cynical.
Velma from Scooby Doo Her fashion sense, glasses, smarts. Is always right.
This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.