Why the Concept of the "True Geek" is Damaging

Hey everyone! 

The topic I'm tackling today may be a bit controversial but I need to say my thoughts. If you don't like what I'm about to say, then I'm sorry, but it's something that's been bugging me for a while, which is this idea of a true geek.

It started when I was reading up on the whole fake geek girl shaming issue. If you're not familiar with the issue, here's the watered-down version: various people in the geek demographic have gotten angry at girls dressing up in revealing superhero costumes and knowing nothing of said superheroes. This resulted in suspicion of all geek girls, who now have to defend themselves against the barrage of claims that they aren't real geeks. Geek girls then retaliated with arguments that they shouldn't have to defend themselves and that the geek demographic was being sexist.

Source: searchingforsuperwomen.com

Now, I could talk about that whole issue, but I actually think it's a part of something even bigger. I'm talking about the idea of being a "true geek." It comes from people saying, "you're not a true geek if you don't know who insert person here is," or "a true geek has seen every season and watched all the behind-the-scenes features," or "This is something only a true geek would know."

There's also the idea of having a "geek card," which is like the "man card." I've seen and heard these sayings all over the place from Facebook to Pinterest to various blogs. And I've said versions of these statements as well.

For a demographic of people who claim to be a part of entertainment that's posed as both morally and intellectually better than the rest of the world's entertainment, I feel like we sometimes really don't act like it.  We as geeks tend to be a little exclusive with our fandoms, rejecting those that may not fit the definition of a "true geek."