Geek Who?

The Internet is not only changing our outlook on life and work but is also going to change the male/female ratio in the workforce, giving the female population more choices when it comes to work. But what has female work choice to do with geeking? Plenty!

First, let us see the origin of term geek and establish why geek girls and not geek boys. Tom Ziegler researched the origin and changing usage of the term geek and quoted this in a feature on geek.com:

It appears that "geek" outstrips "nerd" by almost 400 years! Seems Mr. Alexander Barclay back in England wrote the following in 1570: He is a foole, a sotte, and a geke also which choseth ... the worst [way] and most of ieoperdie [jeopardy]. Why, old Willy used it in Twelfth Night, Scene I, as Malvolio says to Olivia: Why have you suffer'd me to be imprison'd, kept in a dark house, visited by the Priest, And made the most notorious gecke and gull That e're invention play'd on?

The word geek is derived from 'geck' or 'gek' or 'geke'. In its original meaning, "geek referred to a foolish, inept, or clumsy, single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept or a carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken."

As per the MS Word 2000 UK Dictionary, geek is a synonym of nerd, weed, and bore. Eric Raymond describes "computer geek" as "one who eats (computer) bugs for a living." But that was in the past.

All these definitions and meanings are outdated. "It was during the dot com boom (1999-2000) that the usage of the term changed to positive," wrote Tom Ziegler. After a steady transition, the term now refers to keen and expert users of personal computers and the Internet, in an upbeat sense, notwithstanding gender.

It is no longer demeaning in any sense. Gleaning through the use of term in IT publications and online material, I have developed a new definition of female geeks by changing and removing ill-suited parts and disregarding anecdotes, humorous stories, photographs, and cartoons still found on the World Wide Web and in some IT journals. Geek girls are simply skilled females with a purpose. They are comfortable, having no computer or Internet phobia or gender consideration while using them. They may be going for a career in any of the fields related to IT or merely using them for communication or entertainment. They find work satisfaction and motivation achieving and creating anything online.

This isn't, in any sense, a gender fight nor is it the intention to address gender equality and rights issues. The intent here is to see why the female population is less represented in computer fields and how they can be brought up to equitable levels based on merit. A woman pilot is called a pilot and not a girl pilot, a female driving a car is called a driver and not a woman driver, and a girl cook is called a cook, not a girl cook. Why limit computing skills to gender? Yet another unfounded stereotype!

It is not understood how the term geek girl has arisen instead of simply 'geek' in the first instance. In the IT environment, computers (or for that matter, any machines) are neutral. They cannot ascertain the gender of the user. Moreover, IT should be considered a tool that needs to be adapted rather than redefining the terms of gender. Anyone keen about the use of computer technologies should be described as a geek and not necessarily a geek girl or a geek boy. Ideally, there should not be any gender bias when it comes to assigning role and status to women working in IT.

Article Author: S A J Shirazi

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