Diversity in Geek Culture

A while back, Marvel decided to make Thor a woman. This made a lot of geeks really, really mad. I understand why they're pissed, but at the same time, I think their logic is flawed. Here's why.

And before you go down into the comment section, just know that I, too, am a giant nerd. I get where you're coming from and, as I said, I see where you're coming from. Simply put, I'm one of you. With that out of the way, let's get to it.

Also keep in mind that these are my own opinions, based on my own experiences. At the end of the day, that's all I can really speak to.

Geeks are a special breed. Many of us got picked on for being socially awkward, or day, or whatever. We are not an oppressed minority, but most of us were made to feel that way by people who were supposed to be our friends. The majority of us filled the holes left by that trauma with pop culture. In the absence of any real self-esteem, comic books became a sort of replacement for that. Star Trek isn't just a show you like. Rather, it's an emblem, a sign of who you are as a person.

So when someone changes something about it, it sort of feels like they're invalidating your identity. "If Thor is a lady, then who the fuck am I?" Geeks don't like change, because we spent years trying to find a place where we fit in. It took a lot of work, and now someone is fucking it all up.

I've been there. I get it.

But that's a bullshit mentality, man. It doesn't make any logical sense. Because the original stories that you love, that you identify so strongly with, those still exist. Nobody is taking your copy of Avengers no 1 and drawing a vagina on Thor. You can still enjoy that shit.

By making Thor a woman, you're opening up those stories, and the ones that will come after, to millions of new readers. Let's face it. Comics have been broadcasting chiefly to straight white males for a long, long time. Making Thor a women will broadcast the medium to new people, which will inspire them to check out the older stuff. Inclusivity can only be a good thing, because it brings us together. It opens you up to new experiences and new ways of looking at the world.

And that's awesome, man.

Just something to think about.