Not Nerdy Enough to be Considered a Black Girl Nerd

Apparently, I'm supposed to look and act like this to be considered a true black nerd!

Wednesday night, I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Black Nerd Diaries podcast. One of the topics that came up were the stereotypes of black nerds. I mentioned that I had previously been accused of not being nerdy enough. Everyone expressed shock at that confession. Alas, it's true. I'm apparently not nerdy enough for the nerd tribe.

In the past, many terms have been used to describe me. The nicer ones have been silly, outgoing, boisterous, fun-loving. The rather unkind words people use in conjunction to me run along the lines of abrasive, loud, shallow, and in some cases, down right bitchy. Whenever I ask people to include nerdy in their list of adjectives, they've been somewhat reticent to do so. Upon my questioning as to why nerdy isn't one of their descriptive terms for me, the common response is generally "you don't seem like a nerd." Wait, what?!

I'd personally like to know exactly what in my ever-growing list of hobbies and interests excludes me from the nerd culture. Is it my love of fashion and makeup that makes me less of a nerd? Could it possibly be the fact that I like sports and will challenge any guy to a pick up game of basketball? Or is it because I don't fit the age old criteria of the stereotypical nerd?

Gone are the days of the Coke-bottle glasses, high water pants, and the pocket protector. Steve Urkel is no longer our mascot for the black nerd. Today the typical black nerd looks more like a hipster than the 1950s caricature of what people still think nerds should look like. No, I don't wear glasses because I have perfect vision. I like my makeup and wear my hair relaxed. My fashion sense is all over the place and pretty much relies on whatever fits me that I can afford. When I ask if it's my outer appearance that makes people believe that I'm not a nerd, I am met with a resounding no.

When it comes to "nerdy things" I love tech stuff, some video games, movies (especially horror), and superheros. Let's not forget that I'm a history buff who could talk about Edwardian history until the next coming of Christ. I could go on and on about other things I like, but it would take forever. My hobbies clearly put me in the category of "nerd", but some friends will still claim that I'm simply not a nerd.

Okay, I'll bite, so what about me says I'm not a nerd? If it's not the superficial outer shell or the inner workings of my psyche, then what? Nobody seems to be able to give me a straight answer, so I'll go back to my original thesis: people are unable to consider me a nerd because of personal stereotypes of the nerd culture as well as society's difficulty in accepting the rise of 21st century black nerds in the mainstream. Nerds, especially black ones, are so varied that it's hard to pinpoint the common black nerd uniform or black nerd interests. Perhaps one day we'll be able to narrow down a profile for the typical black nerd, but for now, I'll remain perfectly happy in knowing that I'm a unique black nerd.