Toxic Geek Masculinity in Media: Sexism, Trolling, and Identity Policing

by Anastasia Salter, Bridget Blodgett

This book examines changing representations of masculinity in geek media, during a time of transition in which “geek” has not only gone mainstream but also become a more contested space than ever, with continual clashes such as Gamergate, the Rabid and Sad Puppies’ attacks on the Hugo Awards, and battles at conventions over “fake geek girls.” Anastasia Salter and Bridget Blodgett critique both gendered depictions of geeks, including shows like Chuck and The Big Bang Theory, and aspirational geek heroes, ranging from the Winchester brothers of Supernatural to BBC’s Sherlock and the varied superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Through this analysis, the authors argue that toxic masculinity is deeply embedded in geek culture, and that the identity of geek as victimized other must be redefined before geek culture and media can ever become an inclusive space.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Academia

214 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2017

Reviews

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this text, when it first popped up on my radar. Toxic masculinity is a hot topic right now and geek culture certainly has its fair share of it. Unfortunately, this book suffers from a number of issues that make this less than useful for the discussion. First, the book lacks a central thesis that would shape the overall flow of the book and give a reader a good sense of what the authors research will point towards. Additionally, the books introduction could have presented a clearer picture of what the authors are identifying when they use the term "geek masculinity". At various times, this nebulous term stands in for "white male masculinity" which is not unique to geek culture. Other times, it is used to describe the masculinity practiced and enforced by various mainstream media, which is also consumed by geeks. This lack of definition makes it difficult to move from section to section and have consistent understanding of what the authors are trying to get across. It is also problematic that throughout the book, the authors use a broad brush to paint all geek masculine as inherently toxic, only to finally acknowledge on the second to last page that the group they are discussing is really a small section of the group.

Chapter 4, on the gaming community, is the one highlight of the book. It is the best written of the chapters, with the least amount of errors in facts and make some salient points regarding the toxicity that led to GamerGate. This is likely due to the amount of research on this topic the two authors have done, as they have other articles written on similar topics. If the rest of the book lived up to this level of research and writing, this would be a toolkit book for academics in the field of pop culture studies.

Beyond the lack of clear direction and factual inaccuracies, the book also suffers from editing issues that make this book difficult to read at times. This includes, but certainly not limited to, sections of text that make reference to material that was likely in an earlier draft but was later removed. A more careful editing job could have eliminated these issues and made for a stronger presentation. Overall, the read of this book was frustrating, as I was left fighting with my own hopes for this book and what was delivered. As someone who has a research background in geek subculture, identity, and gender studies, I want to endorse this book, but in its current state I am unable to. Hopefully, the authors take an opportunity to make corrections and release a revised book, which can fill a much needed niche in this particular academic topic.

[Daan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leest lekker. Interessant ook, maar voelt ook aan als master scripties die (nog) niet nagekeken zijn. Er wordt teveel aan The Big Bang Theory gehangen, wat als ride draad maar even werkt.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this, as we absolutely need more strong and critical humanities scholarship on the topic. But in spite of the book's enthusiasm and readability, I must concur with the previous GoodReads reviewer that the book feels unfinished and somewhat rushed: chapters are very uneven, and full of distracting errors (not only severe copy-editing issues, but also repeated factual inaccuracies). Neither adequately theorizing nor empirically grounding its central concept, the book rather vaguely drifts around its main topic of toxic geek masculinity, relying very heavily on descriptive analyses of "geek-centric texts" like The Big Bang Theory, which is referenced ad nauseam. But the weirdly arbitrary selection of examples is never explained or accounted for, and the one thing I really missed in this reflection on toxic masculinity within geek culture is any kind of reflection on the crucial role of irony and sarcasm in this form of cultural logic.

[Rodrigo Quinan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro importante que analisa a fundação da cultura geek, suas raízes na masculinidade tóxica e a forma como ela é manifestada em diversos produtos da cultura pop moderna - filmes, séries, quadrinhos, games, mídias sociais. Análise dedicada ao papel da mulher nessas narrativas e subculturas, oferecida como prêmio, demonizada como outsider. Exemplos que vão de Big bang theory a Duke Nukem a Batman a white knighting e fangirls em redes sociais ilustram bem a teoria. O diagnóstico preenche lacuna importante na pesquisa acadêmica sobre o tema e a pesquisa é sólida.

[Josh Heyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't differentiate clearly enough between the sub-set of 'toxic geek masculinity' it's trying to deconstruct and geek culture in general. But lots of interesting ideas besides.

[Amanda Cote · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and timely piece, but readers may need a detailed background in pop culture and geek culture in order to understand this fully. Not for the uninitiated.

[Eileen Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, nuanced look at geek culture, its mainstreaming, and toxic masculinity, grounded in explorations of different aspects of pop culture, from comic book creators decrying fake geek girls to The Big Bang Theory undermining its verbal messages with visual and context clues. For anyone who's ever felt the intimate alienation of a theoretically welcoming social context (geek spaces are theoretically for anyone who's a geek) that has been found to be subtly hostile, it offers not just a verbalization of the problems but concrete, grounded examples.