On nerd victimhood
Myth: Nerds were bullied in high school for being smart
Reality: Self-styled "nerds" were mostly ignored in high school because of the low value they placed on interpersonal relationships, but due to their feelings of entitlement to high social status and an artificial and strongly sought-after victimhood that they picked up from mass media depictions of the "bullied nerd," they have re-cast childhood inconveniences in those terms in order to win arguments on the internet
On nerd victimhood
@bgcarlisle In retrospect, everyone who was bullied for being a nerd in my highschool had some other thing going on. Queer, PoC, and autism-spectrum kids were bullied for being nerds despite getting average grades and being into the same "nerdy" things half the kids in school were into. Because it was never about being smart or being super into some media property or hobby.
On nerd victimhood
@bunnyjane @bgcarlisle Yeah, back in the 90s being nerdy was associated with gender nonconformity and queerness, which makes hypermasc, violent, closeminded dudes claiming ownership over it a real trip.
