Revenge of the Nerdette

It's either going to be the 'preppy cute girl' or the 'hot spelling bee chic' and lets not forget the 'sexy basketball champion'. When will there be a day when women are appreciated for their intelligence, athletic abilities and creativity without attaching the ever present hotness factor. Can't you see the trend? It's acceptable for men to be smart and not entirely 'good looking' and still be considered worthy, but a girl on the other hand must encompass a pair of long legs and a perfect face to be mentioned at all. This article is just another example of the media and commercial industry's campaign to sell women the image that you are undeserving unless you have sex appeal to go along with the newest trend.

It???s either going to be the "preppy cute girl" or the "hot spelling bee chic" and lets not forget the ???sexy basketball champion???. When will there be a day when women are appreciated for their intelligence, athletic abilities and creativity without attaching the ever present hotness factor. Can't you see the trend? It???s acceptable for men to be smart and not entirely ???good looking??? and still be considered worthy, but a girl on the other hand must encompass a pair of long legs and a perfect face to be mentioned at all. This article is just another example of the media and commercial industry's campaign to sell women the image that you are undeserving unless you have sex appeal to go along with the newest trend.

After reading some of the responses on the article I have only a few comments.
1. How are we defining "Feminine"? For the women in my family its not feminine to look or act like Paris Hilton or any of the many others like her.
2. Science and Math are not the only subjects that should qualify you for "geek" status. For that matter why label yourself as anything. 5 sisters in my family- all of us have a area that we loved enough to really study, but that just makes us us, not anything else but that.
3. To the posters who feel that these girls are somehow damaging the "nerd" reputation, maybe you should think of mentoring them yourselves instead of complaining.

And yes just so you know all of my sisters and I are considered attractive, but we get more comments on our minds than that once they get past staring and start to listen.

I am all in favor of any efforts taken to enlighten, encourage, and all-around promote girls in the areas of science and math. However, for all the encouragement I see and all the statistics saying that we have made strides, this article and, I believe, industry in general, are largely still failing to acknowledge the big, pregnant elephant in the room. What would you bet that workplace harassment and ???act like a man??? mentalities stem in part from the reality of these women wanting to start a family someday? Industry, from my experience as a female engineer, has still failed to show to me that they can be flexible enough to employ me as a mother working an engineering job without suffering the consequences of hitting some kind of glass ceiling or brick wall.
Half of the people earning technical degrees are women, and half of them leave those jobs!? That is depressing. I read an article that said work visas for technical fields in the US have waiting lists a mile long every year. Industry, you have the talent HERE! They are living in your homes, taking care of your families, and you can???t ???engineer??? a way to utilize their skills?

I rarely make commentary on any postings online, but as a PhD student in HISTORY, not engineering or any of the applied sciences I wonder are we not creating an even greater stereotype for ourselves, by assuming that intelligence is only measured by a knowledge of science? Being a PhD in History and having the desire to become a teacher, does not mean I don???t know how to put a computer together or change the oil in my car. I can, and do. It also doesn???t mean that I don???t read a fashion magazine now and then. I agree with the women on here who speak about smart women as the norm, not as unique. When are we going to stop identifying ourselves as different and just except that it is ok to be beautiful and smart, for its own sake, regardless of what field a women is in? Shouldn???t intelligence in any field be commended? I find it offensive that a CEO of a company would belittle elementary education as an 'acceptable" line of work for women and that she desired to get out of it. Why can't we accept that education, in ANY field for ANY person is important? What we struggle with in this country is a immense amount of ignorance, about everything, not just the fact that women CAN and will be successful in this world. It is offense as well because men struggle too with these types of stereotypes. My boyfriend, an incredibly attractive young man has a degree in soil science and at age 26 is the VP of his company, a million dollar agricultural firm. Yet he still gets discriminated against because he is young and attractive. When are we going to accept that yes, looks matter, but what matters more is that we all need to educate ourselves, no matter what we look like?

Forget about the long winded article. Just show us some pictures of the hotties!

Forget the long winded article. Just show us some pictures of the hotties!

I think most of you think much higher of yourself than others think of you. Get over yourselves.

I recently started a blog called: Nerdelicious.org
This is a group blog for all the females out there who are intelligent and fabulous. The gals who refuse to be boxed into any kind of stereotype, we can be experts in our fields and look amazing in our heels. Just because we are smart doesn???t mean we can???t look good, just because we look good doesn???t mean we are ???bimbos???. We kick ass while wearing great looking shoes.

We are here to tell you that you are not alone. We are beautiful, smart, and proud of it.

Currently seeking blog partners and contributing writers. If you have an interesting topic, feel free to contact me.

here is the link to our facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16444649723&ref=nf

ok, guys. Thank you, Podchicks, for recognizing your older 'sexy nerd' generation. I am now 36, and hold a MS in fluvial geomorpholgy within a Biosystems Engineering field. I also think I am still pretty hot, even after having my firstborn. I have spent 20 years training horses and studying physics, yet I loved to glam up every weekend ang go out with my friends. You don't have to be dumb to be glam, and you certainly don't have to be glam to be gorgeous. CraigC, do you think Heidi Klum and Giselle run around at home in bikinis, stilettos and makeup? Moreover, the TWO girls that you saw that were conclusively attractive probably dolled themselves up at school, or wherever you encountered them. Lastly, I never judge my sexy, glam or style based on the American standard anyway, as it tends to tacky, cheap and trendy. All you have to be is somewhat tall, really skinny and have a tan- oh, and dress like Paris Hilton. I bet alot of those other girls you have known would be considered sophisticated and lovely on the worldly scale.

Beautiful, nerdy women have been around for a long long time and we have looked hot while networking computers for a Saturday night video gaming fest or discussing the latest nanotechnology developments over Goose cosmos. Sometimes it just takes the media a while to catch up. And of course, when they do report on it, they act as if it is a new discovery. See you all the New Media Expo in Vegas, Baby! Namaste.

We geeky women have been around for a long long time and have always looked hot, whether we're networking computers for a Saturday night video gaming blow-out or discussing the latest nanotechnology developments over Goose Cosmos. Sometimes it just takes the media a while to catch up. Namaste.

The PodChicks

They are just now writing an article about us?? I've been getting stares and cat calls for years, yet I'm two years away from my Masters in Accounting and contantly shock the boys with my nerdy comedy references and love for all things geek. After I achieve my Masters in Accounting, I'll be going back to school for degrees in Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, and Computer Engineering... is it that unheard of for me to be attractive as well?

SHOCKER... There are no pictures with this article... No I take that back, there was a SUPER close up at the beginning, just like those bogus online personal photos women take; and we all know what THOSE mean~

Don't pan out, you might be disappointed.

I'm a 29yr old Motorcycle riding Prototyping Engineer with Masters Degree in case you were wondering...

how can live in the world and have the desire of what i do see

In the bygone days, be they boy or a girl, the word "nerd" meant only the "extreme" variety, rather than the mere "normal" variety that referred to regular interest in math, science or technical fields. In the case of girls as well as boys, more so for girls, perhaps, it seems to be designated a nerd; one just needs to be the "garden" variety. Am I missing anything?

Way to break the stereotypes, but one thing I like about the sciences and engineering is that looks don't matter as much as in other careers. You don't have to dress up or be hot or act sexy to be successful. I agree that being feminine shouldn't hinder your progress in a scientific career, but neither should the opposite.

I love it! I learned how to take my computer apart on my own when I was 46. I am proud of my technical knowledge. I teach digital media at the college level. It is my female students that are the more inquisitive of my students. The male students tend to sit there with their headphones on. Watch out, you guys!

My daughter and I had quite a discussion about the "Nerdette's". She is a mechanical engineer who spent grad school doing research and has been in the work force for two years. We spend a great amount of time planning strategy for her to deal with the issues she faces in this male dominated industry. Yes, she is a young attractive woman, but she also must earn credibility with her co-workers and those she depends on to get her projects done. I think that the engineering fields are really lacking in leadership training in general and would certainly benefit from a cirriculum designed specifically for women to guide them through the specific issues that they face. If that were in place there would be less attrition to more female friendly vocations. These women face huge credibility issues, not because of their knowledge, skills, and ability, but because they are attractive and young. I would call out to those women who are in the fields to actively mentor those coming in, perhaps at the university level. And just as the men in my ultra conservative company would wear wild ties to express themselves, I see nothing wrong with wearing really cool high heels with your Ann Taylor suit!