“It’s My Community. It’s My World. I Do Belong Here”: An Analysis Of Gender, Identity, And Narratives Of Social Change In Contemporary ‘Nerd Culture’.

Abstract

This thesis presents a critical feminist qualitative analysis of gender, identity, and social change in ‘nerd culture’. ‘Nerd’ is a highly culturally recognisable term, and is accompanied by a particular set of assumptions about what constitutes a ‘nerd’. ‘Nerds’ have historically been regarded as white, male, and fundamentally ‘uncool’. However, evidence suggests that being a nerd is no longer considered as ‘uncool’ as it once was, and in contemporary society, it may even be regarded as ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’. Using data obtained from a corpus of social media sites, I examine nerds’ accounts of this cultural shift in the status of nerd culture, and the ways in which this shift has impacted upon identity practices and the construction of group boundaries within nerd culture. The ascension of nerd culture into a position of ‘coolness’, along with the recent increase in the visible participation of women in nerd culture, has resulted in increased gatekeeping and boundary policing within this subculture, which disproportionately targets female nerds. This thesis investigates the experiences of women in nerd culture, and the identity practices that female nerds engage in in order to protect themselves from accusations of inauthenticity which threaten their nerd identity. I go on to discuss the implications of this for developing a feminist understanding of nerd culture. This thesis also engages with debates among cultural theorists surrounding the validity of the notion of ‘subculture’ in the present day, and highlights the ways in which nerds “do” subculture through a range of identity practices.