I tend to reject any notion that female nerds are going to be more "intuitive, more feeling." I've had friends of both sexes who remembered pointless minutiae, and I've had friends who can't remember shit. I'm a guy and a music and movie nerd, but I'm hardly one of those guys who remembers all the statistics and dates and personnel... I could care less. I watch movies and listen to music because I appreciate certain moods they evoke, which either means I take a more "feminine" approach to media, or that the whole notion of generalizing something like this is ridiculous.

There are a lot of geeks that write fan fiction. Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Lord of the Rings, and other franchises have loads of fan fiction. The fanfics are actually too numerous to count. Just Google fan fiction and you will get thousands of entries. I have read some fanfics that actually border on the pornographic. I have written some fan fiction myself.

Thanks to the Internet, there are thousands of websites devoted to geek movies and televison shows. There are websites catering to every geek interest you can think of.

Many geeks I know are often into role-playing and make their own costumes. There is a sub-genre called steampunk where participants make their own intricate Victorian-style costumes and props. I have other friends that knit and sew and make acessories such as hats, gloves, scarves, and shawls. Some others I know make plush toys, bake sweets, build props or models, and create art in homage to their favorite science fiction/fantasy characters, movies, or televison shows.

Many geeks like myself are collectors. I collect action figures, statues, stuffed animals, plush toys, dolls, and model spacecraft from my favorite franchises. My DVD and book collections are positively massive. My BF is into steampunk and cyberpunk. He collects old-fashioned and antique machinery and computer equipment. He also collects action figures, props, and model spacecraft. He owns four lightsabers from Star Wars and a model of the TARDIS from Dr. Who.

I don't consider geek to be an insult. I think it is a way for those of us that are into various activities that are considered "niche" or out of the mainstream to self-identify. However, his beginning to change somwhat. American society itself is highly stratified. Think about radio stations and how some are geared to Rap/Hip-Hop and others to Country and Pop. Unfortunately, our society like to classify things and people they are uncomfortable with or don't understand. No one likes being put into a box, but that is our society.

I'm a sportsgeek and female fans are very different from male fans. We write fanfiction, fall in love with sportsmen and at games we will tend to yell using a player's first name - guy fans tend to use their last name or their nickname.

I suppose it can be summed up in that guys tend to be very passionate about the subject, women tend to be very passionate about the people involved.

@knecht:

I feel you are a kindred spirit in the nature of your complaints against Broadsheet. I, too, write in when I see unjustified generalization.

This is one I have to defend, though. The article certainly sets up a shallow dichotomy involving a sexist stereotype: men are uninterested in human things, being caught up in facts and figures; women are warm, humane, generally superior beings. (I know I'm pushing this further than Berman did, of course. I want to identify what is offensive about the dichotomy.) If she stopped there, you (knecht) would have a point. She doesn't stop there, though. She quotes this Buffy producer person against herself. She tells us that her boyfriend doesn't fit the dichotomy she's just set up, and she expresses doubts about her own assertion. That seems fair to me.

Most of all, she successfully opened the door to a productive, largely civil discussion of gender relations within a specialized world that most readers don't know. I get tired of Broadsheet readers getting all huffy about everything. (I do too. I'm not claiming to be exempt.) Discussions of gender involve deep feelings, and there's an art to creating a post that does what this one does. So I say, good job, Judy Berman.

I am I huge Buffy/Angel fan and the a man for everyone reminds me of the great Spuffy vs. Bangel Shipper Wars and the one Buffy writer who nearly sparked riots compared Spuffy fans to women who write to serial killers. Then there were the Kitten The Witch and the Wardrobe people who were Willow + Tara fans and did some great recon work on location shoots until Joss killed off Tara and enraged that fanbase who felt the "dead lesbian" cliche was terribly offensive. Huge uproar there. If there were and Riley/Buffy shippers they stayed well hidden and don't even get me started on Parker...Good Times!

I've been looking for a good Vampire replacement. I really liked Blood Ties but Lifetime royally screwed us fans with that one. I boycotted them for a long time after this but caved when they acquired Project Runway. I'm giving The Vampire Diaries a shot but the pilot made me think I'm too old for the type of teen angst they're selling but I'm still giving it a shot. I find Steve McQueen interesting in it as well as the evil vampire brother from Lost. I've never seen Twilight but I once mistook an ALA (American Library Association) poster of Twilight for a poster of Elvis and Prisilla. True Blood sounds interesting but I haven't seen it either. Although not Vampire related but in the Supernatural genre I also miss Reaper and New Amsterdam (along with The Riches and Dirt but that's wandering far afield). Speaking of which, I can't stand Supernatural.

"Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows drew hordes of female fans back in the day, and lots of male fans as well. That character is my idea of a vampire and always will be"

They are remaking this with Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. I thought James Marsters would make an excellent Quentin Collins.

Now off to rewatch the Buffy Musical...

Every single night, the same arrangement, I go out and fight the fight. Still I always feel this strange estrangement, Nothing here is real, nothing here is right. I've been making shows of trading blows Just hoping no one knows That I've been going through the motions, Walking though the part, Nothing seems to penetrate my heart.

Now if anyone wants to talk Xena they did an episode centered around a Comicon-like gathering and Xena fans....I just love Xena...