Campaigners in Sweden are trying to force a dictionary to change its definition of "nerd". But after two decades of "reappropriation" has "nerd" - and its sister word "geek" - now completely lost its derogatory connotations?

In the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds the rousing final speech of one of the protagonists starts with the statement: "I'm a nerd."

Its plot may be cartoonish but the film reveals a certain cultural backdrop - to be a nerd was to be socially awkward, even socially inferior. Jocks, those who were good at sport, or other socially successful groups, usually ended up winning. To turn that on its head could form the basis for comedy.

Things have changed.

The internet and gaming changed everything.

I still see nerd as being somewhat derogatory, but everyone loves a geek

I still see nerd as being somewhat derogatory, but everyone loves a geek

To be honest with you, I've never understood the distinction between the two for one thing. I do techy stuff but I also do sport. I read books but I also occasionally talk to people of the opposite sex without having an embolism. Which of these particularly clumsy pigeonholes am I supposed to sit in?


Jon

Does this help?





CC

To be honest with you, I've never understood the distinction between the two for one thing. I do techy stuff but I also do sport. I read books but I also occasionally talk to people of the opposite sex without having an embolism. Which of these particularly clumsy pigeonholes am I supposed to sit in?