The more I hear other women accused of fitting the ‘fake geek girl’ stereotype, the more I love my nerdy niche known as LARPing(live action role playing). While issues surrounding women in LARP do exist, most of them can be overcome in a safe, appropriate environment.

Negative stereotypes

Negative stereotypes do exist about women who LARP. I’ve heard multiple assumptions about female LARPers’ sexualities (ranging from “she must never get laid because she’s such a nerd” to “she’s probably a slut”) and personalities based upon their LARPer status. However, I find less of this treatment compared to other traditionally geeky forums:

  • In a comic book store, I was browsing through some “Thor” comics and was told by a male employee that I should ask my big brother if I want to get into comics. (What didn’t he realize? I was 31, wearing a S.H.I.E.L.D. shirt and professionally writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.)
  • My friend Tina is a console gamer who gets similar treatment when she pre-orders or purchases FPS games at some video game stores. Read more at Examiner.com.