We must be holiday geeks around here—because we’ve discovered that every July 13 is Embrace Your Geekness Day. And social media has so many #gaygeek posts to enjoy on this joyfully nerdy occasion.
FYI, the word “geek” has gone through a wild journey of usages. By 1911, it was a term for sideshow performers, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. By 1949, it was a catch-all for disliked people. By 1980, it referred to weird or studious people, and the 1984 film Sixteen Candlespopularized the term as a disparaging appellation.
More recently, however, “geek” has become less a source of shame and more a badge of honor, especially among people with obsessive and specialized interests.
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PHOTOS: The geekiest go-go dancers and nerdiest fashionistas party at LA Gayming Society’s biggest night
Check out all the adorkable debauchery.
And while geeks and nerds are often conflated, the two terms have different connotations, Encyclopedia Britannica points out:
Geeks are now more generally described as “more community-oriented,” more likely to engage in “fannish” behavior such as collecting memorabilia, and more interested in trends. Nerds tend to be associated with specialized technical knowledge, more interested in detailed theory than trends, and more given to serious study of a subject matter.
Gay geeks, meanwhile, have countless online spaces created just for them. The Reddit communities r/gaygeek, r/gaymers, r/QueerSFF are prime examples. And gay geeks also find community on X and Instagram, letting their fannish flags fly with the #gaygeek hashtag.
Just check out the out-and-proud geeks below...
