NYT/UCSB: Nerds=Whitey
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Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Nerdiness goes up as Multi-Culture goes down?</div><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--sizeo:2--><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/magazine/29wwln-idealab-t.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=magazine&adxnnlx=1185807534-ewnCfG7RngLrBiHVS14k/w" target="_blank">Who's a Nerd, Anyway?</a><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
By BENJAMIN NUGENT
Published: July 29, 2007
What is a nerd? Mary Bucholtz, a linguist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been working on the question for the last 12 years. She has gone to high schools and colleges, mainly in California, and asked students from different crowds to think about the idea of nerdiness and who among their peers should be considered a nerd; students have also “reported” themselves. Nerdiness, she has concluded, is largely a matter of racially tinged behavior. People who are considered nerds tend to act in ways that are, as she puts it, “hyperwhite.”
While the word “nerd” has been used since the 1950s, its origin remains elusive. Nerds, however, are easy to find everywhere. Being a nerd has become a widely accepted and even proud identity, and nerds have carved out a comfortable niche in popular culture; “nerdcore” rappers, who wear pocket protectors and write paeans to computer routing devices, are in vogue, and TV networks continue to run shows with titles like “Beauty and the Geek.” As a linguist, Bucholtz understands nerdiness first and foremost as a way of using language. In a 2001 paper, “The Whiteness of Nerds: Superstandard English and Racial Markedness,” and other works, including a book in progress, Bucholtz notes that the “hegemonic” “cool white” kids use a limited amount of African-American vernacular English; they may say “blood” in lieu of “friend,” or drop the “g” in “playing.” But the nerds she has interviewed, mostly white kids, punctiliously adhere to Standard English. They often favor Greco-Latinate words over Germanic ones (“it’s my observation” instead of “I think”), a preference that lends an air of scientific detachment. They’re aware they speak distinctively, and they use language as a badge of membership in their cliques. One nerd girl Bucholtz observed performed a typically nerdy feat when asked to discuss “blood” as a slang term; she replied: “B-L-O-O-D. The word is blood,” evoking the format of a spelling bee. She went on, “That’s the stuff which is inside of your veins,” humorously using a literal definition. Nerds are not simply victims of the prevailing social codes about what’s appropriate and what’s cool; they actively shape their own identities and put those codes in question.
Though Bucholtz uses the term “hyperwhite” to describe nerd language in particular, she claims that the “symbolic resources of an extreme whiteness” can be used elsewhere. After all, “trends in music, dance, fashion, sports and language in a variety of youth subcultures are often traceable to an African-American source,” but “unlike the styles of cool European American students, in nerdiness, African-American culture and language [do] not play even a covert role.” Certainly, “hyperwhite” seems a good word for the sartorial choices of paradigmatic nerds. While a stereotypical black youth, from the zoot-suit era through the bling years, wears flashy clothes, chosen for their aesthetic value, nerdy clothing is purely practical: pocket protectors, belt sheaths for gadgets, short shorts for excessive heat, etc. Indeed, “hyperwhite” works as a description for nearly everything we intuitively associate with nerds, which is why Hollywood has long traded in jokes that try to capitalize on the emotional dissonance of nerds acting black (Eugene Levy saying, “You got me straight trippin’, boo”) and black people being nerds (the characters Urkel and Carlton in the sitcoms “Family Matters” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”).
By cultivating an identity perceived as white to the point of excess, nerds deny themselves the aura of normality that is usually one of the perks of being white. Bucholtz sees something to admire here. In declining to appropriate African-American youth culture, thereby “refusing to exercise the racial privilege upon which white youth cultures are founded,” she writes, nerds may even be viewed as “traitors to whiteness.” You might say they know that a culture based on theft is a culture not worth having. On the other hand, the code of conspicuous intellectualism in the nerd cliques Bucholtz observed may shut out “black students who chose not to openly display their abilities.” This is especially disturbing at a time when African-American students can be stigmatized by other African-American students if they’re too obviously diligent about school. Even more problematic, “Nerds’ dismissal of black cultural practices often led them to discount the possibility of friendship with black students,” even if the nerds were involved in political activities like protesting against the dismantling of affirmative action in California schools. If nerdiness, as Bucholtz suggests, can be a rebellion against the cool white kids and their use of black culture, it’s a rebellion with a limited membership.
<i>Benjamin Nugent is the author of “American Nerd: The Story of My People,” which will be published next spring.</i><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Considering the population of readers here who would probably identify themselves as "geeks" if not "nerds", I'm curious how everyone reacts to this article.
Personally, it strikes me as being highly racist. The first thing that jumps out at me is the highlighting of "whites" and "blacks" without a single mention of Asian or Latins for example. As if nerds from other ethinicities didn't exist. Strange.
By BENJAMIN NUGENT
Published: July 29, 2007
What is a nerd? Mary Bucholtz, a linguist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been working on the question for the last 12 years. She has gone to high schools and colleges, mainly in California, and asked students from different crowds to think about the idea of nerdiness and who among their peers should be considered a nerd; students have also “reported” themselves. Nerdiness, she has concluded, is largely a matter of racially tinged behavior. People who are considered nerds tend to act in ways that are, as she puts it, “hyperwhite.”
While the word “nerd” has been used since the 1950s, its origin remains elusive. Nerds, however, are easy to find everywhere. Being a nerd has become a widely accepted and even proud identity, and nerds have carved out a comfortable niche in popular culture; “nerdcore” rappers, who wear pocket protectors and write paeans to computer routing devices, are in vogue, and TV networks continue to run shows with titles like “Beauty and the Geek.” As a linguist, Bucholtz understands nerdiness first and foremost as a way of using language. In a 2001 paper, “The Whiteness of Nerds: Superstandard English and Racial Markedness,” and other works, including a book in progress, Bucholtz notes that the “hegemonic” “cool white” kids use a limited amount of African-American vernacular English; they may say “blood” in lieu of “friend,” or drop the “g” in “playing.” But the nerds she has interviewed, mostly white kids, punctiliously adhere to Standard English. They often favor Greco-Latinate words over Germanic ones (“it’s my observation” instead of “I think”), a preference that lends an air of scientific detachment. They’re aware they speak distinctively, and they use language as a badge of membership in their cliques. One nerd girl Bucholtz observed performed a typically nerdy feat when asked to discuss “blood” as a slang term; she replied: “B-L-O-O-D. The word is blood,” evoking the format of a spelling bee. She went on, “That’s the stuff which is inside of your veins,” humorously using a literal definition. Nerds are not simply victims of the prevailing social codes about what’s appropriate and what’s cool; they actively shape their own identities and put those codes in question.
Though Bucholtz uses the term “hyperwhite” to describe nerd language in particular, she claims that the “symbolic resources of an extreme whiteness” can be used elsewhere. After all, “trends in music, dance, fashion, sports and language in a variety of youth subcultures are often traceable to an African-American source,” but “unlike the styles of cool European American students, in nerdiness, African-American culture and language [do] not play even a covert role.” Certainly, “hyperwhite” seems a good word for the sartorial choices of paradigmatic nerds. While a stereotypical black youth, from the zoot-suit era through the bling years, wears flashy clothes, chosen for their aesthetic value, nerdy clothing is purely practical: pocket protectors, belt sheaths for gadgets, short shorts for excessive heat, etc. Indeed, “hyperwhite” works as a description for nearly everything we intuitively associate with nerds, which is why Hollywood has long traded in jokes that try to capitalize on the emotional dissonance of nerds acting black (Eugene Levy saying, “You got me straight trippin’, boo”) and black people being nerds (the characters Urkel and Carlton in the sitcoms “Family Matters” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”).
By cultivating an identity perceived as white to the point of excess, nerds deny themselves the aura of normality that is usually one of the perks of being white. Bucholtz sees something to admire here. In declining to appropriate African-American youth culture, thereby “refusing to exercise the racial privilege upon which white youth cultures are founded,” she writes, nerds may even be viewed as “traitors to whiteness.” You might say they know that a culture based on theft is a culture not worth having. On the other hand, the code of conspicuous intellectualism in the nerd cliques Bucholtz observed may shut out “black students who chose not to openly display their abilities.” This is especially disturbing at a time when African-American students can be stigmatized by other African-American students if they’re too obviously diligent about school. Even more problematic, “Nerds’ dismissal of black cultural practices often led them to discount the possibility of friendship with black students,” even if the nerds were involved in political activities like protesting against the dismantling of affirmative action in California schools. If nerdiness, as Bucholtz suggests, can be a rebellion against the cool white kids and their use of black culture, it’s a rebellion with a limited membership.
<i>Benjamin Nugent is the author of “American Nerd: The Story of My People,” which will be published next spring.</i><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Considering the population of readers here who would probably identify themselves as "geeks" if not "nerds", I'm curious how everyone reacts to this article.
Personally, it strikes me as being highly racist. The first thing that jumps out at me is the highlighting of "whites" and "blacks" without a single mention of Asian or Latins for example. As if nerds from other ethinicities didn't exist. Strange.
Comments
Seems like we're creating terms again. Nerds are just counter-culture. Like all other counter-culture.
Personally, it strikes me as being highly racist. The first thing that jumps out at me is the highlighting of "whites" and "blacks" without a single mention of Asian or Latins for example. As if nerds from other ethnicities didn't exist. Strange.
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<!--quoteo(post=1641491:date=Jul 31 2007, 09:11 AM:name=Rob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rob @ Jul 31 2007, 09:11 AM) [snapback]1641491[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Hyperwhite huh?
Seems like we're creating terms again. Nerds are just counter-culture. Like all other counter-culture.
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basically that was bugging me through out the piece also. It seemed to be running to much on stereotypes then on facts. I know just as many whites/blacks/Asians/Hispanics/whatevers that act nerdy/"black"/anything. Maybe it is just where I grew up and went to school, but I am not so sure.
Actually, when I think of a stereotypical 'nerd' I generally think Chinese, as I really only know 2 white 'nerds'.
Also, the sample seems to be slightly skewed, the piece flat out states the most of her data collection was based in colleges in a single state. maybe 'blood' is a west coast thing, or maybe I am just out of touch, but I have never heard the expression before <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
but what do I know, I am just a white geek <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
If you feel like you have to find groups of people where "nerdyness" is more or less prevalent I'd say social classes - and how belonging to a certain class predisposes you towards academic achievements and belonging to another generally means an upbringing that emphasizes other traits and behaviours - would lend better results. Not entirely surprising, the ratio of blacks to whites brought up with academic parents fit well with the argument. But as we know correlation != causation.
I'd consider myself a geek without a moment's hesitation. Probably a nerd too. I hate rap, I hate it when people wear excessive jewelery and call it "bling". I hate it when people wear excessively baggy clothes with their hats on sideways. I pedantically pronounce and spell properly. According to this study that makes me a bona-fide nerd.
I think the basic premise of this article is wrong. Being a nerd isn't an anathema to black culture. They just happen to be a bit opposite.
--Scythe--
Nerds =! geeks. Ever.
I am personally offended by the use of the word 'geek' as a general term for those who have a technical area of specialty. Given the original meaning and connotations of the word, I think that I should be allowed to open up "Sand N****r Tech." as a tech support shop right next to the Geek Squad storefront.
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Who knows? Maybe you will be able to. Our cultures are some sort of weirdly emergent things, and they change constantly.
Just because symbols and words have been stolen from older generations doesn't mean they can't be modified and rallied behind by newer ones. We as a body of people give these words meaning, and we also decide what that meaning is.
Maybe 'geek' had darker meanings before, but now it doesn't. I've been told many times on these forums that it's in fact <b>my</b> fault if I'm offended by something.
the point of the article is that this author and this linguist have been investigating what Americans see as the quintessential definition of an American nerd. They found that the average American would describe a nerd as having 'hyperwhite' behavior and language - someone who doesn't use slang that originated from urban Black culture, for instance. It's obviously possible for someone of any race to be a 'nerd', as the average person sees it, provided the person exhibits behavior that is stereotypically White to an almost cartoonish degree.
I present as evidence:
[youtube]-xEzGIuY7kw[/youtube]
Of course we're all entitled to our own definitions of the word 'nerd.' This linguist just probably knows more about the word and how most people define it than you do.
i demand the word "hyperwhite" gets typed as h********
of course, that won't happen whilst there's double standards with blacks and whites. (a stand-up black comedian ragging on whites is funny (i laugh myself) but you wouldn't get the reverse 'cos that'd be racist!!)
...wait what was this topic about?
why exactly are people calling an article about a particular stereotype racist? Are you arguing that the word 'nerd' isn't a stereotype? if you're not arguing that, then how do you propose an article on a stereotype be handled without using the language of stereotypes?
the point of the article is that this author and this linguist have been investigating what Americans see as the quintessential definition of an American nerd. They found that the average American would describe a nerd as having 'hyperwhite' behavior and language - someone who doesn't use slang that originated from urban Black culture, for instance. It's obviously possible for someone of any race to be a 'nerd', as the average person sees it, provided the person exhibits behavior that is stereotypically White to an almost cartoonish degree.
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Gimme a break. You'd allow someone to just make up terms like "hyperwhite" to describe a situation that's already and particularly well defined by common language? It's one thing to say that nerds typically don't use the currently popular slang. It's a whole other thing to reclassify an entire set of personal attributes into a newly coined word of your choice just to get publicity.
Shall we start calling people like Michael Vick "hyperblack?"
Gimme a break. You'd allow someone to just make up terms like "hyperwhite" to describe a situation that's already and particularly well defined by common language? It's one thing to say that nerds typically don't use the currently popular slang. It's a whole other thing to reclassify an entire set of personal attributes into a newly coined word of your choice just to get publicity.
Shall we start calling people like Michael Vick "hyperblack?"
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I explained it pretty explicitly and the article did even better. If you interviewed KKK members about the meaning of the N-word, they'd tell you all sorts of awful things about black people. Would that mean black people are awful? no.
I might say the word "soda" is "particularly well defined by common language" but if I went and asked for one in certain parts of the country I'd get some odd looks. And a brit asking for a f4g here might punched if he asked the wrong person.
This article is about the average American's view of a nerd. If you disagree with the article, then I guess you're not in the average American demographic and the article isn't about you. Either that, or you disagree with the article, but something tells me you probably didn't do as much research as the linguist or author here. I for one completely understand and believe that the average American would describe a nerd as having 'hyperwhite' characteristics. The average American isn't too smart to begin with, and need I remind you again, we're talking about a stereotype, not a factually defined word with a solid definition.
the debate reminds me of a recent Dinosaur Comic:
<img src="http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-681.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
1) Average American != Californian College/HS students. (talk about taking a skewed sample)
2) All of the parts drawing connecting between nerdieness and 'hyperwhite' were her own, not the people she interviewed.
Also, when talking about why it is predominantly whites that are nerds (again, I would love to see some actual numbers on this just b/c I am curious) she makes no mention of socio/economic factors. Only looking at race (and ignoring a large chunk of the population by only talking about 'whites' and African Americans).
The entire article just comes off seeming silly and as if it was aiming for a goal (to associate nerds with 'white'), instead of an honest exploration of the culture.
"Oh, I'm a 'doctor' and I have a study! My study has produced results! I have measured these results, found them to be very inline with what most people would expect (that nerds are counter-cultural elements of society and thusly will not use popular society's constructs), and decided that the best way to describe them is to coin an entirely new word that simply sits above a slightly longer set of already present words. This is because I want people to think that my study is <b>groundbreaking</b>."
All race points aside, we can keep making words forever and it will do us no good. In the end, we'll drown in our own "masochist-creative-assertions."
Existing words can evolve freely, this is only natural and pretty much unavoidable. But creating new terms left and right for things that differ only slightly from the norm produces corporate IT executive speak.
"The current enterprise-element shall at its core reflect the varying post-web aspects of today's rapid-deployment market. Several new information systems are in production and our current technical infrastructure must keep pace with the evolution of architecture."
Translates to:
"We need a new design because the Internet is moving in a new direction."
This is because there are different people who decide what should be done, and who actually make it happen, and making sure the intent of a plan is carried into action and not only the word, giving the orders or writing the plans needs to be done with care so everyone knows exactly what will happen, and no leeway is left open for deviations from the intention of the plan.
OK, to turn it around, imagine you asked a black guy in Harlem to act like a stereotypical white guy. He might adjust some imaginary glasses, use some big words, walk around all stiff, like he had a stick up his butt, etc. I might be tempted to describe this charactarization as 'hypernerdy.' That doesn't mean nerds should be offended that they're associated with white people, or white people should be offended they're associated with nerdiness, or non-white people should be offended that they're NOT associated with nerdiness... because these are just stereotypes to begin with, not scientific definitions.
stereotypes are offensive basically by definition. if anything, this is an exploration of WHY they're offensive. If anything, you guys should be upset that the 'nerd' stereotype exists, not at this one linguist's exploration of the word. Don't shoot the messenger <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/asrifle.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::asrifle::" border="0" alt="asrifle.gif" /> <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/nerd-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::nerdy::" border="0" alt="nerd-fix.gif" />
Why don't we explore some alternate explorations of the word's meaning, if we don't agree with this one? is a nerd just a smart person? but doesn't the word 'nerd' usually have negative connotations too?
This article is about the average American's view of a nerd. If you disagree with the article, then I guess you're not in the average American demographic and the article isn't about you.
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Thats an <i>awful</i> lot of trust you place in the article author, to say "anyone who disgrees must be out of the mainstream". In all of my experiences, "nerd culture" has had very little to do with race, and much more to do with socio-economic status and the relative value assigned to academic pursuits.
It so happens that, on average, blacks and whites tend to have different socio-economic status. But this article is a glaring example of <i>post hoc ergo propter hoc</i> fallacy. Simply observing that there seem to be more white nerds than black nerds does not prove that "nerdyness" is nothing but a variety of "whiteness", and as other people have pointed out, the author left out every other skin color in America, many of which don't follow her own pre-assumed connection between whites and nerds.
For the record...I used to watch Family Matters on a semi-regular basis, and I <i>never</i> associated Urkel with being "more White" than any of the other blacks in the show. Nugent made that up out of whole cloth.