This article originally appeared on Geek Feminism.
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Feature item for this open thread is Nothing to Prove (subtitled version available in Amara) by geek sister musicians The Doubleclicks. The band talk about the song and video on their blog. Additional images can be submitted on geekgirlvideo.tumblr.com. Transcript at the bottom of this post.
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{“video_url”: “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Rjy5yW1gQ”}
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Partial transcription of video:
Transcriber’s note: the video clip consists of many short videos of a geek or sometimes two geeks holding up a sign to the camera. for time reasons, I am only transcribing the signs, not giving a description of people’s appearance or their surroundings, other than noting geeks who appear to me to be men. I’m aware that several of them are geek celebrities, but I haven’t looked them up. Signs are in square braces.
[Opening credits: “Nothing to Prove”, a music video by the Doubleclicks.]
I entered this scene through rejection and honesty
[Two people: Hi there! We are geek girls.]
[I started playing DnD in 6th grade. I never stopped.]
Nerds weren’t mean, they were weird and that worked for me
[I learned to read with comic books.]
[I’ve been a gamer since before I can remember.]
After 10 years of teasing when social skills failed me
[I grew my hair out / so I could dress up as Princess Leia.]
Dungeons & Dragons cured all that ailed me
[I played Myst when it was released. I was 11. It was the GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!]
We read books, we played games, we made art, we watched Lost
[My Transformers played with my Cabbage Patch Kids.]
[I received my first console when I was nine years old.]
We said things like “D20”, “shipping” and “Mana cost”
[My regular Saturday night “date” was the 5th doctor.]
[Comics taught me women can be beautiful & powerful.]
It felt good to be myself, not being mocked
[Founder and president of my high school Star Trek fan club.]
[I spend HUNDREDS of hours on cosplay.]
Still self-conscious, though, we whispered things about jocks
[Adult and child: I’m raising the next generation of Geek Girls!]
[Accounting associate by day, Elf Ranger by night.]
But one day, you grow up, come into your own
[I was obsessed with Star Trek: The Next Generation and had a super huge crush on Jonathan Frakes. / Now we’re friends. It’s weird.]
Now geek’s not rejection – it’s a label I own
[I write code for particle accelerators.]
[I’m in ur HOUSE OF IDEAS writin ur COMICS.]
Then ignorant haters come to prove me wrong
[Two people: being a geek girl is really awesome / … except when it isn’t.]
Tell me I’m not nerdy enough to belong
[I love video games but BOYS tell me I’m not a REAL GAMER.]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[That look of surprise when I talk about Star Trek? It gets old.]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[Why are you surprised I want to be an ASTRONAUT when I grow up?]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[I’m a SCIENTIST not a secretary.]
(rising music)
[I own a comic + game shop but people just assume I’m humoring my geek husband.]
Fake Geek Girl test – that’s a funny one, go ahead
[People say I only play video games because of my boyfriend but I owned over 200 games before I even met him!]
How many comic books are there I haven’t read?
[I work at a comic book store. Male customers tend to ignore me completely or ask if there is a man around to help them.]
I know it feels good to have a contest you win
[Being ASIAN and a GEEK doesn’t mean I have to like ANIME.]
It would feel even better if I wanted in
[I was told I traded my cleavage for free comics.]
So women aren’t geeks, so is that your conclusion?
[I have to use a gender-neutral pen-name just to be respected.]
That this is some secret club based on exclusion?
[I was told I “sound smart for a girl in a pink skirt.”]
12-year-old dorks would say you’re being selfish
[A con vendor told me that the smaller dice sets were for women to wear and show off (accessories). The regular ones were for men to, you know, play games with.]
And then they’d go write in their journals in Elvish
[Two people: Here’s a message for the haters, elitists and bullies / from us, the geek girls and our friends]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[Man: No one gets to tell you how to be a geek.]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[Man: If someone has to pass a test to hang out with you / YOU’RE the problem. ]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[You think I do this for your approval? Mwa ha ha. / Get over yourself.]
(instrumental)
[Man: There are no fake geeks / … only real jerks.]
[Who died and made you Batman?! Wait. Was it your parents? / In that case I’m very sorry. / Never mind.]
[I don’t need you to tell me how much I like anything.]
[We’ve both been ridiculed for our hobbies. Be supportive. We’re on the same side.]
I’ve got cred but honestly, I shouldn’t need it
[I don’t need to go to a con to be a geek. I am & I haven’t.]
This world needs all kinds of folks to complete it
[Please don’t let my gender turn you into an elitist. We love the same things for the same reasons.]
You’ve got gamers, and artists and comic subscribers
[Don’t tell my daughters that Lego, Robots and Superheroes are for boys.]
Cosplayers, crafters and fan-fiction writers
[Geek equality equals geekuality now!]
You can stop – never say “fake geek” again
[I was a geek before I saw a cult film or played a game. I don’t need your approval in the end.]
Our club needs no bouncers – all who want in get in
[Be respectful and I won’t eat you.]
But go ahead, if you want, to own that role fully
[Men: Staring ≠ respecting. Men are women too!]
I ain’t got nothing to prove to a bully!
[I’m a geek and I’m awesome. / And I don’t need your permission.]
(instrumental)
[DON’T PANIC.]
[Man: Don’t be a dick.]
[I’m older than ‘your Mom’ and I still love MMORPGs!]
[I’m a geek. / Search your heart. You know it to be true.]
[I founded a camp to teach girls how to program.]
[I am a cardboard-flipping card gamer.]
[You can’t take the geek from me.]
[Buuugs!]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[I’m a geek!]
[I am a geek! (and I am good at sports)]
[I’m a geek!]
[I’m a geek]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[I’m a geek!]
[I am a RPG nerd!]
[I am a geek!]
[I’m a geek ♥]
I’ve got nothing to prove
[I’m a geek]
[Man: I will do anything for $5]
[I am a costume geek!]
(instrumental)
[I cosplay for attention. LOL NOT.]
[I’m me. NERD.]
[I’m a geek!]
[I’m a fraking NERD!]
[I’m a cosplayer.]
[(sign held off-screen)]
[I’m a NERD.]
[I am a geek grrl!]
[I am a geek]
[I’m a geek!]
[I am a GEEK]
[I am a GEEK!]
[I am a tabletop geek girl!]
[I’m a / Browncoat / Comic book collator / Convention panelist / Tabletop gamer / Fanfic writer / Geek]
[I solved the [Rubik’s] cube in 36 seconds on TV 30 years ago. Now I publish the card game Fluxx.]
[I just knew that one day Star Trek would be cool. Take that EVERYONE from junior high!]
[I turned nerd watching the 90s Xmen with my Dad.]
[Child and adult,: I am a geek girl in training. I love the Science Channel. / I am a scifi/fantasy book, gadget, games (before kids), science and technology, artsy fartsy geek. aka a general all-purpose geek girl.]
[Trek-obsessed cosplaying grammarian librarian.]
[I got my husband into GAMING.]
[I am a geek!]
[It’s not easy. But I’m a geek.]
[I crochet my own Elder Gods!]
[I have been playing video games for almost 28 years!]
[Two people: Geek friends = great friends!]
[When I ran a two-week line up for the first Star Wars prequel, my homeroom teacher called me an EMBARRASSMENT and said I was ruining my school’s reputation.]
[My Mom let me read her copy of The Jedi Academy trilogy when I was 10!]
[I was born making Vulcan hands.]
[I often contemplate the merits of a Hogwards education.]
[I got my PhD in electrical engineering with a research focus in computational neuroscience.]
[I am a Wizard, Jedi, Scooby, Xman, Baker Street Irregular, Companion, Brownvoat, Starfleet Officer, Dread Pirate, Walker, Wizard, Geek.]
[Ich bin ein Aussenseitern.]
[I’m geeky enough for me.]
[I teach robotics to kids, make my own cosplays, and I work as a professional NPC at my local comic book store. (And I watch lots of geek TV shows.)]
[I was the one who introduced my fiancé to D&D. To me he is the newbie.]
[I was BORN pulling things apart & putting them back together. Now I do science on a boat. #geekforlife]
[Write fanfiction. Do cute and sexy cosplay. BE YOURSELF. Do what you want.]
[Adult and child: I can be a ballerina AND kill cylons! / Why are you surprised I want to be an ASTRONAUT when I grow up?]
[When I was six my family brought me to PAX. I loved it!]
[I said I liked Illusion of Gaia. He asked me how many red jewels the game contained.]
[Chem teacher told me I would never make a good SCIENTIST. I start my PhD in biology in September.]
[Don’t worry if you haven’t read, watched and played everything, given time you will explore!]
[In high school and university guys were shocked that I played video games and read sci-fi/fantasy books.]
[I am a geek! YAY!]
Haters are gonna hate!
[Two people: Geek girls are awesome and we are not going away! / Deal with it.]
(credits roll)
Transcript notes: subtitling used the Amara tool, lyrics are available in the Youtube description for the video. In order to capture the signs towards the end that are only displayed for two frames, I downloaded the video with youtube-dl and stepped through it frame-by-frame using Totem and Máirín Duffy’s instructions for frame stepping.