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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 44158" data-attributes="member: 2067">Poking Fun and InsultingAs I've said above, it's really two different things, and it does depend on how you view it.I'd say the geeks on Buffy and X-Files and such were stereotypes, definately. But they're not overly insulting stereotypes. They do present a "gamer geek image," but, at the same time, being gamer geeks doesn't make them bad people. The Lone Gunmen are quirky, but they're the only guys to go to, sometimes. D&D is just a way to enhance their geek-chic, and, at the same time, is almost empowering, as it displays geeks as people who are worthy of respect, and dignity, even if they are a bit different.I didn't see the episode of the Gilmore Girls in question, but, judging from the reprint of the idea, it's not empowering, encouraging, or anything but an insult. She sneered. It may be with the character, but I still take offence at it. It's implying that D&D is bad, in some way, and makes you worthy of contempt. It's implying that being a D&D nerd means that you don't deserve to be treated like someone who isn't.I'm not against the Gamer Geek stereotype. Stereotypes are impossible to overcome. No matter how many African-Americans get high-ranking jobs in technological and other fields, the stereotype of the "Gangsta" will never be erased. No matter how many people from the Deep South decide to become pagans and design LINUX technology, the redneck stereotype will never be erased.I'm comfortable with the stereotype. Stereotypes are just that, and they don't reflect reality in any but the most minute of ways. I can live with a stereotype.I can't live with people assuming a superior attitude based on that stereotype. The moment people read that "that's not like me, so you're worse than me," a problem crops up.I don't see any of that in Buffy or the X-Files. I do see that in comments like that from Gilmore Girls. I even feel it a bit in the Jesse episode, but it's a milder case (the guy led a mostly normal life...he wasn't a psycho, but maybe borderline). I don't feel any of it in the Simpsons.Poking fun at a stereotype is leagues away from mean-spirited insults. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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