Velvet Verbosity

I told you, didn’t I? I always say how geeky is sexy and sexy is geeky, and when you put the two together, you have GEEKY-SEXY! Now the folks at TangoMag are finally catching up to what I’ve know for years. [Editor’s Note - I had previously stated The Huffington Post as the source for the following quotes. However, I was actually linking to TangoMag. When I realized my error, I thought maybe I was drinking at the time of this post, but no, it was all just a tad confusing. There was a blurb (on The Huffington Post) about the original article (on Tango Mag) and I didn’t realize I had linked out of the HP to read the full article even though ALL THAT PINK should have been my first clue (maybe I WAS drinking at the time). Seeing how I can’t yet afford a staff of source checkers, these kinds of things are going to happen from time to time.]

Don’t look now, but there’s been a paradigm shift, and the very stuff that used to be geeky—gadgets, technology, interactivity—is suddenly sexy.

We’re not talking “Revenge of the Nerds” here, where the geeks wage war against the jocks. Geeks are getting a lot of proper attention suddenly. It’s not really hard to figure out why. For one thing, in the information age they are the power holders, and everyone knows how hot power is. But in addition to power, they are generally more aware, attentive, and caring than their “cooler” counterparts. Add that up with power and that’s one hot equation.

Josh Herman agrees. “Geeks are obsessive about Stars Wars, The Simpsons, comic books—and love,” he says. “And not just in the infatuation stage. The same passion I bring to anything in my life, I also bring to my relationships.”

Case in point: “This girl I was interested in in high school wanted to go to the butterfly exhibit at the zoo,” Herman says, “but she complained that you could never get close enough to them.”

One Saturday, off they went. When they arrived at the Butterfly House, his date watched with a mix of curiosity and horror as he dumped the contents of the water bottle he’d been carrying all over his head
and arms.

“It wasn’t water. It was sugar water I had mixed up that morning,” he explains. “Butterflies attacked me.” He, in turn, waved the colorful swarm toward his flabbergasted date, who, lo and behold, soon became his girlfriend.

“Would a non-geek have thought of that?” Herman challenges. “Probably not.”

No, probably not. And in that, lies the Catch-22 of dating a guy who is one: it’s not for the faint of heart, but, in the end, the stuff a geek will cook up to win yours will likely make it flutter. For the long haul.

Aw heck, see how geeky and sexy that is? Geeky because the guy wasn’t trying to be suave or cool (well maybe in Geek fashion he was). He didn’t have the script and the moves. He kind of made a fool of himself. But oh-so-sexy because he didn’t have a script. He had a brain, he had ears, he had a heart, and he combined all of them to come up with a plan that wouldn’t make him “look” all that cool, but would melt the heart of his potential mate. What women wouldn’t fall for that?

If you think I’m just loving on the geeky-sexy because it’s my personal preference, think again. Hot women are throwing themselves at geeks at comic book conventions, science fairs and anywhere else the slender think tanks geek out.

When tonight’s headliner takes the stage, a hush falls over the crowd. Harold Varmus, a Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher, has got the geek chops, and yet he hardly acts the part of the quintessential nerd. Rather, he seems relaxed and affable, and with his first question, elicits a wave of appreciative laughter: “Who are all of these people,” he asks this evening’s host, “and why are they spending a weekday night in a science club?”

Why indeed? I ask Liz*, a willowy blonde artist in her early thirties, what brought her here. A tip from her astrophysicist friend, Ben, she says. “He’s one of the most famous astrophysicists in the world. He discovered a star when he was 22!” she gushes. But tonight Liz is here with a wingwoman—a cute brunette with a pixie cut. They came for the lecture, but, says Liz, “I have a fantasy of meeting a really hot science guy.” “Yeah,” her friend chimes in, “Geek guys are mad hot.”

Despite all the myths (mostly supported by the “cool” guys who don’t want this information getting out), geeks make good lovers and good mates too. Loyalty and a curious mind, believe it or not, can make for some pretty hot action in and out of the bedroom. “Great” as in great for both parties. Loyalty translates into proper attention, intense curiosity translates into learning about what really works, not just what the movies say works.

Christina Milano of Glee Magazine says it best:

Nerds Have a Much Bigger Hard Drive
Not only do nerds take the time to listen to their partners, but they also mentally take notes, remember and are able to retrieve the information at the most opportune moments. The best way to make your partner feel sexy, sensual, wanted and larger than life is to listen to him or her. Because most of the world rarely gives you its devoted attention, imagine how special you’ll feel when one individual does.

A hot body might get you in the door, but eventually, what meets the eye will fade. It’s important to add depth and substance to your personality. The hottest, most intense relationships are the ones with people you can really talk to, laugh with and learn from every day.

Geeks also know how to make their women feel secure, and that’s ultra geeky-sexy. As Ahmed Bilal points out in 12 Reasons Why a Geek will Steal Your Girlfriend in 2008:

Remove the source of a women’s insecurity and she becomes a much more fun person to be with - as geeks know.

It’s hardly rocket science, but leave it to the geeks of the world to figure it out. Geeky-sexy is IN, and just remember that you heard the phrase here first.