[Badgirlz-list] She's Such a Geek

A: oldboys list <oldboys@???>

Call for subs: She's Such a Geek

Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders are editing an
anthology of essays
titled
She's Such a Geek; below is a copy of the call for
subs (posted with
permission). Spread the word!

http://www.kith.org/journals/jed/2005/11/15/3245.html

Sheâ•˙s Such a Geek

An Anthology by and for Women Obsessed with Computers,
Science, Comic
Books,
Gaming, Spaceships, and Revolution

Slated for Fall 2006

Geeks are taking over the world. They make the most
popular movies and
games, pioneer new ways to communicate using
technology, and create new
ideas that will change the future. But the stereotype
is that only men
can
be geeks. So when are we going to hear from the
triumphant female nerds
whose stories of outer space battles will inspire
generations, and
whose
inventions will change the future? Right now.

Female geeks are busting out of the labs and into the
spotlight. They
have
the skills and knowledge that can inspire social
progress, scientific
breakthroughs, and change the world for the better,
and theyâ•˙re
making
their voices heard, some for the first time, in
Annalee Newitz and
Charlie
Andersâ•˙ book Sheâ•˙s Such a Geek. This
anthology will
celebrate women who
have flourished in the male-dominated realms of
technical and cultural
arcana. Weâ•˙re looking for a wide range of
personal essays about
the
meaning of female nerdhood by women who are in love
with genomics,
obsessed
with blogging, learned about sex from Dungeons and
Dragons, and
arenâ•˙t
afraid to match wits with men or computers. The essays
in Sheâ•˙s
Such a
Geek will explain what it means to be passionately
engaged with
technicalor
obscure topics╉and how to deal with it when
peopletell you that
your
interests are weird, especially for a girl. This book
aims to bust
stereotypes of what it means to be a geek, as well as
what it means to
be
female.

More than anything, Sheâ•˙s Such a Geek is a
celebration and call
to arms:
itâ•˙s a hopeful book which looks forward to a day
whenwomen will
pilot
spaceships, invent molecular motors, design the next
ultra-tiny
supercomputer, write epics, and run the government.

We want introspective essays that explain what being a
geek has meant
to
you. Describe how youâ•˙ve fought stereotypes to
be accepted among
nerds.
Explore why you are obsessed with topics and ideas
that are supposed to
be
╲for boys only.╡ Tell us how you felt the
day you realized
that you
would be devoting the rest of your life to discovering
algorithms or
collecting comic books. We want strong, personal
writing that is also
smart
and critical. We donâ•˙t mind if you use the word
╲fuck,╡ and we donâ•˙t
mind if you use the word ╲telomerase.╡ Be
celebratory,
polemical,
wistful, angry, and just plain dorky.

Possible topics include:

what turned you into a geek
your career in science, technology, or engineering
growing up geeky
being a geek in high school today
battling geek stereotypes (i.e racial stereotypes and
geekdom, cultural
analysis of geek chic and the truth about nerds, the
idea that women
haveto
choose between being sexually desirable and smart,
stereotypes about
geek
professions such as computer programmers)
sex and dating among geeks
science fiction fandom
role-playing game or comic-book subcultures
the joys of math
blogging or videogames
female geek bonding
geek role models for women
feminist commentary on geek culture
womenâ•˙s involvement in DIY science and
technology groups
stories from women involved in geek pop and
underground cultures. These
might include comic book writers, science fiction
writers, electronic
music
musicians, and women interested in the gaming world.
womenâ•˙s web networks and web zine grrrl culture
issues of sexism in any or all of the above themes
Editors: Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders are geeky
women writers.
Annalee
is a contributing editor at Wired magazine and writes
the syndicated
column
Techsploitation. Charlie is the author of Choir Boy
(Soft Skull Press)
and
publisher of other magazine.

Publisher: Seal Press, an imprint of Avalon Publishing
Group, publishes
groundbreaking books by and for women in a variety of
topics.

Deadline: January 15, 2006

Length: 3,000-6,000 words

Format: Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and
paginated. Please
include
your address, phone number, email address, and a short
bio on the last
page.
Essays will not be returned.

Submitting: Send essay electronically as a Document or
Rich Text Format
file
to Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders at
sheissuchageek@???.

Payment: $100 plus two books

Reply: Please allow until February 15 for a response.
If you
havenâ•˙t
received a response by then, please assume your essay
has not been
selected.
It is not possible to reply to every submission
personally.


---------------------------------------------------------------------



        
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL – Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com