Why Are Male Nerds So Ridiculously Sexist?

I understand why the country at large is so White Male centric; the entrenched management is not so quick to give up it's comfortable living conditions.  Like it or not (I'm hoping you don't), "The Man" is still running the show, and everyone else gets second-class citizenship.  But that's an entirely different blog.  What I'm wondering in this blog is:  Why are male nerds, who are ostensibly an outcast culture, and often claim to value knowledge above all other things, so backwards when it comes to gender?

The description of every female character in sci-fi/fantasy entertainment has to end with ". . . and sexy".  Now, I'm not a puritan;  sex is awesome, and I understand that "good looking" people are easier on the eyes than so-called "ugly" ones.  But it's often clear that, in the case of female characters, the entire point of their existence is to model in skimpy clothing for the reader/viewer.  Being an object of sexual desire can be a form of empowerment, but I would argue that it isn't if that's ALL you're valued for.  Male nerds, I ask you;  how would you like it if the tables were turned?  What if the only thing that you were "valued" for was your awkward looks, and not your feelings and thoughts?  How does a disenfranchised group come to be so possessive?

In a word?  Inexperience.  While it's a cliche to think of nerds as virgins, there is a strong kernel of truth in that stereotype.  Nerds are by definition socially awkward, and therefore less likely to actively "play the game".  Without interaction, the woman remains an object of mystery to the male nerd.  A mythological creature, either to be loved from afar. . .  or sometimes despised for their lack of affection.

Lady nerds, don't think that I'm ignoring your existence.  However, let's be honest;  you're few and far between, and often don't fit the male nerd's ideal of what a woman "should be".  The grass is always greener on the other side, so a lack of options leads to their obsession with what society views as "perfection";  blond hair, blue eyes, big tits.  Or, if not that exact formula, then at least model-like in appearance.  Since nerds have a longstanding appreciation of comic books, action figures and cartoons, they can even fantasize about female characters whose proportions would not be possible in the physical world.  Certainly superhero characters like Batman and Superman are drawn as unrealistic physical specimens, but the fetishization of the female characters takes it to a whole nother extreme.  You don't see Batman in a lacy thong bikini very often, for example.

Now, are female character in nerd properties any more debased than they are in mainstream media?  I would say that it's about the same, proportionally;  rarely are there any interesting, deep female characters in any form of popular entertainment.  But I expect more from the nerd community.  We're a people who open up our minds to the possibility of co-existence with aliens, cyborgs, mutants and vampires.  Is it too much to ask that we treat our actual co-habitants on this planet with the same respect we grant to our fictional ones?