The Naked Nerd

I saw this picture on Pinterest the other day, and it made me so angry that I just had to write about it!

In theory, I get the idea. Clearly, encouraging women to read and be intelligent is no bad thing. I'm not the Naked Nerd for nothing - my literary tastes are as promiscuous as my sexual ones and I take college courses online for fun; all in all, I'm a big fan of the learning! Smart women are sexy, and stupidity is never attractive.

So why does this image get me so worked up? Geez, it even has a pin-up style lady posing, and a tattooed arm! I should be singing its praises, not shooting it down, right? Wrong.

This makes me angry because it is yet another quote/pic/meme that serves to perpetuate the stereotype that women who enjoy sex must be stupid. I am so sick of the smart/slutty or smart/sexy dichotomy - the idea that women have a choice between being intelligent and being sex kittens.

We can see this everywhere in popular culture - it seems like every TV series or movie with two female leads has to make on character the "sexy one" and one the "bright but plain one". Look at Buffy (one of my favorite shows, btw) - or more accurately, look at Buffy vs Willow, her geeky friend. Buffy is clearly the sexy one - cheerleader, perky, bright, lots of sex scenes....and pretty ditzy and dumb. On the other hand, her friend Willow is dressed more conservatively (and looks kind of frumpy), but is smart as all heck - hacking government websites, aceing her classes, teaching herself witchcraft...and it takes her almost half the show to get a real boyfriend. There is even a clear subplot love triangle - Willow likes Xander, but he only has eyes for sexy Buffy. And this is just one example...want some more?

- Daphne vs Thelma in Scooby Doo. Thelma solves all the mysteries in big glasses, while Daphne....sucks Fred's dick? We don't really see what she does.
- Sam  vs Dean in supernatural. Dean sluts around, eats pie and shoots stuff, while Sam stays largely celibate, does all the research, and gets all twisted up about the deep and meaningful. It's not just girls anymore!
- In Her Shoes. Cute movie, shame it has to revolve around the worst kind of stereotyping. One sister - big time career girl who is overweight, miserable, and so shocked that a guy slept with her that she tried to take a picture of him in her bed. Other sister - cute, sexy, flirts her way into and out of all situations....but flat broke and basically illiterate.

I won't keep listing them, because it'll make this too long, given how much more I have to say. But you get the point - there is always a sexy/slutty bimbo OR a brainy girl with a few extra pounds and bad eyesight.

I'm about ready for that to stop. I am sick of people assuming that I'm digging through my g-strings for two brain cells to rub together. I am sick of the look of surprise on someone's face when I reveal that I can translate latin. But I'm not willing to be viewed as a sexless nerd brain, either.

What is a girl to do? If she enjoys sex, she is assumed stupid. If she glories in her smarts, she is assumed prudish and plain. I don't think that anyone should be made to feel stupid OR ugly (unless, of course, they are. Natch.). It's not as though brains and beauty are directly correlated - you don't actually get uglier the more you learn, and sex doesn't cause loss of brain cells unless you hit your head on the headboard REALLY hard.

So screw the stereotype. Sluts can be smart, and nerds can be hot. Lets get rid of these anti-slut images, and start being more positive all around. Lets encourage women (and men!) to be as sexy as they want, to explore their sexual identity, AND to cram as much learning into their heads as possible.

Open books AND legs! Blow a guys mind....AND his head!

Naked Nerds - be PROUD of who you are.