Are black women supposed to be tough? Assertive? Selfless caretakers with loose morals and a looser tongue? In case you were wondering, of course not. But as nerds, living in a world that still pardons these blanket characteristics to an entire people
Nerd and “black” perceived qualities typically don’t ride in the same carpool together.
Nerds are supposed to be awkward, indecisive, blubbering goofs. Some nerds are, some are not. Black women are synonymous in many circles as the “strong women” stereotype, not taking any bull, neck swiveling, ad nauseam. Yet the woman on this site and many more around the world have perfectly juxtaposed the ying and yang of race and nerd and created a flawless person with the best of both worlds.
We have reconciled the apparent opposites into total awesomeness.
This is where my title comes into play. My title is a quote from a poem “Song of Myself” from Walt Whitman. Besides accepting his own idiosyncrasies, this fantastic poem accepts that as a human being you are supposed to contradict yourself. No one is the same person at any given time. Yes we are nerds, and yes we are black, and yes we are girls (woot!) but in addition to all of this, those qualities should not be the sum of all our parts.
I have never been partial to the idea that you have to choose one phenotype of personality all the time.
Part of me is a nerd for sure but there is another part that loves being the "hot" chick, the "funny" chick, the "I don't know what the heck I want in life but winging it till I do" chick. Now that may sound a little manic, but maybe that’s why I’m seeing a therapist.
There is nothing wrong with embracing all of your identity. Happy, sad, angry even. We're all used to being the smartest girl in the room now let's explore other possibilities in order for world domination! Well ok maybe local municipal domination. But you get the idea.
