nerd

"an overly intellectual person, usually obsessive or lacking social skills, focusing their interests on non-mainstream activities, generally highly technical or related to fiction or fantasy narratives. It is used as a stereotype for either derogatory or praising purposes, depending on who's wielding it." –Dictionary of Digital Humanities

Self-Identification

Individuals may use this term to self-identify and to indicate their extreme passion for hobbies and interests. Acknowledging this usage and supporting people who self-identify and reclaim this term can validate the way people perceive their passions as it relates to their identity.

Issues

When used in reference to someone else without their consent, the term can weaponise a person's passion against them, or bully someone based on their appearance or background.

Impact

By assigning negativity to the passion that someone exhibits for the things they enjoy, we invalidate their individuality and reduce the enjoyment they derive from their passions. As a result, we may cause these people to abandon hobbies or interests, instilling a feeling of wrongness in finding joy how they see fit (provided their methods of finding joy are not harmful).

See Also

Blerd

Alt Words

• relating to passion
  • aficionado
  • enthusiast
  • fan
• relating to skill or intelligence
  • adept
  • expert
  • specialist