Geek Herring

A critical geek culture podcast for geeks everywhere focussed on female representation throughout geekdom.

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Episode 43: Geeking Out About Stranger Things 3: Friendships, Permission to Nerd, & Heartbreak - geekherring.com

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Stranger Things has been giving us all a good dose of 80s nostalgia that we, obviously, desperately crave. Following a group of badass teens while they work to stop the grossest monster from taking over Hawkins is the most fun we’ve had with TV in a long time. But it’s not just the plot that has us hooked this season.

We’ve kept this episode SPOILER FREE! No huge plot points have been spoiled

Stranger Things 3 is all about friendships. Okay, friends fighting against the Mindflayer, but really, it’s friendships. Today, we’re talking about what friendships were our favourites, what ones fell flat for us, and why!

But not only were these friendships out of this world, can we talk about how incredible every. single. female character was? Amanda makes a great point about how without the Stranger Things 3 gals, the guys were totally screwed. Badass women? Check. Mate.

And what about little nerdy Erica? This season of Stranger Things gave us PERMISSION TO NERD. In the first two seasons, it was the guys and their Dungeons and Dragons love that was the cool nerdy thing. But this season? STEM IS COOL. Geek girls are IN. Erica is a FUCKING LITTLE QUEEN who is getting down with her mathy self.

Of course, Stranger Things 3 wasn’t all sunshine, rainbows, and uplifting. We tackled some pretty HUGE issues and heartbreak.

Coming out? Uh-huh. Toxic masculinity in the workplace? Yep. Abused kids growing up to be horrible bullies? Unfortunately. Women’s ideas and suspicions being brushed aside as unimportant? That, too.

What a season. Thank you, Stranger Things 3, for being the 80s show highlighting social issues we ALL need to talk about.

What did you think of Stranger Things 3? Which friendship are you stanning? Who’s your favourite strong female character?

Be like Frazley and support us on Patreon!!!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geek Girl in the News: James Bond Alternatives, How to Deal with Harassment Online, Stranger Things Female Power, and Exciting New Releases

Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In (Exploring Toxic Masculinity)

Geek Herring & Chill: Upcoming Excitement, Host Updates, & Mental Health

Love Geek Herring? Please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 42: Geek Girl in the News: James Bond Alternatives, How to Deal with Harassment Online, Stranger Things Female Power, and Exciting New Releases - geekherring.com

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The latest and greatest geek girl news from July 2019 covers a Woman of Colour as the new 007, Twitch streamers and gender discrimination, responsibility and moderation of abusive Twitch streams, permission to be nerds, all new Hitchhiker’s Guide, Cyberpunk representation, the new Switch Lite, and more!Check out our latest episode of Geek Girl in the News!!

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Episode 41: Geeking Out About Marvel's Phase 4 - geekherring.com

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You all know we love us some Marvel! And this year's revelations at San Diego Comic Con did not disappoint. With phase 3 ending on Spiderman: Far From Home's summer 2019 release, we're set to have a break before phase 4 drops.

But it's dropping with a bang!

This week on Geek Herring, we're geeking out about Marvel's Phase 4. There are so many amazing films coming out over 2020 and 2021 (yes we have to wait that long!). Not to mention the amazing and interesting sounding tv shows coming to Disney+ (are you getting it, too??).

Needless to say, we are super excited for the SDCC announcements that saw many of the stars take the stage to share in the geekdom.

Releasing in May 2020, we are treated to Black Widow's standalone film! Here for this!!

Other incredible releases include:

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (tv show)

Eternals (film)

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings (film)

WandaVision (tv show)

LOKI (tv show)

Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (film)

What If...? (tv show)

hawkeye (tv show)

Thor: Love and Thunder (film)

Plus the teasing announcements for phase 5:

Blade

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3

Captain Marvel 2

We referenced these articles and videos in this episode:

All Exclusive Marvel Phase 4 Details from San Diego Comic-Con

Phase 4 Lineup Announcement

Blade has a long and difficult history with Marvel – here's why

What Scarlett Johansson's Missing in the Representation Debate - Between the Scenes | The Daily Show

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geeking Out About Avengers: Endgame: Mental Health, Politics, + Representation

Geeking Out About Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, Feminist

Geeking Out: Looking Forward Into 2019

Love Geek Herring? Please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 40: Geek Herring Reviews Period. End of Sentence. - geekherring.com

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Period. End of Sentence. Is a documentary about living in rural India where stigma surrounding women’s periods still exists. It’s a recent Oscar winner, which is how it came onto our radar, and we knew we had to talk about it. In this episode, we share our reactions and whether or not we recommend it!

Period. End of Sentence. is available on Netflix worldwide. It’s a short documentary directed by Rayka Zehtabchi who travelled to India to film and interview local rural women.

It’s an incredible story of stigma, oppression, resilience, and perseverance. Period.follows a group of women who are ashamed of their menstrual cycle, many even leaving school because they don’t have adequate sanitary products.

These women are introduced to a new machine that let’s them produce low-cost sanitary pads. We see an incredible transformation in these women as they start their own independent business, earning their own money, and in turn respect, in their society.

What else did we think about it? Tune in to the episode to find out!

Find Period. End of Sentence. and learn more about The Pad Project Online / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geek Girl in the News: The Oscars Happened!

Geek Girl in the News: Millions of Indian Women Join Hands

Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In Exploring Toxic Masculinity

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

Image ©: Netflix

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Episode 39: Geek Interviews: Gender Identity and Modern Medieval Life with Jamie - geekherring.com

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Have you ever wanted to live out your medieval life dreams in a safe and modern way? This is exactly what today’s guest, Jamie Unrau, does with the Society for Creative Anachronism. Today, we’re talking about this cool, geeky hobby, their gender identity and journey, and the intersection of both.

Jamie is a film PA, indie game developer, writer, active member of the SCA, and all around geeky person. They were assigned male at birth (AMAB), transitioned to female in 2007, and now identifies as non-binary/genderfluid.

The Society for Creative Anachronism is a modern medieval world that celebrates all the good parts of the time period and reimagining the bad. Women have a proper place in society, men are chivalrous, and gender expression is a-okay. Jamie has created their non-binary Ancient Greek persona, Appa Apopolitarchopolis in line with the SCA’s regulations.

Jamie also shares they used to believe that women were the more privileged gender and how their worldview completely changed when they transitioned. They talk about how the SCA is changing to embrace gender diversity and invite you to join their openly queer clan.

Do you want to join the SCA? (You’re totally not alone, Amanda does, too!) How do you approach gender identity?

You can find Jamie Online

Learn more about the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring

Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In (Exploring Toxic Masculinity)

Geeking Out About Robin Hobb: Fantasy That Represents – LGBTQ+, Gender Roles, Classism, + More

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 38: Geek Girl in the News: Gender discrimination in game development, FFVII, & female representation in video games - geekherring.com

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Episode 37: Geek Herring Reviews You're Never Weird on the Internet... Almost by Felicia Day - geekherring.com

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Celebrating the Queen of the Geeks in style!

Happy birthday, Felicia Day!! Enjoy our episode <3

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Episode 36: Geeking Out About Anime and Manga with Jannie & Nat - geekherring.com

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Calling all our anime and manga lovers…. this episode is for YOU! We’re joined by our guest experts, @nitelotus and @elysiamizuko, who are sharing their views and thoughts after spending much of their lives involved with this community.

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Episode 35: Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games - geekherring.com

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Representation matters. In careers, media, and now, more than ever, video games! 2019 has been bringing us a whole amazing host of different character types: LGBTQ+, race, ability, size, and more!

In this episode of Geek Herring, we’re celebrating the diversity and representation that’s growing in video games, starting with new character revelations from earlier this year and ending with some of the reveals at 2019’s E3.

It’s about damn time we had more variety and choice of characters to play in video games. People who look like us, act like us, are like us. And with increased diversity will eventually come increased acceptance of people who aren’t “like you.”

One step forward for humanity, friends!

Resources Mentioned

Why Overwatch’s Gay Characters Are So Important

Bleeding Edge

Bleeding Edge Trailer

EA casting double amputee to play Octane

Ikumi Nakamura on stage at E3

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geek Discussion: Women in Game Development with Three Extra Lives Geeking Out About Robin Hobb: Fantasy That Represents – LGBTQ+, Gender Roles, Classism, + More Geek Discussion: All Those Video Game Boobs

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 34: Geek Girl in the News: Gillette's transgender ad, an end to child marriage, and Georgia's abortion bill - geekherring.com

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Check out our latest episode, Geek Girl in the News! 

Covering loads of awesome (and some not so awesome) news stories affecting geek feminists in May 2019!

Available on your favourite podcatcher or right on our website!

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Have you been glued to your TV every time Game of Thrones is on? We DEFINITELY have. And now that the series is completely over, we feel we need to dig into what we thought of season 8.

Because love it or hate it, the HBO hit show has come to an end. Many fans are happy with the outcome, but even more are outraged.  What side of the fence are you on?

Of course, Geek Herring hosts, Monika and Amanda, have some pretty strong opinions on how season 8 has wrapped up. And they're talking about them - in full spoiler territory. So if you haven't watched it yet (who are you?!) and don't want to get spoiled (have you been staying off the internet all week!? Tell us your secrets!) - turn back now!

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Episode 31: Geek Discussion: Women in Game Development with Three Extra Lives - geekherring.com

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Female game developers are an important part of the game industry! Women have an active and substantial role in not just indie games, but AAA titles as well, including some extremely well-known games. We’re joined by Thom Knight from Three Extra Lives to take in some trivia before chatting about women in game dev.

First things first, as Thom is a trivia and indie game buff, he sets hosts Monika and Amanda a tough challenge. Do we know our female video game characters? The answer may surprise you! Or…. maybe it won’t. We’ll see!

Thom is the first male viewpoint coming on Geek Herring and is a feminist. He’s keen to share his voice and thoughts on what he perceives to be the issues facing female game developers.

He also talks about some of his favourite women in game development and the games they’ve created!

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Episode 30: Geek Girl in the News: Space Trolls, Skyrim Granny, + Blizzard Employee Tracking - geekherring.com

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Geek Girl in the News looks at the awesome or not so awesome news that will make you go either: “YAY” or “OMG I can’t believe that.”

The latest and greatest geek girl news from April 2019 covers the next Tomb Raider installment, black hole scientist, Katie Bouman, vs internet trolls, Blizzard’s employee pregnancy tracking, Game’s Industries top 100 most influential women in game dev, Chicago’s first black, lesbian mayor, and Shirley Curry (aka Skyrim Granny) getting immortalised in Elder Scrolls VI.

What’s your take on these news articles?

In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories:

MGM & Warner Bros Starts Climb Toward ‘Tomb Raider 2,’ Amy Jump To Write Script

Online trolls are harassing a scientist who helped take the first picture of a black hole

Related Twitter Thread

Blizzard bribes female employees to track their sex, pregnancy, and moods

Meet 100 of the most influential women working in the UK games industry

Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, will be 1st black woman and 1st openly gay person to hold post

‘Skyrim Grandma’ Will Be An NPC In The Elder Scrolls VI

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In (Exploring Toxic Masculinity)

Geeking Out About Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, Feminist

Geek Out About Robin Hobb: Fantasy That Represents: – LGBTQ+, Gender Roles, Classism, + More

If you’ve been loving Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!!

You can find us Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 29: Geeking Out About Avengers: Endgame: Mental Health, Politics, + Representation - geekherring.com

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Avengers: Endgame just might be the perfect ending to a decade long love affair with these Marvel characters. Not only these characters, but the actors portraying them, have grown in our hearts and lives. Who hasn’t had a conversation with their friends of Iron Man vs Captain America, right!?

This week on Geek Herring, it’s all about Endgame – and there is literally no non-spoilery point of the show. After our spoiler warning, that is. And there is a real good lead up to the spoilers!

In this episode, we talk about how much we loved the film and how it really was the best way to bring all those strings together and finish the series. We also look at some (definitely not all) of the character progression and portrayal throughout this film and whether they’re our MVPs or not.

Then we get serious and talk about some of the bigger real-life issues the film deals with: loss, grief, politics, LGBTQ+, depression, alcoholism, PTSD, feminism, and more… lots, lots more.

If you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame, this episode probably isn’t for you, because it’s all about the spoilers (though saying that, we don’t actually spoil the plot or the end, we dip in and out of that!). So grab your cape, shield, and hammer and get ready to geek out about Avengers: Endgame!

Mentioned in this episode:

Paul Rudd on Conan O’Brien

Karen Gillen’s super sexy red carpet look

Tom Holland Performs Rihanna’s “Umbrella” | Lip Sync Battle

Join us on Discord!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geeking Out About Unicorn Store: Embrace Your Weird

Geeking Out About Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, Feminist

Geeking Out: Looking Forward Into 2019

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 28: Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring - geekherring.com

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In this week’s episode of Geek Herring, we welcome a very special guest: Dr. Solveig “Sol” Haring. Sol is a scientist who focuses her videographic research on the interdisciplinary aspects of New Media, Ageing, and Gender. She teaches students at the University of Graz and Klagenfurt about Gender, Feminism, and more.

Sol states that everyone “performs” their gender every day and she further explains the scientific concept of “doing gender” which foundations lead back to Erving Goffman (1976).

During her 25 years in science, she came across a lot of different definitions of gender and feminism. Sol explains how different approaches in Germany, the United States, or the United Kingdom have influenced her personal views on the topic and how she developed them over the years.

We cover why it’s important to watch our language and how it builds our reality. Sol gives tips on how we can further implement feminism into our everyday lives.

Her approach to teaching and educating is always humour, which she states is something that needs to find it’s way back into feminism in order impact more people.

When Sol isn’t working as a self-employed researcher out of her old farmhouse in Carinthia or teaching students the necessity of feminism, she is playing in her queer-feminist country-rock-band Haring and the Trouts or she plays the bass and sings the blues whenever she has the chance.

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Episode 27: Geeking Out About Unicorn Store: Embrace Your Weird - geekherring.com

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Unicorn Store is Brie Larson’s directorial debut! It’s a bright, colourful, and totally extra coming of age film tackling some pretty tough issues. Learning to love yourself and those around you for who they are, even if you come with extra glitter and rainbows, and embracing your weird ass self, even when it feels like the whole world’s against you.

We both loved this film (some a bit more than others) and think that it brings up elements of life that everyone needs to think about. While the extraness might appeal to most of Gen Z and lots of Gen X (otherwise known as the Millennials), the lessons it teaches are so widely applicable.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t belong, or you feel like your parents just don’t get you, or maybe the whole world doesn’t get you – this is a film for you. It’s heartwarming, endearing, and full of colour, mystery, and magic!

Hosts Monika and Amanda don’t see completely eye-to-eye about this film, and some pretty in-depth debate happens after a spoiler warning. Did Amanda manage to change Monika’s mind??

You’ll have to listen to find out!

Check out Unicorn Store on IMDB and watch it on Netflix for yourself!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

Geeking Out About Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, Feminist

Geek Girl Reviews: The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs

Geek Girl Community: Support, Sisterhood, and Friendship

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to iTunes and leave us a review!

Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours, Amanda & Monika

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Episode 26: Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In (Exploring Toxic Masculinity) - geekherring.com

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Oh my gosh, this episode actually broke our hearts recording it!

Toxic masculinity and mental health go hand in hand, especially for young boys and men in America.

In this episode of Geek Girl Reviews, we watched the 2015 documentary, The Mask You Live In. This touching and eye-opening documentary gives incredible insight into the societal and cultural expectations placed on boys and young men in America. When you see this and hear from these boys living this pressure, it’s easier to understand where toxic masculinity comes from.

While we’re a geek feminist podcast, it’s so important to understand why toxic masculinity exists. Though not the norm for most men, toxic masculinity is so hate filled and violent that it breeds and seeps its way through society and culture as a whole. But why does it happen?

We get critical about The Mask You Live In, which is available on Netflix, but really – the overarching theme of this episode is that there IS an epidemic and there IS a problem.

Depression manifests itself in boys in a much different way than girls – boys act out, scream, and get violent. Did you know that teenage boys have the highest suicide rates out of any other demographic in the US? And that it’s 5x higher than girls of the same age?

Why? How have we failed our boys in such a way that they believe there to be no better option that to take their own lives?

We also look at how pop culture, from video games to movies, represents masculinity and why this has an impact on growing boys.

How can we support our young boys through adolescence? What can we do to make sure we’re more aware of their struggles and challenges?