Geek Herring

Geek Herring tackles a tough issue this week, looking at a new video game called Rape Day. Yep, you heard that right - someone has created a game with the sole purpose of rape… and zombies. Because zombies are always fun, right? Trigger warning: We do talk quite in depth about rape, rape statistics, and murder - if this is likely to cause you distress, please don’t listen and join us again next week <3Rape Day has thankfully been banned by Steam, the gaming platform it was submitted to. But this leads us to the question of Steam’s responsibility. They currently have a policy whereby so long as a game doesn’t depict illegal or obvious trolling, it’s open for submission to the platform.The creator of Rape Day still intends release the game, and from the looks of comments and threads about it, there’s a large number of potential purchasers. However, Visa and PayPal are currently saying they won’t process any payments to the sale of this game, so the creator is having trouble finding a way to actually sell it.

Get your high fantasy on with Geek Herring as we talk all about our love and respect for Robin Hobb and her 16 book epic, The Realm of the Elderlings. The reasons we truly adore these books might surprise you: they’re full of gender bending characters, moral decisions, LGBTQ+ themes, and challenging stereotypes. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the books yet - the first 45 minutes of this saga of an episode are completely SPOILER FREE.In this emotionally charged episode of Geek Herring, we’re getting down and critical with a fantasy series spanning more than two decades. With overarching themes of acceptance, representation, classism, racism, duty, and prejudice, Hobb has created a masterpiece that will challenge your beliefs. Open up to this medieval fantasy world and experience the LGBTQ+ topics, strong, evolving, and gender bending characters, and all the awesome female role models you could ever want in a book. After the 45 minute mark with a SUPER OBVIOUS SPOILER WARNING, we head into the nitty gritty of

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 in February 2019 covers the Oscars, Twitch etiquette, awesome female scientists curing disease, how to make your tech team more intersectional, strong ass viking women, and Captain Marvel!What’s your take on these news articles? In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories: The Oscars happened!! Twitch Streamer Permabanned from Twitch for Saying “There are Only Two Genders” Mexican Scientist Cures the Human Papillomavirus How to Boost Intersectionality in Tech Watch Disney-Pixar's Short Movie: Purl Researchers Reaffirm Remains in Viking Warrior Tomb Belonged to a Woman ‘Captain Marvel’ Targeted by Negative Online Reviews Prerelease Brie Larson on superheroes, success and her Hollywood sisterhood If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! Geek Discussion: All Those Video Game Boobs Geek Gi

It’s all about the boobs, friends! Whether you love it or loathe it, from Lara Croft to Chun Li, Calamity to Bayonetta, Dead Island to Fortnite, and all those in between, video game characters with outrageously large, bouncy boobs are almost a staple component. Why is that?! This all started when Jaina’s Hearthstone portrait artwork was modified to cover up her substantial cleavage -- a totally unnecessary change that wasn’t addressed, explained, or mentioned by developers at all. What do we think of the change?? Well, Monika may be biased because she doesn’t notice boobs, but Amanda thinks the change was -- well, you’ll just have to check out the episode to find out!Our conversation spiraled out to video game boobs in general, one of Amanda’s favourite topics, to why boob representation actually, really, truly does matter in games. We talked about games designed with boob bounce as the core purpose to Lara Croft’s diminishing cup size and just about everything in between.In this episode: What Amanda and Moni

Final Fantasy XIV is an MMO that has taken the manga world by storm. While the franchise has been around almost as long as video games have, the online realm has growing fanbase -- and for good reason! Their latest addition of the Viera race has us raising our eyebrows, however.It’s no secret that us Geek Herring hosts have been living in Eorzea nearly everyday since before Christmas 2018. The story is captivating, artwork beautiful, and more than anything, the community that has built up once we started playing is unbelievable. Playing an MMO with a group of like-minded, kind hearted, and fun friends makes all the difference.It’s truly refreshing!We have had a bit of shock and disagreement, however, over the recent inclusion of the Viera: a playable anthropomorphic bunny race. Released as a female only race and, in the promo video, shown wearing naught more than a negligee, we can’t help but question the sexualisation of the game.Today, we’re talking about the history of the Viera, briefly looking back throu

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 news in January 2019 covers Overwatch gender scandals, that Gillette commercial, studies about brainy tasks and gender, Indian female empowerment, sex toys, Mortal Kombat, and Ghostbusters!What’s your take on these news articles? In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories: Overwatch Pro Quits After Harassment Over Whether She Was Really Playing That Gillette Commercial Women and girls less likely to be considered for 'brainy' tasks – study Millions Of Women In India Join Hands To Form A 385-Mile Wall Of Protest Sex Toy Stripped Of CES 2019 Award Because Vaginas Ronda Rousey Confirmed As Sonya Blade In ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Leslie Jones Slams New 'Ghostbusters' Film: "It's Like Something Trump Would Do" Maybe It’s Time to Let the Ghostbusters Die If you have any geek girl news articles, please send them to us and we’ll feature the

For the first episode of Geek Girl Reviews, Amanda & Monika talk about the book they wished they read when they were younger: Sam Maggs' book "The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks" might become your holy grail of girl geekdom if you ever wanted to find out more about Fangirls and eventually want to become one. Sam Maggs - who you can find on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook - is a Canadian expat writer living in Los Angeles who shows the reader in a fun, quirky and loveable way what it is to be a fangirl (CAN WE BE FRIENDS?), how to find geek friends and bring existing friends to the geeky dark-side, and all the things you need to know when you visit a Convention for the very first time (and all the other times after that). Not only does she give insights why Geek Girls rock, the book helps who feel a little bit like misfits amongst others, and helps them own their true selves. While there might not be a lot of new things for the hardcore-geeky hosts, they would recommend the book t

Geek girls - how often have you tried to buy clothes of your favourite geeky things only to find that they don't exist for you -- or the little girls in your life? Gendered and preferential clothing has affected all of us female identifying geeks at one point or another. And while things are looking up for us (hello Her Universe) what about for the little geeks in our lives?Where do you get your geeky clothing? Please share and let us know in the comments or on social media!In this episode: The Tweet that started it all! The great Pink vs Blue debate Gendered marketing and how it affects our purchase decisions Jeff Russland Illustrations Her Universe If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!Geekily yours, Amanda & MonikaSupport Geek Herring ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What’s going on in the Geek world in 2019? Amanda and Monika get all excited about the movies, series, and general awesomeness (often lead by amazing females) that are going to hit us this year. Tune in if you want to be as excited as the hosts, and get some valuable tips on upping your geek girl feminism game as well. Get the list of all published works that move over to public domain here Read more about the Fortnite Worldcup Join the Mailing List for the Video Game Nonference in London Come with Geek Herring to Gamescom Join the Feminist Bootcamp by thefschool.com If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!Geekily yours, Amanda & MonikaSupport Geek Herring ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 news in December 2018 covers famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sexual misconduct accusations, Bethesda’s firm stance on homophobic assaults, gender neutral cocktails, women in sports and more!In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories: Three Women Have Now Accused Neil deGrasse Tyson of Sexual Misconduct And Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Response to Alleged Sexual Misconduct Bethesda permanently bans Fallout76 players after homophobic in-game assault What Happened When I Told Men to Keep Their ‘Captain Marvel’ Hot Takes to Themselves This Swedish Cocktail Was Designed to Challenge Gender Assumptions Sophia Florsch: Formula 3 driver says it was ‘miracle’ she survived 170mph crash Not Here to Dance by Ada Hegerberg Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change. If you’ve enjoy

Cosplay, or costume play, is more than just dressing up as your favourite character for Halloween. The dedication cosplay artists put into their costume goes above and beyond anything you could imagine to get every details of their character’s costume right. From sewing custom outfits to melting bits of foam together to create those extra large fantasy swords, there’s no better way to describe it than dedication, passion, and talent. Today’s guest, Anna, has been cosplaying for over a decade and has some pretty impressive titles under her belt!Anna as the German Representative at Eurocosplay 2012, won World Cosplay Summit 2014, and the European Cosplay Gathering 2017. Her passion lies in Japanese culture and she is most often bringing characters to life from the Final Fantasy franchise. In today’s episode, you’ll find out: How Anna got into cosplay and what it’s meant to her life What it’s like attending a worldwide cosplay convention hosted in Japan What the ups and downs of the cosplay community are How cos

Happy holidays from Geek Herring! Monika and Amanda are talking all things Christmas. From the latest controversies attacking historical holiday favourites, to Amanda's obsession with Hallmark Christmas movies, and gifts the geeky girls in your life will love.In this episode: What Amanda and Monika's Christmas traditions are Why there's such controversy over holiday classics such as "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" What's happening with Santx Why Hallmark Christmas movies are the best things ever What to buy the geek girls in your life We referenced the following:This Hallmark Christmas movie script written by a bot is the Christmas movie we all needGirls Resist! A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a RevolutionGood Night Stories for Rebel GirlsIf you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our websit

TV is an important part of Geek Culture and can be the foundation for many geek girls out there. Amanda and Monika definitely have their fair share to say about TV Shows in the 90s - the start of a golden era for strong female characters on television. While not everything they have lost themselves in would classify as geeky per se, the sheer passion for it definitely counts as geeky as far as our hosts are concerned. What animated series was your favourite? Ever heard of COPS? Did you wish to be one of the Ninja Turtles? On a level from 1 to fangirl how much into Buffy the Vampire Slayer are you? Tune in and see if you can recall as many awesome series as we can. Or share with us on social what we missed. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!Geekily Yours, Amanda & Monika Support Geek Herring

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 news in November 2018 covers America's midterm election, Facebook and females working in games, Women in Antarctica, Science and sexual harassment, Female actresses talk money and more!In this second episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories: American MidTerm Elections Facebook helped Launch a Documentary Series to Inspire Girls to create games First-Ever All-Female Antarctic Expedition Busts Women's Endurance Myth Enough is Enough! Science, too, has a problem with harassment SCREEN QUEENS With Ellen Pompeo, Emma Roberts, Gina Rodriguez & Gabrielle Union Uncharted Power Founder Jessica O. Matthews On Building The Anti-Silicon Valley Energy Startup Google Removes gendered pronouns from Gmail’s smart compose to avoid AI Bias If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes rev

The soundtracks that bring our video games to life are mindblowingly awesome and can be completely life-changing to listen to. Would it surprise you to learn that almost 90% of game music is written by men? Women, like today’s guest Karina Pardus from Coy Compositions, are challenging gender inequality in music composition. In today’s episode, you’ll find out: How Karina balances being a music composer while raising a geeky family What the ratio of men to women in music production is Why many women feel like outsiders when first starting in the video game industry How we can challenge gender inequality in our careers How you can get started composing music in the video game industry What we can do to encourage young geek girls to pursue a passion for creating video game music Find Karina and Coy Compositions on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | PatreonMentioned resources:Soundgirls.org Women in Game Jobs Women in Games International Women’s Audio Mission International Game Developers Association GANG - Game Au

Potterheads near and far were looking forward to the new addition to the Wizarding World: Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald. While the fanbase is excited to find out what happens to Newt, Tina, Queenie, Jacob, and - most importantly - the Niffler, one specific cast choice however, gave a lot of people reason for criticism. Around the same time that the first adaption of the series came out in 2016, Johnny Depp was accused of abusing his wife Amber Heard. Even though the case seems to be settled (with a big privacy clause attached that prevents both parties to talk about it) fans are NOT pleased.We discuss our views on this topic in the light of the current #MeToo movement and as hardcore Potterheads ourselves.If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!Geekily Yours, Amanda & Monika Suppor

There are few things like the Geek Girl Community. It can be one of the most supportive environments to be in online, whether you're connecting through forums, in game, social media, or in person. This episode is dedicated to our lost geek girl sister, Cheryl Baker-Carre. Your fellow geek girls are thinking of you and your family <3In this episode of Geek Herring:  Why making friends on the internet can literally save your life What can cause some geek girls to reject others, especially newer geek girls Why it's important to be open to and nurture geeky friendships How the geek girl community is especially awesome for trans people Plus loads of real life examples from and shout outs to the geek girl community If you're able to donate to Cheryl's GoFundMe, please do. Anything you can would be appreciated by the family.If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitt

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 news in October 2018 covers Doctor Who, Superheroes, Scientists, GirlCons and more!In this very first episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories: Record ‘Doctor Who’ Ratings Prove Jodie Whittaker Brings Big Audiences Hex appeal: how Netflix's Sabrina taps into the rising feminist passion for witches Five ways the Simpsons could tackle the 'Apu problem' Girls Want - and Need - More Female Superheroes Students Create World’s First Bricks Made from Human Urine ‘Geek Girl’ gamers are more likely to study science and technology degrees Self-Proclaimed ‘Geeks’ Unite at GeekGirlCon If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!Geekily your

World of Warcraft has always been ahead of the curve, but latest expansion, Battle for Azeroth, has seen an explosion of strong female characters. Jaina, Sylvanas, Azshara, and Talanji all vie for the top spot in our hearts while side characters give us the girl power vibes we love.This week on Geek Herring, we’re joined by Sil from Whispers of War, a World of Warcraft podcast, to talk all about the Glorious Ladies of Warcraft.In this episode of Geek Herring, you’ll find out:  What strong female characters stole our hearts before Battle for Azeroth Why Jaina is the fiercest witch of the west How we really feel about Sylvanas as the Horde warchief What Monika thought of the Azshara Warbringers Who our favourite female side character is And more! If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review and check us out on social media: @geekherring on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also find us on our website and over on Patreon!You can find Sil:

How many times have YOU, fellow geek girls, been accused of not playing games?! Or maybe you've checked out the #geekgirl hashtag on Instagram and been a bit... dismayed.Let's investigate these stereotypes and see how we, as geek girls and female identifying geeks, can start to change the stigma.In this episode of Geek Herring, you’ll find out: What the reality of being a geek girl in a male dominated culture really is How stereotypes, especially negative ones, affect our identity Where the phrase “geek girl” came from and how it’s adapted through the years How the Gamer Girl rose to dominate the geek girl persona What geek girls look like from the outside and how they actually are How geek girls are represented in pop culture How geek girls fit into the geek world at large Resources and Links:The Harsh Reality of Being a Female Nerd 13 Things You Should Know Before Dating a Nerdy Girl GeekGirl.orgIf you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others! And don’t forget to leave an iTunes review a