Geek Herring

Time to say goodbye!

Geek Herring — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

After 5 years of talking about all things feminism, geekdom, and LGBTQIA+ issues, the time of Geek Herring has come to an end.

In this episode Amanda and Moni talk one final time about their decision and what led to this point.

We are forever grateful for every single person who listened to our ramblings.

Hopefully we'll see or hear you in one way or the other out there.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Forever geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl Reviews Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

Geek Herring — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 04:00:00 +0000

It's time to talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3! What we loved about it, what we didn't like so much, and whether or not we actually cried.

P.S. We still hate Chris Pratt.

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat your feelings!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: Phillip Schofield and Target Make Bad Choices

Geek Herring — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000

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 May 2023 covers the Phillip Schofield scandal, Target caving into hate groups, the terrifying reality of abuse female gamers face, a look into the PlayStation showcase, a whole bunch of The Little Mermaid hype, why we still think Emma Watson is the freaking best, and the weirdest but most awesome update coming to Dead By Daylight.

We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Moni

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Geek Discussion: Feminist Porn and Sexual Service Consumption with Gemma Glitter

Geek Herring — Mon, 22 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Have you ever thought about the sexual content you consume? We're joined by our resident sexual content expert, Gemma Glitter, to talk about ethical pornography and sexual service consumption.

What is ethical pornography? How can we consume sexual content in a manner that doesn't result in exploitation? Where can we find ethical pornography? And how can we support sex workers? We answer all these questions and so much more.

If you got as much information out of this episode as we did, please let us know on social or in our Discord!

Resources Mentioned

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: The Power of Charity Streamers with Jay from War Child UK

Geek Herring — Mon, 15 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Charity Twitch streamers have such a positive impact! In fact, it's such a good avenue for charities to explore, many charities have opted to hire folks to liaise directly with streamers for huge fundraising campaigns.

We're joined by Jay, a charity Twitch streamer, content creator, and Gaming Partnerships Executive for War Child UK. They talk about their experiences raising money on Twitch, making a difference with War Child UK, and all about War Child UK's charitable contribution to this world.

This is an excellent, super inspiring episode that we definitely hope you love as much as we did recording it!

Find Out More About War Child UK

About Jay

Jay (he/they) is a queer, neurodiverse, and salty content creator and charity-fundraising-gremlin from War Child UK. They are also a member of the fundraising team Cosmic Heart. Jay has been making content on Twitch for three years, and has been a fundraiser their whole adult life. Jay is just an absolutely massive nerd.

Find Jay/ErinusTV on Twitch

Find Jay/ErinusTV on Twitter | Instagram

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview with Demeternoth: Juggling Life as a Content Creator

Geek Herring — Mon, 01 May 2023 08:56:13 +0000

We are joined by the one and only absolutely incredibly inspiring Demeternoth! She is a content creator and Twitch streamer, focussing on deep discussions and MMOs. We have a fantastic conversation about the trials and tribulations of content creation, what it's like being a visible woman, and how we are all changing the world one day at a time.

We also had some amazing community questions:

From Cyrub_KoC on Twitter: Deme, as a fellow content creator, how do you gather the motivation to continue creating? I’ve hit a pretty bad wall and I don’t know how to get back into the groove of creation. Any tips?

From TitansCreed on Twitter: Why are you so coooooooooool?

About Demeternoth

Demeter-likethegoddess-noth is your local bifactional, bisexual MMO streamer.

Find Demeternoth on Twitch

Find Demeternoth on Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Herring & Chill: Birthdays and Vulnerable Questions

Geek Herring — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Join hosts Moni and Amanda as they celebrate Amanda's birthday with some of their favourite card game: Ask Deep Questions!

These are the questions asked in this episode:

What is the most memorable gift you've ever received?
How do you motivate yourself?
If you had to give a talk about something you're NOT known for, what would it be about?
If you could re-live a single moment of your life, which one would you pick?
What do you do, even though you don't want to?
What is your relationship with flirting?
What is a piece of advice you have received, that you were glad to take?
What courageous conversation have you been avoiding?
What are the brightest and darkest thoughts on your birthday?
In what way do you feel incomplete?
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
What are you most grateful for in your life?

Join us in Discord to chat with us!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl Reviews Money Shot: The Pornhub Story

Geek Herring — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Money Shot: The Pornhub Story is about, well, porn. But it's also not. It's about sexual exploitation, legal sex work, and the laws that have muddled everything up.

With some thoughtful and knowledgeable from our community, we discuss this documentary in-depth, what FOSTA and SESTA mean for the sex work industry, and, above all, condemn the sexual exploitation on Pornhub and so many other pornography sites.

Rest assured, we're going to dive into this topic, specifically sex work and ethical pornography, in a future episode.

Find Money Shot: The Pornhub Story on Netflix
Find Follow This: Whore's Day on Netflix

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat your feelings!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: Abuse at GDC, Filibustering for Trans Rights, & Illegal Street Harassment in the UK

Geek Herring — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

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 March 2023 covers the abuse allegations and drink spiking that took place during March's GDC, a better response from Resolve Esports about transphobic hate comments their athletes received, the absolute awe we all feel about Senator Cavanaugh filibustering from Trans Rights, the great news from the UK that street harassment will soon be illegal, that the 90s are coming back with the 30 year reunion of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Netflix, Daniel Radcliffe is gonna be a dad, and Bonnie Wright is starting an environmental TV show!

We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Moni

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Geek Interview with Clarkisha Kent: Chatting All Things Fat Off, Fat On

Geek Herring — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 09:24:36 +0000

Clarkisha Kent joins us to discuss her brand new book, Fat Off, Fat On: A Bit Bitch Manifesto. We had the pleasure of reading this book before its release, and it was really cool getting to chat with her about her writing and creative process.

CW for childhood and family trauma, which is a big topic in her memoir. We briefly discuss family dynamics and trauma in this episode, too.

Clarkisha shares her writing process, how she came to write her memoir before the western she's dreaming of, and what it's like being a first-time published author.

About Clarkisha Kent

Clarkisha Kent is a Nigerian-American writer, culture critic, former columnist, and author. Committed to telling inclusive stories via unique viewpoints from nigh-infancy, she is fascinated with using storytelling and cultural criticism not as a way to “overcome” or “transcend” her unique identities (as a fat and queer Black African woman), but as a way to explore them, celebrate them, affirm them, and most importantly, normalize them and make the world safe enough for people who share them to exist.

Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto on Goodreads

Find Clarkisha Kent Online

Find Clarkisha Kent on Twitter | Instagram

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About the Women We Love

Geek Herring — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This International Women's Day, we wanted to talk about the women we love and are utterly inspired by. Hear us chat about our mum's, the fabulous women we work with, the inspirational older geeks we love, Lizzo, and trans women!

Join us in Discord to chat about the women who inspire YOU!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monik

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Geeking Out About Geeky Love in All It's Forms

Geek Herring — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day, Geeks!

We wanted to talk about all the games, books, movies, and other forms of media we love that centre love! HOWEVER, that's not really what we talk about at all. So, join us as we talk about some of our most memorable Valentine's Days, our love languages, friendship (and making friends as adults), and more!

Join us in Discord to chat all about love!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: Our PCOS Stories, or How Medicine Says FU to People With Uteruses

Geek Herring — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 09:00:00 +0000

PCOS, or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, is a metabolic condition that so, so many women have, including hosts Amanda and Moni. In this episode, we talk about our own experiences with it, how we have coped over the years, and the long, frustrating journey with medical doctors.

Let's get into what PCOS is, how it impacts the lives of the folks who have it, why the medical system consistently fails us, and then some shaving tips!

We also talk about Dr. Felish Gersh, Amanda's PCOS doctor crush, and recommend checking her out, especially her book!

Join us in Discord to chat about your experience with PCOS!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monik

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Geek Discussion: You Do You (aka Why The Patriarchy Can S*ck It)

Geek Herring — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 09:00:00 +0000

You're not the same as anyone else, so why would you try to live your life to someone else's standards? We're so tired of the patriarchal society's defined linear path and the shame people feel (and GET) if they're not following along it perfectly.

Fuck. That. Noise.

You do you, boo. Live life on your own terms. March to the beat of your own drum. Do what makes you happy. Remember, it's okay to change your mind. It's okay to be different. It's okay to do your own thing.

We got this thing called life.

Join us in Discord to chat about doing what brings YOU joy!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: Geeky Ways to Stay Fit

Geek Herring — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Us geeks love to get fit, too! And we love to have fun while doing it. Virtual Reality, FitBits, Apple Watches, Wii Fit, Ring Fit, accountability groups, and SO MUCH MORE.

We think it's safe to say that both Moni and Amanda love Beat Sabre... but that's not the only geeky fitness hack they use. Amanda loves some Just Dance and some good ol' fashioned boxing, and Moni's been keeping up with yoga for over a year!

We'd love to hear how you get fit, especially if you use any kind of video game or geeky accountability!

Join us in Discord to chat about how you use geeky stuff to get fit!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About 2023: All The Things We're Excited About

Geek Herring — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

We can still say that, right? Since this is our first podcast of 2023? Sure we can! We make the rules 'round here.

We wanted to take some time to talk about all the things we're excited about this year. Both things are going on in our personal lives and in the geeky world at large.

So without further ado, let's get excited!

Join us in Discord to chat about what you're excited about in 2023!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About the End of 2022: Christmas Plans and Big Reflections

Geek Herring — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

As we gear down for some muuuuuch needed time off, we thought a good old fashioned Christmas episode was in order! It's tradition, after all.

This year, we talk about what we're both doing over the holidays. Amanda's pretty busy and Moni's pretty chill - just standard for them both, really! But then Amanda poses the questions to Moni:

What are your 3 top happiest moments this year?
and
What are the top 3 things you're proudest of this year?

So it turned into quite a long episode and we really enjoyed recording it.

Let us know your top moments from 2022 on social media or in our Discord!

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat about your thoughts on this MASSIVE topic!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: Jennifer Lawrence and The Women of Action Movies

Geek Herring — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Jennifer Lawrence made some pretty controversial comments about women in action movies. Mainly - that she paved the way since no one had ever cast a woman as the lead in an action movie before. While she's factually incorrect, let's unpack the truth behind her statement!

We get super into this, but in essence: while many action stars came before Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games (Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Conner, Charlie's Angels, Angelina Jolie... the list goes on and on), her role started a revolution.

The Hunger Games was a masterpiece that started a whole new genre of women in dystopian action films, mainly geared towards a YA audience.

So, while we totally acknowledge that her comments were factually inaccurate, they are also kind of true. Also, we just think Jennifer Lawrence is the BEST, please let celebrities make blunders, we don't need to drag everyone. Especially since she clarified her statement in a further interview.

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat about your thoughts on this MASSIVE topic!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: Iran's Morality Police, Twitch Safety Tools, and RIP Noodles

Geek Herring — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

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 November 2022 covers the sad loss of Noodles the Pug, Brendan Fraser being everyone's King and taking a stand for #MeToo (and rightfully so), an update on the morality police in Iran and what that might mean, Kevin McHale's thoughts on joining a Glee reboot, D&D's change to more inclusive language, and Twitch's new Shield Mode safety measure!

We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About Wakanda Forever: Just Incredible.

Geek Herring — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Wakanda Forever is finally out! And we are getting right into it this super spoilery episode - so please come back to this one if you haven't seen Wakanda Forever and are worried about spoilers!

Mild Spoilers Below!

We talk about the overarching theme of grief that permeates this film. Shuri, Namor, and Ramonda all embody different expressions of grief. We talk about revenge and anger and how these emotions are also ways that grief can manifest.

But this movie isn't all sadness - though you definitely want to bring tissues because man, what a fucking cryfest, seriously!!

There is also SO MUCH Black Girl Power in this. Honestly just these women out here absolutely wiping the floor with their excellence, intelligence, and casual badassery.

We also love the change the MCU made to Namor/(originally The Submariner) - Did you know he's one of the very first Marvel characters, having been introduced in the comics in 1939?? While they've kept some original aspects - his cute af ankle wings - and took some creative liberties with them (they fucking FLAP, yo), they've changed his origin story to be from Mesoamerica and this change ROCKS. We love the stories told, the history and oppression in this storyline. It's a hard watch, at times, but these stories need to be told how they actually were.

No White Saviours!

For the rest of our thoughts, definitely tune in to this episode!

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat about your thoughts on this MASSIVE topic!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About Geek Herring Productions!

Geek Herring — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We're making changes over in Geek Herring land! We're so proud to announce the creation and launch of Geek Herring Productions: our very own community-driven network of awesome shows and events.

Geek Herring Productions is a community-driven Twitch stream and Discord channel with talk shows, podcasts, TTRPGs, education, film nights, book clubs, workshops, games, and more. All from our amazing, inclusive community, for our epic community.

We already have two amazing shows confirmed on Geek Herring Productions.

WHAQ is a live-streamed talk show where hosts, Gemma & Liz, discuss queerness, its beauty and its challenges. WHAQ is all about good, educational discussions with some sass and sarcasm thrown in for good measure. Expect lots of curiosity from Liz (baby gay) and lots of real life experience from Gemma (gayer than they come, and has always known it), with a few segments such as ‘WHAQing Off’ where we chat about what’s grinding our rainbow gears, ‘WHAQ facts’ where we challenge each other to a big gay game of True or False and ‘Back in the Gay’ where we talk about prominent dates in queer history. Follow Gemma and Liz on Twitter and Liz on Twitch.

The Crowded Tavern is an actual play Dungeons and Dragons podcast starting in January, live on Twitch, where Co-Dungeon Masters Martin Hoffmann Larsen and Amanda Sloan (yes, of Geek Herring fame, haha) are set to take you off on a fantastic world of magical and adventure. They're casting NOW for four roles - so keep your eyes peeled. Find out more about The Crowded Tavern on their website and Twitter.

If you're already following Geek Herring on Twitch or are in our Discord, you don't need to do anything different - we've rebranded! But you are more than welcome to show Geek Herring Productions some love on Twitter and the brand-new YouTube channel!

We are actively accepting applications for your own cool show/event/whatever ideas - join us in Discord to find out how to apply!

So excited about this change, thanks for being awesome!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: Morals in Entertainment: When do you walk away?

Geek Herring — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

How do you handle your morals regarding the entertainment you consume? This world is a wild place, full of dodgy people doing questionable things. So how do you navigate that?

Some moral decisions are easier to make than others. H*rry P*tter and the TERF Queen? Yeah, walk away. Old Navy and their fatphobia or makeup brands and animal testing - these things maybe don't matter as much to you. Sexual harassment at game studios? Questionable. Fast fashion? Definitely a moral quandary that we can't fit into this episode!

This is a big episode. There's a lot to discuss when it comes to this topic and we've really only scratched the surface. Some of our big points:

you don't have to do it all
choose your morals whenever it feels right
put your money into causes or companies you support/who are doing good instead of corporations doing things against your morals
there is no such thing as a moral billionaire
don't let yourself get burnt out! take care of your emotional wellbeing in this wild climate

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat about your thoughts on this MASSIVE topic!

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Geek Girl Reviews Enola Holmes 2: The Real Game is Afoot! Historical Accuracy, Women Banding Together, and ACAB

Geek Herring — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We watched Enola Holmes 2! And, in a rare surprise, we don't really agree on our opinion of the movie!

Moni's biggest issue (and it's a good one!) is that the film portrays historical events in a not so accurate way. This brings up a discussion on the line between historical accuracy and creative storytelling - how much can you change history to suit a story?

Here's what else we talked about:

where is the line between historical accuracy and creative fiction
the true story of the 1888 match girl strike
humanising Sherlock Holmes
Being your own person
the importance of community and not doing it alone
creating opportunities
police corruption (#ACAB)
diversity in role casting
women preparing to save women
moariarty reimagined

EnolaFuckinHolmes!

What did you think? Join us in Discord to chat your feelings!

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Geeking Out About She-Hulk: The Power of Women Supporting Women

Geek Herring — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is the most fun we've had watching a Marvel show. Maybe ever.

It uses comedy to talk about a huge variety of topical issues super relevant to our society today. Self-acceptance, toxic masculinity, the patriarchy, women supporting women, women dating, looks and appearances, one-night stands, double standards, being fucking awesome at your job, and so much fucking more.

We think it's important to be critical even of the shows that we love, so we are quite critical about She-Hulk. But that in no way detracts from how much we fucking LOVE this and everything it stands for.

What did you think? Join us in Discord to continue the chat!

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Geeking Out About October: Our Fave Halloween Pop Culture Vibes

Geek Herring — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000

After we get in a shocking debate about the correct use of planners, we talk about all the Halloween and October things we love!

Costumes and trick or treating!
Different cultures' approach to Halloween!
Hocus Pocus!
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Horror movies - slashers, paranormal, classics, and more!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed!
Horror Books!
Horror Games!

And more!

Check out Vicky's list of femme & queer horror books on Twitter

PS Here's the Mazda commercial Amanda talks about

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Geek Herring & Chill: Setting Boundaries & Intentions, Seeing Dead People, Seeking Advice, and More!

Geek Herring — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000

It's another episode of Ask Deep Questions! Join hosts Amanda and Moni as they get deep into their thoughts and opinions about their own lives and experiences.

We just love these episodes. The ones we get to chill out and get vulnerable and ask each other Deep Questions.

This week, we find out:

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
What courageous conversation have you been avoiding?
What is a piece of advice you have received, that you were glad to take?
Have you had a spiritual experience?
How did you get through the tough times in your life?
What is one experience that changed your life?

Love Ask Deep Questions as much as we do? Get your own deck at AskDeepQuestions.com

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Geek Girl in the News September 2022: Twitch News, Netflix Games, and the BEST Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman update!

Geek Herring — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 September 2022 covers the sad loss of Cherry Valentine, Twitch's latest outrage, Netflix's new in-house gaming studio, the final cities announced for Eurovision 2023, and the best Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman news possible!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Interview: Geek Joysticks with Ed and Ben from Swapping Joysticks

Geek Herring — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Warning: Chaos level 1000. We laugh, cry, and groan, but we chat with two of our best friends about their podcast, Swapping Joysticks! Sit back and get ready to laugh, folks!

In this episode, we all drink a bit too much, make fun of Ben and Moni, and have wayyyyy too much fun. But we do find out the history of Swapping Joysticks, why they have a queer focussed show, what it's like having a chaos gremlin for a co-host, and what the future of the podcast looks like.

Really, this episode is FUN and will make you laugh and that is why you need to listen to it!

Find Swapping Joysticks Online

You can find us Online / Twitch / YouTube / Twitter!

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Special Guests: BiggusBennus and Ed Nightingale.

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Geek Herring & Chill: The Games We're Playing

Geek Herring — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 08:00:00 +0000

We wanted to spend some time talking about the amazing games we've been playing lately!

Moni has joined a CULT. The Cult of the Lamb, that is! She's been deep diving into this cute, addictive little game that's taken Twitch by storm. Not only is she playing live on Twitch with her community, she has a second save just for her to play offline.

Amanda's just completed Lord Winklebottom Investigates, a cute AF point and click mystery adventure starring a gentlemanly giraffe. This game was developed by Charlotte Sutherland of Cave Monsters and was worth the wait.

Amanda's also been playing Call of the Sea. While she's not quite finished yet, it's an enjoyable first person mystery adventure around an island in the South Pacific. While it initially gave Amanada white colonizer vibes, it quickly became apparent that there was something else going on.

What have you been playing lately? Let us know on social media or join us on Discord!

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Geek Girl Reviews The Umbrella Academy Season 3: Positive Trans Rep, Complex Characters, and The End of the World.... Again

Geek Herring — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 08:00:00 +0000

The Umbrella Academy is back for season 3, and after two seasons that Moni kept falling asleep during, this one held her attention like woah.

Spoiler Warning

This entire episode is spoilers. You've been warned!

We couldn't get enough of it. The character dynamics, the character growth, the sibling love/hate relationshps, and the incredibly positive trans representation!

But seriously, this season showcases Viktor's transition in the literal best way possible. It's a 10/10 from us!

We also talk about our favourite characters, least favourite characters, what we love about all the characters, and why Klaus is the best little shit.

Enjoy! We'd love to hear your thoughts as well, let us know on social media or join our Discord!

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Geek Girl Reviews Ms Marvel: A Fun, Cultural Masterpiece with Jasmin Joe Star

Geek Herring — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Ms Marvel is just about the most fun Marvel has ever had creating their TV shows. #Fact. There is so much to love about this show: the characters, the relatableness, the sincerity, the hilarity, the diversity.

We knew we HAD to get Jasmin Joe Star on to talk about her absolute bae of a superhero. Jasmin is THE Ms Marvel expert, and being both Muslim and Middle Eastern, we were even more excited to get her perspectives on what this show gets right. Which, great news, is a whole bunch!

What a breath of fresh air Ms Marvel is! We have positive representations of Muslims. Just normal, everyday interactions of Middle Eastern families. A whole bunch of Partition history you probably didn't get taught in school. AND SO MUCH MORE LIKE ACTUAL SUPERHERO SHIT.

Spoiler Warning

There are ZERO spoiler free moments in this episode. If you haven't seen it (stop what you're doing immediately and go watch it), skip this episode and we'll see you next week!

Let's get into Ms Marvel! What we love, what we hate, what could've been improved. Jasmin is a wealth of knowledge and an absolute delight to have on!

About Jasmin

Jasmin is a Marvel expert, specialising in Ms Marvel! She's a huge nerd, self-certified weeb, content creator, cosplayer, gamer, streamer, and photographer. She's a Muslim Iraqi American from LA who is a literal superhero in her dayjob trying to cure and treat cancer!

Find Jasmin Online

Find Jasmin on Twitch | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

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Special Guest: Jasmin Joe Star.

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Geek Interview: Winning Gold Medals and Championing Diversity & Inclusion in eSports with Emma 'Emzii' Rose

Geek Herring — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Emma 'Emzii' Rose competed in the inaugural eSports championships at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and brought home GOLD for Northern Ireland. She joins us to talk about women in eSports, trans rights, her experience at the championships, and diversity & inclusion in eSports.

We're so excited to have gold medal winner, Emma 'Emzii' Rose, on to talk about her recent experience competing at the Commonwealth Games! She talks about what it was like competing, her experience as a trans woman in eSports, diversity & inclusion in eSports, clapping back at the trolls, the future of eSports in Northern Ireland, and projections for inclusivity in eSports!... and SO MUCH MORE. You don't want to miss this one!

Emma has also been invited to a few upcoming tournaments but has to pay her own way - she's started a gofundme to help her make it there!

Quotes

"Thumbs are thumbs."

About Emma 'Emzii' Rose

Emma 'Emzii' Rose is an eFootball eSports player who plays for Northern Ireland. At the innagural eSports competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. held in Birmingham, she went and brought home a gold medal for Northern Ireland!! Emma is a transgender woman who is passionate about trans rights and eSports. She's a champion for diversity and inclusion in eSports and promoting gender equality in eSports competitions.

Find Emma 'Emzii' Rose Online

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Special Guest: Emma 'Emzii' Rose.

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Geek Girl Reviews Stranger Things 4: The Best and Most Traumatic TV Series

Geek Herring — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Spoiler Warning

If you haven't seen Stranger Things 4 yet and care about spoilers - do not listen to this episode! We don't even try to keep this spoiler free. There is your fair warning!

Okay so we just get right into this and absolutely GUSH about how much we love Stranger Things 4.

The characters, the drama, the everything.

We will say that this season is GORY. It is TRAUMATIC. It doesn't have great Black representation. It's SAD. But it all comes together to make for some damn good TV watching.

We reference these articles in this episode:

What did you think of Stranger Things 4? Let us know on social media or join us on Discord

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Geeking Out About TwitchCon: What We Loved, What Could Have Been Better, and Queer Joy!

Geek Herring — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:00 +0000

We went to TwitchCon! And this is what we thought about it!

TwitchCon Amsterdam, July 16&17. We met up with so many streamers and community members we know from Twitch and it was the best time we've had in a long time.

We talk about some of the amazing panels we went to, notably the High Rollers actual play DnD podcast recording, the drag showcase, and the drag panel. We get all mushy about how much we love our Twitch friends. And we talk about some of the things we think could have been improved at Twitch, mainly the LGBTQIA+ panel and accessibility.

We also both came home with COVID-19 - sad times! But we would absolutely do it again, maybe with a few modifications, because the mental health piece of TwitchCon and hanging out with our friends far outweighed being ill for a week.

Did you go to TwitchCon? We'd love to hear about your experiences!

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Geek Herring & Chill: The Hosts Open Up With More Deep Questions!

Geek Herring — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 08:00:00 +0000

We're pulling out our favourite deck of Ask Deep Questions to get to know each other even better than we already do!

In this episode, find out how to make Amanda feel the most seen and heard, how Moni deals with heartbreak, and so much more!

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Geek Discussion: Attending Mass Events as Women and Marginalised Genders

Geek Herring — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 08:00:00 +0000

How do you stay safe at conventions? For women and people of marginalised genders, it's not as easy as just showing up. Listen to this episode for Twitchcon hype, our community's best convention safety tips, and more!

With Twitchcon just around the corner, we thought it would be a great idea to talk about safety at conventions.

We talk about our own experiences with conventions and how we've maintained our safety, but most importantly, we polled our listeners and community for their best advice.

From making sure your devices are charged and you have important phone numbers written down to prearranged meeting points to keeping nasty hands free while cosplaying, our community has not let us down!

Listen to this episode for Twitchcon hype, our community's best convention safety tips, and more!

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Geek Girl Reviews Heartstopper: Queer Joy & LGBTQIA+ Rep Done Right

Geek Herring — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Heartstopper just might be the very best show on Netflix right now... or in Moni's opinion, maybe ever!

It follows a group of high school students who are all dealing with their queer identities in their own way.

It's beautiful, candid, heartbreaking, and wonderful. This is the type of positive LGBTQIA+ representation that all shows need to have - and we WISH this was around when we were kids!!

Have you watched it yet? Let's keep the Heartstopper joy going in our Discord!

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Geek Girl Reviews Moon Knight: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Arab Superheroes, and Egyptian Iconography

Geek Herring — Mon, 30 May 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Marvel's Moon Knight (available on Disney+) is over and we're in LOVE. Let's talk about Dissociative Identity Disorder, the Egyptian pantheon, and the introduction of Marvel's first Arab (and female!) superhero!

Spoilers Ahead!

We introduce just who the heck this relatively unknown superhero is, compliment Oscar Isaac on his incredible performance, and chat about the basic storyline of Moon Knight.

We also HAVE to note that we're introduced to the very first Arab superhero, Layla as the Scarlet Scarab, who honestly is such a breath of fresh air. It helps that the director and much of the crew are Egyptian!

Finally, and maybe most importantly, we talk about how Marvel Studies and Oscar Isaac have actually done a pretty spectacular job of accuractly portraining a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

We both recommend checking out Moon Knight if you haven't seen it yet!

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Geek Interview: Inclusive Games Journalism with Ed Nightingale

Geek Herring — Mon, 16 May 2022 08:00:00 +0000

It's no secret that we absolutely adore Ed Nightingale, so if there's one interview you listen to EVER, it's this one. We thought we loved Ed before, but this chat seals the deal.

Ed's journalistic integrity is everything we need right now. An absolute breath of fresh air in what is such a toxic, male-dominated industry. Yes, we know Ed's a white man, but he's doing so much to uplift marginalised voices in the games industry.

We need more Ed's!

About Our Guest

Ed Nightingale is a journalist currently working with Eurogamer to create news pieces focussed on his passions: diversity, inclusion, all things LGBTQIA+, representation, accessibility, and more!

Find Ed Nightingale Online

You can find Ed Nightingale Online / Twitter / Twitch!

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Special Guest: Ed Nightingale.

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Geek Girl Reviews Hysterical: #MeToo Era Comedy & Beyond

Geek Herring — Mon, 02 May 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Disney+ has recently released the documentary Hysterical, released in 2021, and we knew we had to watch and review it.

We think everyone should take a look at this documentary, that, from IMDb:

"is an honest and hilarious backstage pass into the lives of some of stand-up comedy's most boundary-breaking women, exploring the hard-fought journey to become the voices of their generation and their gender."

Let's get critical about comedy and remember: women are fucking hilarious!!

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Geek Girl in the News: Oscars Roundup, Backing Up Sam Maggs, and Meeting Viktor Hargreeves

Geek Herring — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 08:00:00 +0000

We had a few different news stories we wanted to talk about, so we're bringing Geek Girl in the News back!

Join us as we talk about the Oscars - no, not that event that everyone else is talking about, the achievements that ACTUALLY matter.

We're also talking about the importance of crediting women for their work, especially when it comes to video games! Our favourite heroine, Sam Maggs, was recently left uncredited for her major role as Lead Writer in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

And we can't NOT talk about Elliot Page's character, Viktor Hargreeves, going through his own transition journey that will be celebrated in season 3 of The Umbrella Academy!

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

Amanda also mentions Murdle - the newest, hottest Wordle-like Whodunnit

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Geek Discussion: Is it still fun when it makes you RAGE cry!?

Geek Herring — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Let's talk about those games that are so hard they make you rage. They make you cry. They make you walk away in frustration. ARE THEY STILL FUN!?

This conversation is brought to you by Amanda's obsession with Elden Ring, Moni's love/hate relationship with Celeste, and a wonderful suggestion from our fab community member, MrMillhill.

We talk about:

why we love to rage at games
competition vs comparison vs spite
the role of community when playing a hard game
mentally vs physically challenging games
and SO MUCH MORE

We'd love to hear YOUR thoughts, too! Let us know on social media or join our Discord to continue the conversation!

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Geek Girl Reviews Turning Red: The Epitome of Early 00's Canadian Teen Girls

Geek Herring — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Have you seen Turning Red? It's Disney Pixar's latest release that follow a group of 13 year old girls in Toronto. Set in 2002. Peak boy band hype.

One of the girls just so happens to be able to turn into a red panda.

NBD.

Let's get into all the awesome things this movie talks about: being dorky 13 year old girls, being YOURSELF, periods, shame, taboo, Chinese culture, vampire obsession, boy bands, Canadiana, teenage horniness, and so much more.

What do you think about Turning Red? Let us know!

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Geek Discussion: A.D.I.D.A.B. (All Day I Dream About Boobs)

Geek Herring — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Let's talk about boobs! We love boobs (okay Amanda loves boobs). We're covering the new inclusive Adidas ad, Victoria Secret's disabled models, and the fantastic outcome to the US Women's Soccer Team lawsuit!

Have you seen the latest Adidas ad? It's full of boobs - beautiful, bare boobies that celebrate the fact that the beautiful breast comes in all shapes and sizes. Adidas is absolutely owning their inclusive marketing campaign and we are so glad to see them creating bras that support bigger boobs!

We mention big boobs, small boobs, and trans boobs - all very important to note!! We also note that while this campaign is AWESOME, it does not have any trans representation in it - and this is something bra companies should definitely be including. Trans boobs need love and support, too!

We're also talking about Victoria's Secret's inclusion of disabled models and think this is great. More and more lingerie companies are becoming diverse and inclusive - yay!

Finally, we talk about the US Women's Soccer Team's successful lawsuit - we know we were talking about boobs, but this team wears sports bras so it TOTALLY FITS. Read about it here!

Amanda references the Boob or Bust website for bra fitting, too!

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Geeking Out About the Oscars

Geek Herring — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 09:00:00 +0000

It's Oscars season!

How did the nominations shape up? We run through each of the categories, talk about our favourites (and indeed, some of the only films we've even seen that were nominated - oops! Who said we were qualified to talk about these!?), go on a total tangent about our (Amanda's) love of Robert Pattinson, gush about Encanto (obvs), and get distracted by Amanda's biggest Oscar snub: Eternals!

We referenced these articles:

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Geek Interview: The Gayest Witch on Twitch with Psyche

Geek Herring — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We're talking to the incredible Psyche, Twitch streamer and YouTube content creator, about embracing who she is, being the gayest witch on Twitch, and why showing up as your authentic self matters!

About Psyche

Psyche (She/Her) is shy, bi, and likes games that make you cry! She's a chaotic, bisexual Twitch variety streamer from Northern Ireland! Psyche formerly worked in the games industry for 8 years (including as a Project Manager for Riot Games) but now streams and creates content full-time.

This conversation with Psyche was recorded in June 2021 - so sorry for the delay in getting it out! - and it's a great one.

We talk gay stuff, discrimination, support, resources, embracing your identity, and more!

Find Our Guest Online

You can find Psyche on Twitch / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube!

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Special Guest: Psyche.

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Geek Herring and Chill: We're BACK! Let's Catch Up!

Geek Herring — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 09:00:00 +0000

OMG we're back!!

What's been going on the last 6 months of our hiatus?

Thanks for sticking with us while we take some real life time to process all the real life shit going on.

We're catching up on all the amazing geeky shows and movies from the last 6 months!

Loki!
Wheel of Time!
Lord of the Rings!
Eternals!
Book of Boba Fett!
Hawkeye!
The Boys!
The Witcher!
What If?!
Encanto!
Luca!
Soul!
Inside Out!

THIS IS YOUR REMINDER, please listen to The Amazing Devil!

Also let's talk diversity! And accountability! And why we love this awesome little show so much.

"We need to stop holding individuals accountable for societal problems. But we do need to keep treating people like flawed individuals who have things to learn." - Gemma

Alsoooo you can totally follow both of our personal Twitch accounts!

MoniDoesStuff
SoulBodyGeek

Moni's playing lots of games on stream! Amanda's playing lots of Dungeons and Dragons!

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Geek Girl Reviews Shadow and Bone: Into the Grishaverse with Vicky Brewster

Geek Herring — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Shadow and Bone is the latest YA high fantasy show taking Netflix by storm. We're joined by Grishaverse addict Vicky Brewster to talk about what we loved - and didn't so much love - from our first foray into this universe.

About Vicky Brewster

Vicky Brewster is a freelance editor, founder of Books Outside the Box (a spooky and speculative book subscription service), founder of The Writing Haunt horror writing retreat, and a PhD student. She's wearing lots of fantastical hats and it's awesome!

Based on the books by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone season one is out now on Netflix.

If you haven't seen Shadow and Bone or read the books and are wary of spoilers: HERE IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING. This episode is NOT spoiler free!

We talk about what we love about the show (mainly our love of Jesper and Inej) and what we don't love so much - too much -yawn- lovey dovey stuff!

Vicky is our pocket expert into all things Grisha and we're so grateful for her guiding us through this episode and answering all our burning questions. It's great to have an expert on the team! ;)

Here's Thom (from Three Extra Lives) take on the whole show - it basically sums it up!

I really enjoyed how this show started - the fold and the mystery behind, how it's been used for political gain however we never really get to learn much about it. There feels like a lot of forced romance, (like the witch and the fedyor being an big example) Like how the f are you in love after one episode, and the story overall is very predictable, however I really like the cast and still very much intrigued about the story. I'm at such a dilemma with this show because I don't think I could recommend it to anyone, however at the same time I'll be excited to check out season 2 to see if they get to flesh this world out some more!

Thanks, Thom, for putting into words how we feel about this show. WE NEED MORE STORY!

Bring on Season 2 for the continuation and all the other awesome stuff.

Here's the Apple Podcasts link to the Shadow and Bones Netflix podcast Vicky mentions!

Find Vicky Brewster Online

Find Vicky Brewster Online!

Books Outside the Box
The Writing Haunt

Find Vicky on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

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Special Guest: Vicky Brewster.

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Geek Interview with The Sartorial Geek Clothing Creator: Jordan Dene Ellis!

Geek Herring — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 08:00:00 +0000

What's it like starting and running a successful geek brand? We're joined by the incredible Jordan Dene Ellis, of Jordandene NYC and The Sartorial Geek podcast and magazine, to talk about how she's created her own successful geeky brands.

About Jordan Dene Ellis

Jordan Dene Ellis is the founder of Jordandene NYC and co-founder of The Sartorial Geek podcast and magazine. She's a badass geek who's created one awesome life for herself - by her own rules.

We chat about all things geek in this episode! Especially about creating a successful and thriving geeky career. Jordan Dene is pretty much a household name when it comes to geek fashion and it's easy to see why.

Jordan also talks about what it's like running a magazine and her experience podcasting.

Thanks for the awesome, fangirling episode, Jordan!!

Find Our Guest Online

Find Jordan Dene Ellis Online!

Find Jordan on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

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Special Guest: Jordan Dene Ellis.

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Geek Discussion: Coming Out, Pride, and Identity

Geek Herring — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 08:00:00 +0000

HAPPY PRIDE!

We are so excited to celebrate Pride this month, not only because it's fucking PRIDE, it's also Moni's first pride as an out and proud asexual person! Welcome to the queer club, Moni!

In this episode, we're talking alllll about Moni's coming out story and how she's perceived herself for all of her life. It's really fascinating to hear this from someone who realised their identity at 36 years of age. Congratulations, Moni, on figuring your shit out!

We also talk about appearances and genitals, because what kind of episode would it be if we didn't? It's inappropriate and incredible, exactly how we like it.

This year has been one of self-discovery for many. We've actually had quite a few people mention that Geek Herring has gotten way gayer over the years we've been doing this -- and also that Geek Herring makes you gay*. *Well, sure. We'll take it! What a weird badge of honour.

Celebrating pride for both of us has been really different experiences. Amanda's been celebrating over 17 Prides in some way or another and Moni's never been to a Pride parade in her life. We're both valid for however we celebrate and recognise Pride!

Because Pride matters. Pride is an important event in the LGBTQIA2+ community. We've lost so much - from the AIDs crisis, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, murders, and all that horrible stuff of humanity. It's no wonder there are so many people, like Moni, who haven't come out until later in life. We didn't have the role models or the safety to come out like Gen Z does, now.

Finally, we want you to know that no matter how old you are, no matter how out you are, and no matter who you are: you matter. You are valid. Your identity is valid.

This world just needs a bit more gosh darn love!

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Geek Girl in the News: May 2021

Geek Herring — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 08:00:00 +0000

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 May 2021 covers Gen Z being badass, celebrity struggles with mental health, snowflake gamers and the male gaze, an update on the Rosario Dawson anti-trans lawsuit, and some good news from Twitch!

We start by celebrating the incredibly talented Madisen Cordell who won an Amazon scholorship to pursue computer science.... after starting to learn it only last summer! This story is so wholesome and inspiring; Madisen, you'll go so far!! Congratulations!

Then we're talking about the newest grrl riot punk band: The Linda Lindas. These tweens took a racist, sexist comment from a boy in their class and wrote the literal baddest assiest song about it. Ever. RACIST SEXIST BOY!!! We stan you, Linda Lindas!! Keep it coming!

Next, we're talking about Naomi Osaka's statement and eventual withdrawal from the French Open due to her mental health. She decided it was in the interest of her mental health not to participate in post-tournament interviews, but the archaic tennis federation rules deemed it appropriate to issue a $15k fine. Seriously? Mental health before all else! We're proud of you, Naomi! And hope you kick collaborative ass in changing the rules!

And it's not just women who are opening up about their mental health problems. Even male celebrity faves like Ryan Reynolds who seemingly have it ALL can and do struggle with mental health issues. It's so, so, so important for straight, cis, white men to open up about their mental health issues in order to combat the stigma of mental health. Thank you, Ryan!

Then we have a bit of a laugh about the absolute snowflake of a gamer who decided that Aloy, in the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, looks too masculine. Um, fuck away off and get in the sea!

With an update to a past geek girl in the news episode, courts have dismissed the anti-trans assault lawsuit against Rosario Dawson. This is really a lose-lose situation. Either accusor Dedrek Finley is lying and caused some irreparable damage to Dawson's career and the validity of anti-trans assault, or Dawson is lying and used her fame and finances to make the situation go away. Well fuck.

But in some excellent news, Twitch has finally - finally - given us 350 new identity tags on the gaming platform! The long-anticipated trans tag is here! And along with it are tags about sexuality, gender, race, nationality, disability, and more. THANK YOU TWITCH. And maybe in some even more unprecedented updates... Twitch apologised for getting this wrong, stating that they really should have done this sooner.

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geeking Out About Self Care

Geek Herring — Fri, 28 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Self care. It's a hot topic right now, and not without good reason. It's an essential practice for our health - but as geeks, what's best for us?

Let's face it. All those Insta posts about self care being baths, yoga, and meditation are bullshit. Like okay, Karen, if that's you, you do you.

But that's not all self care is.

Self care is any activity that lets your body and, maybe more importantly, your mind relax.

This week, we're talking about the self care practices that we, as geeks, business owners, podcast hosts, and Twitch streamers do regularly. From creating a schedule and routine to reading cosy books to streaming on Twitch.

The most important message is that your self care can look like whatever you want it to. Don't let anyone else dictate what your self care should look like. Do what makes YOU happy.

What are your favourite ways to practice self care? Let us know in the comments here or come join us on Discord!

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Geek Girl Reviews Surviving R. Kelly: What a Piece of Sh*t

Geek Herring — Fri, 21 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Surviving R. Kelly is a documentary about the literal decades of abuse from the rapper - and the total lack of prosecution. This is our review of the 6-part documentary of horrors.

Content Warning: This entire episode deals with sensitive topics. Sexual assault, abuse, pedophilia, child pornography, pornography, and more. Please protect yourselves, listeners. If these topics are too heavy for you right now, please check out another episode of Geek Herring

After watching Surviving R. Kelly, we can say with 100% certainty that Robert Kelly is indisputably a piece of shit.

We witness in this documentary Robert's interest in young girls start way too early in his life. It's all come out about his relationship and marriage to Alliyah - when she was only 15 fucking years old and he was 24!?

But that's nowhere near where these decades of abuse ends. It's absolutely heartbreaking to watch these girls and young women be seduced by this master manipulator for years. Even when women came forward about his abuses, Robert "somehow" seems to avoid any jail time.

Spoilers: he just makes too much money for the record company. So naturally, he can do whatever he wants - including assaulting young girls.

We also talk about how everyone in his life is claiming total ignorance and innocence to his crimes - and we call absolute fucking bullshit.

Listen to this episode to find out more!

Watch Surviving R. Kelly on Netflix

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Geeking Out About The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Your Current Most Important Watch

Geek Herring — Fri, 14 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is one of the most iconic and important watches of our modern times. Let's talk about why!

** THIS EPISODE IS FULL OF SPOILERS OF THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER SEASON 1 **

Please enjoy Amanda's super awesome and very incoherent explanation and summary of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

We don't want to put toooo too much in these shownotes, because spoilers, but to sum up:

Defund the police.
Support mental health, PTSD, and military vets.
Black Lives Matter.
Mediation should always be the first course of action.
Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson are the best and we'd watch them paint a room together,

What did YOU think of this epic show? Let us know in the comments or come on over and join our Discord!

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Geek Girl in the News: eSports Gyms, NFTs, and Marvel Excitement

Geek Herring — Fri, 07 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

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 2021 covers the EFL's first female referee, Japan's first ever eSports gym, NFTs and the Disaster Girl meme, Sony's partnership with Discord, Disney+ announcement of Ironheart, Marvel's Phase 5 trailer drop (omg!), Ryan Reynolds demanding a bisexual Deadpool, and the revealed identity of Ratchet & Clank's femme fatale!

We're so excited to have a pretty upbeat month of news this month!

First, we're diving into sports, thanks to Thom (of course) who sent us this article about Rebecca Welch, the first female referee for the English Football League. What a fab move for the EFL, a fab promotion for Welch, and a step forward for women in football. We love to see it!

Thom also sent us our next article about Japan's first eSports gym opening up in Tokyo. Picture a regular gym: you go, train on all the machines, even have the opportunity for personal training. That's EXACTLY what an eSports gym is - except you're not working out your legs, you're working out your ESPORTS muscles. And we're HERE for this, how dang cool!?

What do you know about NFTs? Amanda knows nothing, even after Moni and Twitch chat tried to explain it. But she doesn't have to understand what they're about to know that the Disaster Meme just made Zoe Roth $500k. She's paying off her college loans and donating the rest to charity. AMAZING!

We're also super excited about Sony's partnership with Discord. This is such a win-win! Discord needs some more financial backing, especially after the year it's had, and Sony needs some voice cross-chat integration for the Playstation. Excited to see what happens here!

Geek Herring listener, FlameFlash, submitted the next story about the Disney+ announcement of Ironheart! This show sounds absolutely incredible and follows the story of 15 year old genius Black student RiRi Williams on her quest to rebuild IronMan armour for her. RiRi will be played by Dominique Thorne, and it's being written by Chinaka Hodge, another Black woman. We quite literally cannot contain our excitement about this show and all the Black female talent getting pumped into it!

We're also SO FUCKING EXCITED about the Marvel Phase 5 release trailer! Literally cannot WAIT for all these films to come out - and so many are this year! YES YES YES to ALL these damn movies! And, staying with Marvel, we are HERE for Ryan Reynolds absolutely begging Marvel to let him play Deadpool as bisexual - he is canon pansexual in the comics, so of course it makes sense! Come on, Marvel! It's about time!

And finally, we talk about the new Ratchet & Clank femme fatale character reveal! Thanks to our friend, Ed Nightingale, reporting for Pink News for this article!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Herring & Chill: Getting Supes Vulnerable with More Deep Questions

Geek Herring — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

We're getting chilled out and intimate with round TWO of asking deep questions. We always love these episodes because we get to know each other even better than we already do.

We had a LOT of laughs, some himming and humming (LOOKING AT YOU, AMANDA!), and a few moments getting totes emosh, all while sharing our answers LIVE with our Twitch audience!

Want to hear about the best gift Amanda ever got? What about her most embarrassing moment at school?
Curious about what Moni's future TED Talk will be? Or when she's felt most alone?

Want to know how Amanda made Moni spit her water out!?

Then tune in! Make sure you don't miss this one!

Ask Deep Questions is a card game that consists of 48 thoughtful questions that go below the surface to create meaningful connections with ANYONE.

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Geek Roundtable: Love in Every Form

Geek Herring — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Love comes in so many different forms! We're joined by some wonderful Twitch streamers, mods, and Tweeters to talk about love outside the heteronormative experience. This episode is beautiful and emotional and we love it!

About Our Guests

Ariana is a polyamorous cis woman we know on Twitter
Frazley is an asexual, aromantic transgender woman who streams on Twitch
Gemma is a polysexual, polyamorourus cis woman and is our wonderful moderator
Jay is a genderfluid, polymorourus streamer on Twitch
Rik is an agender, aromantic gay streamer on Twitch

About Love in Every Form

This is our very first roundtable discussion we recorded live on Twitch. We asked some of our lovely friends and fellow streamers to come on and talk about their experiences with love.

We learned so much about so many different types of love: polyamory, familial, friendship, no sexual or romantic connections, gay love, straight love, and everything in between.

Of course, there were tears. Of course, there was openness and beauty to this conversation. We all learned so much about each other - and maybe even some beauty things about ourselves we didn't previously know.

All we know is: this episode is beautiful. Thank you so much, everyone, for sharing pieces of yourselves and speaking so openly about your experiences with love!

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Geek Girl Reviews It's a Sin: The Heartbreaking Reality of the AIDS Crisis

Geek Herring — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

The E4 drama It's a Sin is a wonderful and heartbreaking series following a group of gay men living through the height of the AIDS crisis in London. It's a hard watch, for sure, but it's one we think everyone should watch. It's NECESSARY to be aware about what happened to an entire group of people - almost mostly in secret.

We went into this knowing it would be sad, but it broke us. WOW. What a show.

** Spoiler Warning ** This whole episode is FULL of spoilers.

We talk about our own experiences as young girls living through this period of time ourselves. Of course, we were so far removed from the realities of what was going on. The death, the grief, the loss, and the sheer fact that no one that could do anything about it fucking cared.

The series stars 5 gay men in London and Jill - the star of the show. Jill is precious and thrown into a life-changing situation that causes her to care for her friends while learning everything she can about AIDS.

The portrayal of STIGMA is so powerful and shocking in It's a Sin. Like this is reality. People didn't know why gay men were dying. They didn't know HOW they were dying. And no one knew how the disease was spread.

We didn't know.

This show does such a wonderful job of showing and embracing the love and vibrancy of life. Through trauma, through secrecy, through illness.

Of course, it's not perfect and it doesn't cover every aspect of this period in time. But It's a Sin does one hell of a job of portraying what reality was like in the 80s and 90s. Hearbreak. Hope. Death. Friendship. Love. Sex. Wow.

The level of shame and embarassment portrayed, as well. Feeling like you have to hide who you are from the people you love is just horrible. The show really gives great insight into the reality of gay life. It's sad.

Also, we STAN Colin's Mom. She's LEGIT.

This whole show is sad. This whole show is incredible. This whole show is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WATCHING.

Bring tissues.

Resources

** Watch It's a Sin Here **

Learn more about the National AIDS Trust

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Geek Interview: Love Is... Finding Yourself with Lizzie

Geek Herring — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

It doesn't matter how old you are or what your situation is, you're never too old to find yourself. We're delighted to be joined by Twitch streamer, Lizzie, to talk about coming out in her 30s. Amanda also shares her perspective of coming out in the mid 00's.

About Our Guest

Lizzie is an incredible Twitch streamer, cross-stitcher, and member of our community. We love her so much!

It was only a couple of weeks before this episode was recorded that Lizzie came out as "not straight." We thought it would be perfect to celebrate our month of love in February by chatting all things coming out with Lizzie - and with Amanda.

This conversation is a lot of fun. We talk about our experiences with coming out, realising we weren't straight, and touch on some of the hate Amanda's received.

Thanks Lizzie, so much for being part of this conversation!

Find Our Guest Online

Find Lizzie On Twitch!

Find Lizzie on Twitter | Instagram

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Special Guest: Lizzie.

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Geek Girl in the News: Montero & Lil Nas X, Sarah Everard, and Trans Rights

Geek Herring — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

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 March 2021 covers the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard, Police Brutality, the Vatican's archaic stance on same-sex marriage, Lil Nas X and his new music video, Montero, the NCAA's ridiculous weight rooms, Peer2Peer.Live - thanks Trans Lifeline!!, SonicFox repping Trans Rights at eSports tournament, Sesame Streets newest Black muppets talking about anti-racism, and Star Wars teases us with Obi-Wan Kenobi news!

** Before we go further, we have a content warnings with timestamps. **

*Sexual Abuse, Assault, Violence, Murder and Police Brutality 6:31 - 17:00 *

Like every other person on this planet should be, we are both absolutely outraged and appalled at what happened in the UK at the beginning of March. We started the week off with International Women's Day, but quickly the week soured.

Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered. By: A POLICE OFFICER. Yep. Wish we could say we're shocked but....

This has obviously spared a renewed sharing of the #MeToo movement, sharing our own stories of sexual abuse and assault, and even more incredulity of the actual audacity of men.

But that's not all! A vigil being held in Sarah's honour was condemned by Home Secretary Priti Patel 👿 - but when, of course, it went ahead anyways, what happened? YOU GUESS IT. Police brutality. A peaceful vigil for a woman kidnapped and murdered.... turned into a storm of violence.

Honestly, all cops are bastards. And we fucking mean that. It's a systemic and systematic problem that needsd to be dismantled from the outside, yes, but even more from the inside.

We also talk about the Vatican's assinine and disgusting assertation that same-sex relationships are sin. Tired of this. Let's move on, thanks.

Grateful for Lil Nas X being fucking unreal with his new music video for Montero. If you haven't seen it - stop what you're doing and watch it right now thank you very much. This video is transcendant. And we need more Lil Nas X all the fucking time.

Next up - NCAA's royal fuuuuuck up. It's a big and honestly totally avoidable bout of sexism. Let's do better, mmkay?

We're APPLAUDING Trans Lifeline for stepping up and creating Peer2Peer to bring gender identity, race, religion, and disability tags to Twitch --- doing in seemingly no time what Twitch is just refusing to do. Kudos and THANK YOU Trans Lifeline!

Other stories this month: SonicFox's stands for trans rights at Mortal Kombat tournament, Sesame Street getting anti-racist, and cast releases for Obi-Wan Kenobi!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Discussion: Our Break-Up with the Wizarding World

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In one of our most emotional episodes to date, we talk about why we can no longer support the Harry Potter franchise because of JK Rowling's hateful transphobic agenda. This is our explanation and our break-up.

This episode is emotional, heartfelt, and raw. We cry, we rant, we talk about why it's more important to support and love our trans friends and trans rights than to continue pouring love into a franchise that doesn't love everyone.

It's no longer a safe haven.
It's no longer a place you can be yourself.

If you're breaking up with the Wizarding World, too, we understand what you're going through.

If you're trans and you're feeling justifiably attacked by Rowling's vitriol, you are valid, you are loved, and you are always welcome with us.

This episode is conveniently coming out during Trans Visibility Week. We stand with you yesterday, now, and always. Trans rights are human rights. Trans women are women. Trans men are men.

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Geek Interview: Loving the Skin You're In with Frank the Pegasus

Geek Herring — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Loving the skin you're in doesn't always come easy. Sometimes it comes with daily affirmations, doing things for yourself, and accepting that somedays, body neutrality is the place you'll be in that day. FrankthePegasus joins us for this intimate, inspiring, and hilarious episode about body positivity.

About Frank the Pegasus

Frank the Pegasus is a full-time content creator on Twitch and YouTube. She focuses on on sex positivity, body acceptance, and mental health advocacy! She's been streaming for almost 5 years, is super queer, and is a big lover of simulation and collection games.

Fank and Monika geek out for a really long time about birds and plants. It's incredible. You're welcome.

Geeking about about loving ourselves is so cool, honestly. We talked about the importance of doing things for YOU, that light YOU up and make YOU feel good - like seriously, friends, when's the last time you prioritised YOURSELF!? Tell us the truth!

How absolutely sick are you of those bullshit fatphobic stereotypes we get from the media? Because we're furious about them. It's exhausting watching fat bodies be protrayed as evil, lazy, unkempt and unclean, and a whole host of other stereotypes. We can do better than this.

Frank's best advice? Take care of yourself because you love yourself!!! It seems like such a simple concept, but we all know it's easier said than done. What do you do for yourself just to show you that you love you? That's a lot of yous but we really wanna know!

A huuuuge topic of discussion here is removing the value you give to society from the way you look. You are more than your looks, you're more than your body, you're more than face. You don't owe society or anyone for that matter anything. And your value is NOT ABOUT how you look. We promise you that!

Have you ever practiced Positive Body Affirmations? Frank says they're one of her daily rituals to remind herself how much she loves the skin she's in. If a positive body affirmation seems too far for you, what about a neutral statement - Frank recommends "I have arms" and we love that!

We'd also like to remind you to surround yourself with bodies of all shapes and sizes. This is especially important right now, when we're all living our existence online. Curate your social media feeds, especially the visual based ones like Intsa, to have more body types on there. We read a study once that asked you to scroll through your Insta feed and to count how many posts you passed before you found a body that didn't look like you. If it's more than 10, your feed is simply not diverse enough! Have you ever done an experiment like this? It's a LIFE. CHANGER. Please do it!

Frank also wants you to do the things that make your internet experience better. That's not only curating your feed, but it's also choosing not to go on any triggering sites, removing toxic people and words from your timelines and follow lists, and making a point to create a positive environment for yourself.

But what about those days on stream when you just don't feel like showing your face? Let's normalise not being on camera. Women are under so much pressure to look a certain way in order to succeed on Twitch, but honestly - why? Like, we don't owe you pretty. We also don't owe you our face all the time. If we're not feeling it, we're just gonna have that camera turned off.

We also talk about the importance of body neutrality, which is sooooooooooo gooooooood and something we need to talk about more - it doesn't always have to body positive!! Plus the dangers of SnapChat (for example) filters that completely change the way you look.

And most importantly? PLEASE be GENTLE with yourself. You are so, so loved and so valued.

What helps you on your bad days? Why on your good days do you feel good?

Quotes

"If you're listening to this and the only reason you play games is to enjoy a game, that's a good enough reason to play a game."

"If your feed is lacking fat bodies, it's hard for you to normalise fat bodies. Get more fat bodies on your feed."

"All I want to do is accept the body that I'm in and accept it as the meat sack that is carrying me through my life."

"Even if you don't love yourself, you are loved. Sometimes putting confidence in somebody else's love of you is the thing that helps you get through that day. You love them and you trust them, so they can't be wrong."

Find Our Guest Online

Find FrankhePegasus On Twitch!

Find FrankthePegasus on Twitter | YouTube | Discord | Instagram

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Frank the Pegasus.

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Geek Girl Reviews WandaVision: A Story About Grief

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

What is grief if not love preserving?

** THIS EPISODE IS FULL OF SPOILERS OF WANDAVISION SEASON 1 **

WandaVision is a heartbreaking story following Wanda's experience with grief. We see throughout the season glimpses into her life and just how much trauma this one woman has endured.

It's a lot. It's sad. And, we dunno about you, but we feel more connected to Wanda and Vision than ever, ever before.

We talk about those first three episodes - you know, those 1950s/60s/70s style ones, based on Dick Van Dyke, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, and the Brady Bunch. What did we think of them? Well, what did YOU think of them? These three episodes are definitely the most controversial of the entire series - you either LOVE them or HATE them.

Moni? They were a big nope.
Amanda? Episodes 1 and 2 were super, but 3 was triggering and traumatic AF. No thanks.

We also gush about our love of the penultimate episode, ep 8, that looks back at alll the shit our beloved Wanda has gone through in her life.

We wanna keep these notes relatively spoiler free, unlike this episode, so... we stopping here.

Tell us what YOU think about WandaVision!

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Geek Girl in the News: Sexual Abuse & Racism in the Entertainment Industry - Marilyn Manson, Joss Whedon, World of Warcraft, & the Golden Globes

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

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 February 2021 covers the abuse allegations gainst Marilyn Manson and Joss Whedon, racism in the World of Warcraft raiding community, a complete lack of diversity - STILL - in Hollywood's Golden Globes, Gina Carano being held accountable for her actions and dropped from Disney, Lucasfilm, and her Publicist, The Last of Us actors REVEALED, and Henry Cavill's SHOCK new role!

** Before we go further, we have two content warnings with timestamps. **

Sexual Abuse, Assault, and Domestic Violence 4:30 - 28:08
Violent Racism in Gaming 28:30 - 35:51

Our first story is about the multitude of women coming forward with accusations of abuse and assault at the hand of Brian Warner, AKA Marilyn Manson. Evan Rachel Wood finally disclosed the name of her abuser, Brian Warner, on her Instagram account, describing what equates to domination, psychological and sexual abuse, and domestic violence.

Amber Heard confirms Wood's claims by remembering an interview Manson did back in 2008 where he details calling Wood 158 times one day and describes fantasising about physically assaulting her. Since Wood's revelation, 15 other women have come forward (so far) with allegations against the metal musician.

Did Manson get away with his open statements of abuse because he is a shock artist? Maybe we didn't take it seriously because was it real or was it all an act? Whatever the reason it went on for so long was, it's out in the open now and we hope it won't be brushed back under the rug.

Like our next story focused on the abuse allegations at the hands of creator Joss Whedon. Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia on Whedon's hit shows, Buffy and Angel, released a statement detailing the abuse she faced from the director. She's been publically supported by most of the cast to varying degrees. And further news has come out that younger actress Michelle Tractenburg, who played Dawn Summers, was not allowed to be alone in the room with Whedon.

Yikes forever.

Hopefully these Whedon abuse allegations are too public to be pushed back under the rug now.

Next, we're talking about the rampant and violent racism that's perpetuated in World of Warcraft, especially some of the top NI raiding guilds. Screenshots of chat logs with violent racist language appeared on Reddit showing the truth of what's going on behind the scenes. But it's not just behind the scenes, it's been disclosed that in raiding applications, questions are posed that essentially state in order to be on the team, you need to be okay with violent racist language (and preferably participate in that, too).

It's time we stop breeding these racist gaming cultures within Warcraft - and other MMOs. We need to take a hard stance against this, call out this violence, and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Then, to absolutely no one's surprise, the Golden Globes committee is facing backlash again about a lack of diversity on their board. Not to mention a lack of diversity in their nomiations! This is getting EXHAUSTING, white Hollywood. The rest of us want to celebrate BIPOC in film and TV, can you get a mitt and get in the game? Thanks.

But in a bid of good news, Disney and LucasFilm have held Gina Carano, known for her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, accountable for her absolutely toxic bullshit garbage she spouted on Twitter. We're not going to repeat it here, but THANK YOU to these companies for setting a precedent that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

We're ending the episode with some GREAT news!

Our current faves Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) are teaming up as Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us! HBO are creating a live-action TV show based on the best-selling game of all time. No news of a release yet but we are fucking HERE for it.

Last, but definitely not least, Amanda's biggest hearthrob, Henry Cavill, teased us with an Instagram photo of him in a makeup chair holding a new script. Yes, it was blurry, but since when does that stop the internet?! The internet sleuths were out in full fucking force and have (hopefully!) successfully deduced that Mr Cavill seems to be making an appearance in a forthcoming Mass Effect live action. Helloooo yes please!!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Girl Reviews The Queen's Gambit

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 09:00:00 +0000

The Queen's Gambit took Netflix by storm when it released in late 2020. Finally, something to distract us from the shitshow that was the worst year ever! It was smart, sassy, addictive, and made chess cool again.

Like, did you know that chess sales rose significantly because of how popular The Queen's Gambit was?

Both of us absolutely loved this show. We thought the characters were perfect - and perfectly cast - and that the plot was intriguing and definitely captivating. We actually thought it was based on a true story, that's how fab it was!

If you haven't seen it yet, a little Cole's Notes summary: We follow Beth Harmon after she's been orphaned at 9 years old. She ends up at a very strict orphanage where she makes friends, gets hooked on focus drugs, and learns chess from Mr. Shaibel, the orphanage's caretaker.

Beth is good good at chess. So good, she starts competing nearly right away! And we follow her career from orphanage, to adoption, to local competitions, to nationals, to world championships.

We love and hate the friends she makes along the way. We love and hate her adoptive mother.
Honestly there's just so much about this show.

It's incredible. It's honest. It's thrilling. It's about friendship. It's about family. It's about addiction. It's about loneliness. It's about love. It's about competition. It's about chasing happiness.

We get deep into it in this episode. And end by saying: if you haven't seen The Queen's Gambit yet - what the hell are you waiting for!? Stop what you're doing and go check it out right meow.

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Geek Girl Reviews: Wonder Woman 1984.... Because -Someone- Has To

Geek Herring — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Like most geeks around the world, we were uber hyped for Wonder Woman 1984 to FINALLY come out. But now that it's out and we've wasted our time watching it... we wish it had stayed unreleased forever. How can one film make you feel so disappointed!?

Here's your spoiler warning: Basically spoilers throughout this entire episode which is really just one big long rant. Because how can you talk about one of, if not the WORST, superhero movies ever made without hitting into spoiler territory for the whole thing? Ya can't.

In this ode to a shit movie, we really do our best to make the rant humourous (totally unintentional) and think this might be the most entertaining 50 minutes of your entire week. You are WELCOME.

The best part of the movie is, very literally, the beginning with young Diana. 11 minutes of greatness. And then... it just goes downhill. All the fucking way downhill until it's rolling around in the mud and getting stuck and can't get it's footing back.

So what's wrong with it? In short:

Female characters being reduced to appearance, hero worshipping, changing themselves to be someone they're not. GROSS. We are TIRED of this narrative!! Especially in what's supposed to be a superhero movie full of female empowerment.
Diana being reduced to a love-sick puppy. The entire theme with Steve is dis-gust-ing and not at ALL the Wonder Woman we've come to know and love, especially after her first movie! We for real-real are not down with this storyline!
The Dream Stone just doesn't make sense and how the heck does Max Lord know all about it when two highly intelligent women and scientists and researchers had never heard of it. Let's just leave that there, okay? This makes NO SENSE.
Steve posessing some RANDOM AF dude, who doesn't even get a name, and does allll the sex with Diana. Um, hello?? Bodily consent??! Absolutely not okay with this scenario.
Okay now they're in Egypt following the cheesiest scene in the history of cheesy scenes. Also, 1940's fighter pilot Steve now knows how to fly 1980's aircraft with NO PROBLEM AT ALL. Okay thennnnn.
Gal Gadot's questionable AF heroic save of Egyptian children being "coincidentally" parallel to some Israeli bombinb of the Gaza Strip. GROSS. NOT OKAY.
Barbara - Cheetah - the ACTUAL villain is basically just a sidekick to Max Lord. She's not living up to her full potential and it's disappointing AF.

Okay so you can see where we're going with this, right!?

Here's Some Resources

Quotes

"The least superhero move and least empowering move I've ever seen in a movie about empowering women in their own choices." - Moni
"As if the timeline is the fucking problem in this movie, let's be honest." - Moni

"Women are craving nice representation. Women are craving superheroes for them. And then we get THIS freaking bullshit." - Moni

"Make better choices than Wonder Woman 1984!" - Amanda

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Geek Interview: Gender Identity and Fluidity with Frazley and Sascz of Translucidity

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This episode is so personal and emotional with both Sascz and Frazley sharing their experiences in transitioning away from their assigned genders at birth. It hasn't been an easy journey with both our guests talking of the emotional and hurtful experiences they've both had.

About Translucidity

Frazley and Sascz started the podcast Translucidity to talk about all their experiences as transgender people. The podcast is for everyone to learn more about trans issues affecting them and the larger population.

Please note, that at the time of recording this episode, Frazley identified as non-binary. But, as gender and sexuality are totally fluid, Frazley recently came out as a trans woman with she/her pronouns. We love you, Frazley!

About Gender Identity and Fluidity

Sascz and Frazley bring up:

when they knew they were trans
navigating coming out
how gender and sexuality is fluid
how they feel now that they've transitioned away from their assigned gender at birth

This conversation is so important and empowering. Thank you to both Sascz and Frazley for being so open with us and our audience.

We finish this with: Trans rights are human rights. Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Got it? Okay, good.

Find Our Guest Online

Find Frazley On Twitch!

Find Frazley on Twitter | YouTube | Discord | Facebook | Instagram

You can find Sascz Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guests: Frazley and Sascz Herrmann.

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Geek Girl in the News: Kamala Harris & Joe Biden Leading the Charge, GameStop Shares, and Lady Dimitrescu

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 09:00:00 +0000

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 January 2020 covers the United States Presidential election (hellooooo policy reform and KAMALA HARRIS!), the wild ride that GameStop and Reddit shares have been, Activision Blizzard's diversity hiring policy, and Resident Evil's latest BABE of a vamp!

We spend entirely too much time in this week's episode talking about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's Inauguration Day and everything they've done so far. BUT HONESTLY. After four years of utter horse shit from the previous administration, it's such a breath of fresh fucking air to actually BE ABLE To shout and celebrate.

No, they're not perfect. No politician is. We also acknowledge that there are a lot of issues regarding Native land agreements that are not being upheld and that very much should be. But right now, we are breathing a big sigh of relief that the Cheeto in Chief has flown down to Florida where he'll hopefully be held accountable for his actions of the last 4 years.

Biden and Harris? We are holding you accountable to all your promises. You've done a lot of good so far in the 13 days you've been in office - let's keep that momentum going and DO EVEN BETTER.

Okay, but that's not the only American news making headlines this month! A Reddit user started a subreddit encouraging people to buy stock in GameStop. Amanda's utterly rubbish explanation doesn't do it justice - but honestly this is AMAZING and we all need to know about it. The stock market is not just for old boys and their billions - us normal folk can play the system and make some money and eat the rich in the process.

We also talk about Activision Blizzard's bizarre statement when it comes to interviewing diverse candidates. One of their lawyers claimed that applying the Rooney Rule (interviewing ONE diverse candidate for each role) is impossible. Insert major eye roll here. After some serious and well deserved backlash, President and COO Daniel Alegre released a statement that not only was that lawyer incorrectly quoted, they do, in fact, AGGESSIVELY hire diversly.

Calm down, there, Dan.

Finally, we talk about all the fans losing their absolute shit over Resident Evil Village's latest lady of the night. Lady Dimitrescu is the tallest vampire babe the franchise has probably ever seen, clocking in at nearly 10 (yes 10) feet tall. Yeowzer! We see her just at the end of the RE Demo that's available on PS5 and that Monika is absolutely going to play live on stream soon!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Interview: Changing the Tabletop Games Narrative with Kate Bullock

Geek Herring — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Tabletop RPGs are historically the territory of cis, white men, full of the types of issues that cause concern to many groups of people. That's why it's time to change the narrative surrounding these games, making them a more welcoming, acceptable, and inclusive environment. We're joined by community and convention organisaer, Kate Bullock, who talks about how she's creating safer spaces within the TTRPG community.

About Kate Bullock

Kate Bullock is a community and convention organizer with a passion for creating safer and more inclusive spaces within the TTRPG community. She’s one of the main organizers of Breakout Gaming Convention, community manager for Magpie Games, co-owner of Unicorn Motorcycle Games, and the outgoing president of the Indie Game Developer Network.

You can find her blog, Bluestocking’s Organic Gaming, filled with in depth analyses of the gaming community and what we can do to make it better. Kate is a consultant for safety and inclusion in the RPG world, as well as a content editor for RPGs to ensure they meet industry standards around inclusion and safety. You can find her games Crossroads Carnival, Savior, Remember Me, and more on drivethru, or see her work in Atlas Animalia, Flames of Freedom, and After the War.

About Changing the Tabletop Narrative

Kate Bullock joins us to talk about her work in changing the common racist and misogynistic narratives that are so often found in tabletop roleplaying games. This is a challenging, male-dominated industry to work in, yet alone make substantial changes in, but Kate's certainly making the changes she's set out to do.

Kate explains why this change is so gradual: for an industry with so much general interest, the net profit margins are slim, making significantly less than the video game industry.

But Kate doesn't let this deter her mission and works full-time in the industry, dedicated to change. Unfortunately, since she's now creating the games, she doesn't get to play as often as she'd like to.

Kate's also a committed community manager. She strives to ensure the communities she manages are inclusive and safe for everyone, especially marginalised groups of people. She's recommended some great books, too, if you're interested in inclusive community management:

And Just a Few TTRPG Resources Kate Mentioned:

Find Kate Bullock Online

You can find Kate Bullock Online and Twitter
Fine Unicorn Motorcycle Games Online

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Special Guest: Kate Bullock.

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Geek Discussion: Our Bodies and Radical Self-Love with Gemma

Geek Herring — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee-Taylor is one of the best books we've ever read about body positivity. We're sharing our first discussion, coinciding with chapter one of the book, that was recorded live on Twitch - and not originally intended to be a podcast episode, so please note the sound quality is not 100% up to our usual standard.

Opening up about our own experiences with our bodies was like going to group therapy with your best friends. Being joined by our community friend and moderator, Gemma, who brought her experience with disability and fatness added another very important element to this discussion.

Learning that we don't need to apolgise for existing in our bodies is revolutionary and, as Sonya Renee Taylor states, radical. This conversation is so important to have, that's why we're sharing it on our wider podcast.

Just some of the topics we bring up:

Fatness
Body shame
Disability
Neurodiversity
Loving our bodies where they are
Self-love
Filling our own cup
Guilt
SO MUCH MORE

We'd love to know your thoughts! Have you joined book club yet? Are you reading along with us?

Quotes

"We just need to be and be becoming." - Gemma

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Geek Discussion: Imposter Syndrome in the Age of Experts

Geek Herring — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Imposter syndrome sucks. But, honestly, most of us have or have had it at one point or another.

Not sure what imposter syndrome is? #1 lucky you! #2: Imposter syndrome is essentially the feeling that you don't know enough/aren't good enough/aren't -insert whatever here- enough to be doing what you're doing. And it's so, so real.

What we discovered through recording this episode is that it's usually the people who don't need to feel like imposters who suffer from this. The overly confident and outspoken folks are usuuuually the ones who could use a bit of a pause before charging full steam ahead.

We talk about some actionable tips for how to overcome imposter syndrome. What it looks like for us, how and where it shows up in our lives, and so, so much more.

If you do find that you're someone who succumbs to imposter syndrome, we just want you to know that you're not alone. And it does get better.

We'd love if you shared your experiences on Twitter, Instagram, or in our Discord server!!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: We are SO Over Body Shaming, Star-Lord #ConfirmedBisexual, & Aliens Exist!?,

Geek Herring — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

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 December 2020 covers the sad passing of the OG Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, the very fact that ALIENS (yep, real life aliens) might exist and the Galactic Federation is an actual, honest to goodness thing, Star-Lord being #ConfirmedCanonBisexual, the many painful fuck-ups with Cyberpunk 2077, Hearthstone's latest Transgender Champion, Bloodyface, and, kicking off January 2021, we want the internet to stop body shaming our men - even fit men like Kumail Nanjiani, kthx.

Sadly, December saw the passing of another Star Wars star. Jeremy Bulloch passed away early in the month after a long battle with Parkinson's. He's remembered for his iconic role as Boba Fett in Star Wars Episode V & VI and so, so many other shows and films over his 45 year-long career. Rest In Peace, you legend.

We also had some rather unsettling news this month coming from a retired senior Israeli security officer. That... aliens??? exist!???? Aliens, collectively known as the Galactic Federation, have been in contact for years, apparently, with Isreal and the USA but have asked these governments to keep their existence secret. Because humanity is NOT ready to hear about it. Why did this security officer spill the tea now? Apparently as a society we're way more open to this shit than ever before, so he though, well, why not!?

What do you think? Do aliens exist? Is the Galactic Federation a thing that we've been in contact with?? Is this the real reason the Space Force was created?

Speaking of Space Force, our real life Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Comics have confirmed that beloved character, Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, is bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship! The reveal comes in Guardians of the Galaxy #9 where Quill is in a hot-tub with two people whom he declares are his home. It's also confirmed that they're together for over 100 years! Cue the awes, please!

Of course, Chris #TheWorstChris Pratt might not be too happy with this news. So, I guess... watch this space to see if we're going to see Bi!StarLord portrayed on the big screen!?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock (which, honestly, would not blame you in the damn slightest!), you've heard about the literal shitshow that was Cyberpunk 2077. Trans and accessibility issues aside, this game was the most highly anticipated game of the year (possibly the decade, who can say!?) and upon release was just.... so fucking riddled with issues we can't even laugh at it.

In a completely unprecedented move, game carriers such as PlayStation Network and the Microsoft Store actually pulled the game from their sales and offered refunds to any buyer who wants one. WOAH. This will definitely shake up the industry. And it's, um, definitely going to shake up CD Projekt Red - and not in the good way.

In other transgender news, we welcome the news that Hearthstone's competitor, Bloodyface, has come out as a transgender woman. We welcome Luna (pronouns she/her) to the ranks and stand with you in support! We are SO here for the first transgender World Champion of Hearthstone!

Finally, as it's the month of Radical Self-Love here at Geek Herring, we have to talk about the intense body shaming that's going on. Eternals Kumail Nanjiani is the latest victim of bodyshaming for, get this, being TOO FIT. Dude went through the Marvel superhero training program that all our fave hero actors go through and got buff AF for his role in the upcoming film.

But guess what? After spending an entire year on the program, working out with the best that Marvel offers, and then spending a year in quarantine... he's still fit. So.... it's not enough that society body shames fat people, now it's shaming Kumail for being too fit. Okay, we're done. -Insert Major Eye Roll Here-

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Discussion: Fit is a Feminist Issue with Geek Girl Strong, Robyn Warren

Geek Herring — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Loving the skin you're in is SO important! We strong believe this, which is why we've made it our topic for January 2021. We're joined by Robyn Warren, founder of Geek Girl Strong, to talk about the intersection of fitness, geek culture, and intersectional feminism. This is such an important conversation and one that we ALL need to hear!!

About Robyn Warren

Robyn Warren is a geek, feminist, Physical/Health Educator (B.S./M.S. Ed), NY State certified teacher, Accredited Xpert Pole Instructor, and American Council on Exercise certified Health Coach living in New York City.

After teaching Health and Physical education in the New York City Department of Education public school system for 5 years, she realized that she wanted to live her entire life (not just in the classroom) as an example of better health.

In this example, Robyn knew that it was time to offer an approach different from what was already available to the masses. She began by founding clubs and councils at the school where she worked. There was the school dance team, the School Wellness Council, and Grrrl Alliance. By expanding my reach outside of the school building with efforts to support Grrrl Alliance in its mission Robyn realized that anything in her thought bubble could manifest itself.

Following her time as a school teacher, Robyn became a clinical Family Planning Health Educator and continued to build Geek Girl Strong.

GGS is her brainchild, bringing all that she has worked on and towards together: overall wellness, community empowerment, and her geeky interests.

Robyn believes that no one should have to choose between being the athlete and the nerd.

About Fit is a Feminist Issue

Happy New Year, geek friends! We're starting off 2021 with a bang, talking to Robyn Warren, founder of Geek Girl Strong, about why fitness is a feminst issue and how you can be both geeky and athletic!

This is a SUPER important topic, especially for us geek girls, as there is so much info out there telling that we can't be both geeky and into fitness. That as geeky women, we have a stereotype to uphold and unfortunately, looking after our health isn't it.

We're here, at the start of LOVING THE BODY YOU'RE IN MONTH, to say that you can be BOTH. You can LOVE video games, pop culture, Marvel, DC, any other fandoms and geeky shit out there and STILL want to move your body in ways that feel good.

What we loved about this conversation with Robyn is how she doesn't tell you that you have to work out for an hour every day and completely transform your body in order to be fit. NO! Robyn is all about making fitness and health work for YOU, meeting you where YOUR lifestyle is.

This approach to fitness is SO NEEDED, SO NECESSARY, and SO LACKING in our community (and outside - like, the larger fitness community is pretty stressful at times!).

THANK YOU, Robyn, for this amazing conversation. It is SO appreciated!

Please do yourself a favour and connect with Robyn on any and all platforms - promise you won't regret it! Plus, if you follow her on Instagram, you can see how siiiiiick her pole-dancing is!

Find Our Guest Online

You can find Robyn Warren Online / Twitter & Instagram!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Robyn Warren.

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Geek Herring & Chill: Merry Ho Ho Ho from Us to YOU!

Geek Herring — Fri, 25 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0000

It's the most wonderful time of the year! ...So they say. We're celebrating our LAST episode of the dumpster fire that is 2020 in style by talking about our favourite Christmas movies, one you should absolutely avoid, our own Christmas traditions of years gone past, and how this year, life looks a LOT different.

We also talk about how much we (okay, mostly Amanda) loves Jack Black. Because it's a whole fucking lot.

And, we have a very, very special guest: Mrs Claus! She graced us with her presence to share the Christmas love. It got dirty real fast, because it wouldn't be Geek Herring without some !filth!

It's time to talk about the Christmas movies that made us:

Love Actually - did it hold up? It's 17 years old this year, wtf!?
The Santa Clause - just the epitome of Santa PERFECTION.
The Holiday - one of the GREATEST Christmas movies ever made. Fight me.
The Muppets Christmas Carol - legit.
The Last Unicorn, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Frosty - yes, yes please.
Christmas Chronicles 2 - SKIP THIS SHIT.
The Knight Before Christmas - Well.....

What are YOUR favourite Christmas movies?

We know that Christmas and New Year's looks a LOT different this year than any other year we've had in our lives. We're making the most of it with the situations we're in.

There'll be more hanging out on Twitch, more TV with our partners, and just making the most of time OFF WORK. If you want a safe place to hang out over the holidays, come on and join us in Discord!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: Real talk! Our Girl Geek Highs and Lows 2020 and Before

Geek Herring — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0000

2020 was a weird AF year, friends. Simultaneously the longest year of our lives but also it went past in the blink of an eye. This isn't really a recap episode though, but we ARE talking about the highs and lows we've experienced as geek girls.

Amongst the highest of the highs, Amanda talks about her Harry Potter experience at the midnight release of HP 6 in Edinburgh. So many bittersweet memories of that night... that's unfortunately now a bit tainted by everything that's happened within the HP fandom this year. Sigh.

We also have a bit of a general JK rant, talk about how we just can't anymore with her or our beloved franchise, and really get into the lows of being a Harry Potter fan in 2020. But, we also know we can't keep giving her the power to take things away from us. So now is the moment to embrace OTHER creators.

As much as it would have pained us at one point or another to say it... Harry Potter is not the be-all and end-all of fantasy books out there. There are so many more incredible stories out there that deserve our attention.

Of COURSE, we have to throw in some love to our fave fandom, The Realm of the Elderings by Robin Hobb. So much diversity and feminism in this story. Amanda says that EVERYONE on this entire planet needs to spend a portion of their lives investing in this story. For the good of it ALL. Okay? Okay.

We also give a general ode to representation and why we need it. It's SO important to have representation and diversity in media as it helps to normalise so many different aspects of life. Aspects that ARE normal but so many people just don't get them for some reason??

And we talk about passing on the torch to the next generation. We're doing a lot of good work for women in geek culture, but it really is about what we talked with Prof. Taliep. So excited for the future!!

Finally we touch on why it's okay to disagree and need to find a footing on where to have difficult conversations. Related to this, we get into why it's so fucking HARD sometimes to be a professional feminist.

What have some of YOUR geeky highs and lows been? Let us know!

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Geek Interview: Creating Feminist Characters with Game Developers Genese Davis and Seb Le Touze

Geek Herring — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a video game about a young girl on a quest to save her land from the Evil Mage. And we're joined by her Lead Writer, Genese Davis, and Game Director, Seb Le Touze, to talk about how they created such a compelling game and character who is, without a doubt, a feminist role model.

About Genese Davis and Seb Le Touze

Genese Davis is the lead writer of Ary and the Secret of Seasons. She's an American novelist, online host, and video game creator, best known as the author of The Holder's Dominion and writer for MMORPG.com. Genese is also a speaker and writer about video game culture and its development within society and has made contributions to the Gamer Lit genre.

Seb Le Touze is the Game Director for Ary and the Secret of Seasons.

About Creating Feminist Characters in Ary

How excited are we for this incredible interview about Ary and the Secret of Seasons with lead writer, Genese Davis, and game director, Seb? Full disclosure, we received a copy of Ary so that we could do a full review and also be totally prepared for this interview.

The team put so much thought into every aspect of creating Ary and the Secret of Seasons. And honestly, they NAILED it. Genese talks about all the ways she brought Ary to life, the quips she gave the other characters in the game, and how they dealt with social and health issues, such as worthiness and Alzheimer's Disease.

When asked if they set out to create a feminist role model in Ary, both agree that while it wasn't fully intentional, there was definite thought into creating a strong female character to empower everyone: girls, boys, and adults alike. We love Ary and feel she's a fantastic role model - both of us wishing we had more games with characters like Ary to look up to when we were growing up!

Genese talks about a scene in the game where Ary is trying to speak amongst a group of men and getting totally talked over. Girl, haven't we all been there?? Her face says IT. ALL. The reason Genese wrote this scene in this way was from so many personal experiences and she's just tired of that shit (our words, not hers. She's WAY more polite!)

Genese is pushing the convention with her work. It doesn't matter what you LOOK like, you have the ability to step into any role you want to.

We have a great conversation about the realities of being a women in the game's industry. While it's getting better, there is still a long way to go. Genese explains, as well, her experience ranking in MMORPGs and how it was a very unfriendly environment for a woman.

From Seb's point of view, as someone who hires for games, he is desperately urging more women to apply. We cry out for more female representation from the development side, but in order to get that, we need the women to apply.

So there's your mission, Herringtons. If you want that job, APPLY. We're all gonna strive to #BeMoreAry. You in?

You can read our full review of Ary and the Secret of Seasons!

Quotes

"We can make her have blonde hair and a cute dress and she can still be the scientist. I'm always trying to change that and trying to put my own two cents that you can look like anything and also step into any role."

"Had I not made that one decision and stuck to my guns, my career as a writer would be very different, if not exist at all."

"Instead of always relying on asking someone for advice, actually go and do the work. Actually go and take a class on what you want to do. Dip your feet into the pond and really feel what it feels like to do the job day in and day out."

Find Our Guest Online

You can find Gense Davis Online / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / LinkedIn / YouTube!

You can find Seb Le Touze Online / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / LinkedIn!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guests: Genese Davis and Seb Le Touze.

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Geek Girl in the News: We're in love with Elliot Page and Chris Evans... just a little bit!

Geek Herring — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0000

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 November 2020 covers Black Panther updates, David Prowse (RIP), Rosario Dawson, Charmed Trans cast, Elliot Page, and why we're all just that little bit in love with Chris Evans.

Honestly, on the geek girl news front, November wasn't too bad! In fact, dare we say, it was actually kinda good!? What a relief consider what a decade this year has been.... amirite!?

As we all know, with Chadwick Boseman's passing, the Black Panther series was in a bit of limbo. Marvel Studios have alluded that Black Panther 2 is set to record next summer with Shuri taking a bigger role in the franchise. Here's hoping she does take over the role of Black Panther like in the comics!

Sadly, the original actor who played (the body of) Darth Vader, David Prowse, has passed away. Thank you, sir, for the formidable presence. You will not be forgotten!

In other Star Wars news, Rosario Dawson opens up about the alleged transphobic abuse her and her family set on a childhood friend. She defends herself, saying that the claims are baseless and 18 of the 20 have been voluntarily rescinded. Will we ever know the truth of what happened in this situation?

In much happier transgender news, the Charmed reboot (apparently in its third season!?) cast trans actor JJ Hawkins! Will we be seeing our first male witch? I don't know about you, but I feel the need to binge the ENTIRE Charmed saga.

And, everyone's beloved Elliot Page has come out as transgender, using pronouns he/they. You may know Elliot from incredible films such as Juno and Inception and the superhero saga, The Umbrella Category. In fact, just last month we talked about Elliot in their upcoming series about college eSports! In an open, heartfelt, beautiful, raw, real, and emotional message on Instagram, Elliot came out, again, and we know will be a loud voice for the transgender community, just as they have been for the lesbian one. We love you Elliot!

Finally, just for a bit of fun, we fangirl about all the things that Chris Evans, of the Captain America variety, has done this year to make us all swoon-happy. Starting a political show? Check. Getting topless? Check. "Accidental" dick pics? uh, yup! Now playing the piano in a cosy sweater and giving sultry looks to the camera... damn, this man's got us good.

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Discussion: Why Geek Community Matters

Geek Herring — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000

The geek community that surrounds us is one of the best communities we've both EVER known, and we've had our fair share of incredible geeky loves over the years! This episode is dedicated to YOU. Just in time for American Thanksgiving, we are grateful for you, Geek Herringtons, and love you all so, so much.

In this episode, recorded back in July 2020, we talk about the importance of community, especially the geeky communities and the LGBTQIA+ communities we hold so dear to our hearts.

We gush about our love of Biggus Bennus and his welcoming, wonderful people. We share so much love about how the Harry Potter community changed both of our lives independtly of each other. And we cherish and celebrate the community we're building here with Geek Herring.

Community and gratitude go hand in hand for us. Thank you to everyone that listens to Geek Herring, supports us on Twitch, follows us on social media, or has joined the Discord. You are the real MVPs!!

Come hang out in Discord with us!

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Geeking Out About DC: New Trailers, Wonder Woman, & More!

Geek Herring — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we geek right out about all the new films coming out from DC!

As you know, Amanda is MEH about DC, but even she's excited about some of these films. Right? We're as surprised as you are!

Robert Pattinson as Batman still a top tier movie we're hyped about. Same with Wonder Woman! Just because it was supposed to come out in June doesn't mean we can't still absolutely freak out about how fab it looks!

Amanda's even committing to watching ALL the DC films. So come on, give her some encouragement!

Which are you most excited for?

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Geek Interview: Tech Talk for Women with Ellie McBride

Geek Herring — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000

New tech got you nervous? We've brought in our pal Ellie McBride to talk about how she helps women bridge the gap between their fear and succeeding in all the amazing tech advancements they can embrace!

About Ellie McBride

Ellie McBride is an American expat living in Northern Ireland since 2017. After moving across the world to be with her Northern Irish husband, she struggled to find the flexibility to spend much time back at her other home in Oregon to see her friends and family. In this quest for flexibility, she realized building an online business from the ground up is the way to have everything she ever wanted in life.

Ellie started out as a freelancer back in 2017. As a Virtual Assistant, she worked online with business owners in areas like social media planning, creating slick systems and automations, and perfecting their email marketing systems. However, Ellie soon realized many of her clients struggled with the same: Creating efficient processes to help open up their time for the tasks that truly needed their attention.

Now she uses the skills and tools she learned from her days as a VA in her work as a Squarespace website designer. Ellie helps create a solid backbone for your business with systems that connect to your website and grant you the freedom to let go of repetitive tasks and focus on the work you’re truly excited about.

Ellie's goal? To give you a beautiful home on the web for your message and your work all while helping make your work more efficient.

Ellie serves women who own small businesses and are building them from the ground up by creating beautiful, functional websites with built in time-saving systems.

About Tech Talk for Women

Us geek girls know a thing or two about tech (some more than others), but we also see so many women interested in tech, gaming, and geek culture who feel daunted at the thought of learning something new.

Women for so long have been discouraged from getting techy. It's not so much from the millenial and younger generation, but the women Ellie works with feel unsure about making even the simplest changes on their website.

Ellie's on a mission to make tech accessible and more straightforward. She believes women are absolutely capable of embracing tech and getting shit done!

We fully support on her quest and you should to!

Find Ellie McBride Online

Pick Up Ellie's Free Trello Board!

You can find Ellie McBride Online / Facebook / Instagram!

Check Out Geek Herring!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Ellie McBride.

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Geek Girl in the News: US Election Anxiety; AOC + Among Us = Love; & Barbie, the Role Model

Geek Herring — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000

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 October 2020 covers the US Election (that we hopefully have results of by now!), AOC streaming Among Us, the Nobel Chemistry Prize, 2020's Gender Breakdown in Games, 1UP, Batwoman, Uncharted, Marvel, and Barbie being a damn role model!

October was a wild month.

With the US Presidential election being a looming presence in our mind's all month, it's so easy for us all to think there wasn't much good to the spooky month.

But looking back on our geeky news, you know what? October was fucking badass for women in geekdom!

We start off at the intersection of politics and video games, celebrating US Representative, AOC, meeting her constituents where they hang out most: getting sus on Twitch. We love this story so much and hope to see more of AOC rocking the emergency meeting!

Our pal Henrik dropped the next article in our laps: the Nobel Chemistry Prize was awarded to two female scientists this year! Making them the first all-female team ever to win the award. Congratulations!!

Feminist Frequency reported the gender breakdown from this year's E3 and, not gonna lie, it's a pretty cool improvement for female protagonists. Any games in particular you're looking forward to?

Entertainment wise, we've got some awesome news, too!

Ellen Page is starring in a new TV show from Buzzfeed Studios about varsity eSports for women. She plays a coach who had her own Gamergate saga who's guiding Paris Berelc's all-female eSports team to victory against all the boys (probably).

We are stannind the new Batwoman! We love Tom Holland! We bitchslap anyone who's out here bodyshaming our men (MENFOLK, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AS YOU ARE)! We ADORE Iman Vellani who's cast as Ms Marvel!

And finally, Barbie WHAAAAT? Have you been spending time on Barbie's YouTube channel or website lately? She is straight up inspirational. We should all just be more Barbie, mmkay?

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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Geek Herring Reviews Enola F*cking Holmes!

Geek Herring — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Okay, but can we talk about Enola Holmes!? Of course we can, it's Geek Herring! And this week, we are geeking the FUCK out of Enola Fucking Holmes.

This film is EVERYTHING.

(Okay, everything but super historically accurate but sure that's okay!)

First things first - Enola Holmes has an all-star cast going for it. Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sam Claflin - yes, please! Talent exudes here.

Then we have Enola Holmes. Unconventional, badass, confident, intriguing, loving, mischievous, and all around incredible. She is a feminist ICON.

Seriously, Enola Holmes is absolute goals and we definitely wish we had film role models like this when we were growing up.

Is this movie perfect? Well, no. There's a whole bunch of historical inaccuracies, a silly (yet cute) love story that is pretty unnecessary, and a few other disgruntling things. Our friend Mel wrote about what she didn't like over on her blog!

But on the overall whole, Enola Holmes is fucking amazing and we think everyone should watch it! It follows Enola on her quest to find her mother who just disappeared. Turns out - she's fighting for a women's revolution! And it's badass.

What do YOU think about Enola Holmes? Let us know in the comments!

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Geek Herring & Chill: Holy Forking Shirt! We're 100 Years Old!

Geek Herring — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Amanda lost these notes after writing them, so this rewrite is definitely not going to be as good - but holy shitballs, y'all! We're 100 episodes deep!

If you'd have told us 100 episodes ago that we'd still be here, creating geek feminist content week upon week, 100 episodes later, we would not have believed you.

Yet, here we are! 100 episodes deep, a growing Twitch channel, new book club, incredible Discord community, monthly challenges, and MORE. Woah.

You know what this really means? That this shit is WORTH IT. Every single minute we spend making Geek Herring and sharing it with our community is important, it matters, and it's hella FUN.

We wouldn't be here without you! Your support is incredible and we feel so loved - and also love YOU SO MUCH.

Join us for this 100 episode banterous celebratory shitshow! We say vibe WAY TOO MUCH, have all the laughts, reflect on what we've learned after 100 episodes, read out comments from our amazing community, share voice clips from Frazley and Thom, and have an all around joyful love fest.

Thank you so much for all your support for the last 100 episodes! Here's to 100 more!

BY THE WAY. We rebranded and relaunched our Patreon! Check it out for all new tiers, rewards, and support options! Your financial support means the absolute world to us and lets us create even more incredible geek feminist content for you!

Check Out Geek Herring!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Being Black and Nerdy with Justin Williams

Geek Herring — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Justin Williams from Super Tangent podcast joins us to get into the nitty gritty of being Black, being nerdy, living in Alaska, and raising a biracial daughter in a racist society. We talk all things politics, pop culture, and the all-important intersection of the two.

About Justin Williams

Justin Williams is the host of Super Tangent podcast, a podcast about politics and nerd culture, freelance audio engineer, and dad to the cutest daughter in the world (and she's named Diana - after our awesome Diana Prince!? Probably!) He's from the Alaskan north which had a huge influence on his obsession with nerd culture... sure, what else can you do when it's dark half the year?!

About Being Black & Nerdy

We start off by getting the important news out of the way: pens suck, nerds are awesome. And on this [super] tangent, we get into the nitty gritty of being Black, being nerdy, living in Alaska, and raising a biracial daughter in a racist society.

Justin nails it on the head when he says we're getting angry at the wrong things. Black people are getting murdered every single day, but we're out here getting pissed that Robert Downey Jr wore blackface in one of his movies (which Justin thinks is hilar, btw!).

So what do we do instead? It's not about cancel culture and jumping on that train to say so long to people like RDJ - y'all just missing the point. There's so many bigger issues out there! It's about banding together and enacting positive change, not following the herd and stumbling into confusion.

Why not, instead of using these moments to cancel someone, we take them as a chance for education? Unless you're beating your head against a brick wall like the disaster that is JKR, it's always worthwhile taking these moments to help someone else learn from their mistakes.

Justin shares why NOW is the time we HAVE to increase representation in pop culture. Yeah, there's an argument that can be made that comics, especially, have always been on the forefront of pushing progressive actions, but we have to do more. Like, representation shouldn't be this wildly revolutionary thing, right?

If we're not representing every type of person this planet of ours has, we're pretending these people don't exist! For goodness sake, the world is wildly diverse, there's so many different races, genders, cultures, abilities, etc etc etc - we want to see them! We actively WANT to see the incredible, diverse people in our media.

What matters even more than seeing diversity in pop culture is that you create accurate representation. Justin talks about that representation balance and what happens when you get it wrong: you create toxic media.

On a lighter note, Justin also shares what it's like watching the 2016 Ghostbuster's remake with his daughter. This is heartwarming, beautiful, and offers such a refreshing perspective on a film that routinely gets shit on. Thanks, Justin!

Did you LOVE this convo with Justin? We did! Justin is the legit best. Let us know your fave Justin moment in the comments and make sure to give him a follow on social and to check out his podcast!

Quotes

"It's easy to get on the cancel culture train and feel like you're fighting for something, when in reality you're just missing the entire point."

"You don't just want to not offend someone, you're representing an entire people."

"Accurate representation is just as important as representation conceptually because you can do it wrong and that is toxic."

"Life isn't all about Black Lives Matter. It's not all about police brutality. Sometimes it's about kicking back and fighting for what's right in your own way."

Find Our Guest Online

Find Justin Williams Online
Find Justin Williams on Facebook | Instagram | YouTube!

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Find Out More

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Justin Williams.

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Geek Herring & Chill: Our Video Game History & the Evolution of Geek Herring Gaming

Geek Herring — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Ever wondered what video games made us who we are? Well, your curiosity is hereby sated! In this episode, we're deep-diving into our gaming past, present, and future!

We start back in our early 90s humble Nintendo and Super Nintendo days. These consoles and games, especially Mario (obviously) and Donkey Kong. These games absolutely SHAPED us.

This episode is really just a wonderful reminiscent one that reminds us of all the good times and all the damn comfort we get from playing our favourite games.

Tomb Raider? YUP.
Zelda? Uh-huh.
Elder Scrolls? You're damn RIGHT.

Want to know more? You've GOT to listen!

What are some of the games that defined you? Let us know in the comments!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: Ruth Bader Ginsburg - May Her Memory Be a Revolution

Geek Herring — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 September 2020 covers the sad passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump's awful nomination to the Supreme Court, the NFL making HERstory, Mike Morhaime's new company: Dreamhaven, WandaVision, American Girl's latest doll, and saying so long to the Nintendo 3DS.

While Monika's off celebrating 10 years with her Weirdo, Thom from Three Extra Lives joins us to talk about this month's news that matters.

We start this month's episode by recognising and celebrating the incomparable Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who sadly passed away mid September. This is a tragic loss of a woman who has done more for women's rights than anyone else, ever. Her death is a blow to a nation in crisis, but we honour her the only way we know how.

May her memory be a revolution.

Even in death, the Notorious RBG is making waves! She is not only the first woman, but the first Jewish person, to be lain in State. This is an honoured given to at least 30 men since the practice began in the 1800s.

Justice Ginsburg - thank you for your service. Thank you for your power. May you rest in power. We will fight in your memory.

And the fight's just getting started. President Donald Trump has already nominated the SCOTUS replacement. Amy Coney Barrett is pretty well set up to take RBG's place, a move that, if successful, will have a devastating impact on America, women, and human rights across the country.

Coney Barrett is anti-women, anti-lgbt rights, anti-abortion, pro-gun, pro-life (whatever that means to these Conservatives), and - oh. She's basically a member of a cult that has a position called HANDMAIDEN.

Not only is this nomination straight up evil (according to Amanda's mum - "that woman's got evil in her eyes" - so we know it's true), it's unprecented... based on a precedent the Republican party set about 7 months before the end of Obama's presidential run.

Hello pot? Kettle calling.

Oh, and let's not forget your Geek Herring Call to Action: VOTE. Vote like your damn life depends on it!!!

But let's move on to some happier stories!

The NFL made HERstory in September by having three female officials on the field at the same time. Both the Washington Football Team and the Cleveland Browns had female coaches and there was a female ref on the field. This is a fantastic and long overdue - a big excitement for the future of American Football!

This month also sees former Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime's announcement of his new game development company, Dreamhaven. Um, excuse me while we fangirl all over the place, here. The announcement brings with it some BIG questions about the future of game development and we are HERE for it!

We also talk about the teaser trailer released for Marvel's upcoming WandaVision. DAAAAAAAMN this looks good. No set release date that we can see, but holy hell it feels good to talk about some MCU news again!

Getting into nostalgic toys era now.

Can you EVEN with the new American Girl doll!? Courtney is an 80's gamer girl through and fucking THROUGH. She comes with a Pac-Man arcade machine that actually works, all the neon you would ever want, and a Care Bears nightie. Her story describes her as the best gamer in the arcade (natch) and she decides to change how women are portrayed in game by learning to code.

Oh - and profits from Courtney's sale go to Girls Who Code.

You in? Obvs.

Finally, we're saying so long, farewell to the Nintendo 3DS. It's been a long and favourable run, but we don our caps and see you off. Thanks for the fun and games!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

You can find more information about Thom and Three Extra Lives

Online | Twitter | Instagram | Twitch

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Thom Knight.

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Geek Girl Reviews Mulan: The Good, The Bad, The Controversy

Geek Herring — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Disney's live action Mulan is out! And oh wow has it caused a controversy. We took one for the team, gave it a complete watch, and come armed and ready to discuss it all: the good, the bad, and the terrible.

Unless you've been living under a rock (or off Twitter, kind of the same thing), you'll know that when Mulan was first announced - just about this time last year - there was a lot of controversy! It was announced just about the same time as the Hong Kong protests we covered in episode 53: Geek Discussion: Hong Kong Protests, Blizzard Entertainment, & Cancel Culture.

Lead actress, American-raised Yifei Liu, shared a post on Weibo (a Chinese social media site) that she supports the Hong Kong police. To sum up, what she shared said, "I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”

Okay, we have two ways of looking at this statement. Either she's pro-China and doesn't support Hong Kong's protests for independence or as a fairly prominent Chinese actress, she's being very careful about what she's saying so as not to incite hatred against herself and her career.

In more recent controversy, because YES, there's more! Disney filmed many parts of Mulan in Xinjiang, currently making history for the horrible human rights atrocities against over 200 million Uyghur Muslims. Concentration camps, forced sterilisation, and murder topping the charts, here.

Should Disney have chosen these locations to film in? What solutions are out there when it comes to Disney as a company, our consumer dollah dollahs, supporting or boycotting China, and enjoying the damn things that we love.

Speaking of - did we love Mulan or nah?

We both think there was a lot of good in the film... but a lot of MEH, too. Visually breathtaking, a serious lack of sing-a-long, but definitely something here.

What did you think about Mulan? Or maybe you decided to boycott it? Whatever you've done is the right choice FOR YOU and we support you!

Let us know all of your Mulan thoughts. We want the good, the bad, and the very, very bad. Let us know in the comments on the episode page!

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Geek Interview: Redefining Genres with New York Times Bestselling Author Madeleine Roux

Geek Herring — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Serial killers and murder clowns? Nah. The real fear is sexual assault and living with trauma. We're joined by New York Times bestselling novelist, Madeleine Roux, who's redefining the horror genre one fear at a time.

About Madeleine Roux

Madeleine Roux is the New York Times Bestselling author of the ASYLUM series. She received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing, and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.

Madeleine's most recent release is Shadows Rising, a World of Warcraft novel preceding the latest expansion, Shadowlands.

We're so excited to have Madeleine with us on this episode! It is literally full of the most incredible knowledge bombs (kinda hate that phrase but we're going with it) possible.

Madeleine shares what it's like being a horror writer in such a male-dominated craft. In fact, Madeleine is making damn waves in her industry and topping bestseller's lists.

She's literally redefining the horror genre. What is fear? Actually, though. Ask yourself what are you truly afraid of?

Madeleine doesn't write safe horror. Her books aren't abstract. Madeleine's horror can actually happen: sexual assault, consent, privilege, abusive relationships, and gaslighting.

You know, real world things that women go through every single day. This is way scarier than the mainstream horror of a serial killer at a summer camp.

We also talk about how art and writing is subjective. It all comes down to how you perceive the works. Will Madeleine ever tell you what she wants you to experience? Probably not, unless it's plot specific!

Something Madeleine believes is so necessary is putting real world scenarios in fiction writing. That's why she writes about such hard truths. It's how she makes her writing so honest, real, and raw.

Madeleine's not here for your bullshit theory that politics don't belong in art: There is ALWAYS politics in art and anyone who tries to tell you different is lying. Any creator will put their own values and views into their work.

We also talk about our former love of Harry Potter and what it's like experiencing the downfall of a favourite author in real time. It's even harder to discover JK Rowling is a total shithead in real time as a culture than knowing that, for example, Lovecraft is a dick. It feels like an extra betrayal, extra hurt, extra sore.

Madeleine also gets a full rant in about how this author started the train of deciding plot points and other things about your books after interpretation. It's shitty and it's lazy and we are NOT having it up in here!

Some of the other truths coming out this episode are about fanfiction (we all love a good fanfic - and some of us write them!), the BEST advice for new writers (read all different authors and genres, READ ROMANCE, and writing book recommendations), and how you can be mobile as a female writer in such a damn misogynistic industry.

Writing Resources Mentioned

Find Our Guest Online

Find Madeleine Roux Online
Fine Madeleine Roux on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

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Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Madeleine Roux.

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Geek Discussion: Naked on the [Twitch] Set!

Geek Herring — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 08:00:00 +0000

To clothe or not to clothe, that is the question. There's been such a conversation lately about whether some female streamers are only gaining popularity because of the amount of clothes they're wearing or not. In this episode, we attempt to answer the question and give our personal views!

First... we sent out a request the day we recorded this episode on Twitter that just said: SEND NUDES. Guess what? We didn't get ONE NUDE DMd to us. How rude! (But also, THANKS FOR NOT SHOWING US YOUR DICKS!)

While we do have slightly differing personal opinions on how we view streamers who wear less clothing, the ultimate point is that so long as what someone's wearing isn't against Twitch's ToS, then it's fair game.

Amanda doesn't have a big problem with it. Unless someone is wearing less clothes because they feel like they're expected to (because that's way uncool) or they're feeling peer pressured into showing off their body (because that's even way more uncool!), freedom of expression can be really empowering.

Of course, there's also the argument that because women are, historically, less welcome in geek and gaming culture, is there an underlying feeling like showing off the goods will lead to more acceptance? Whether this is conscious or not... definitely something to think about.

Monika is more conservative when it comes to her approach to showing some skin on Twitch. She believes that women shouldn't feel like they have to, but that wearing something more revealing might garner more views, especially from the male gaze.

We wonder what the Twitch ToS has to say about male nudity? Because we are firmly of the belief that if a woman is banned on Twitch for showing her nipple(s), a man should be, too. It's all about that equality.

This is a big conversation and we would LOVE to hear what you have to say! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: Rest in Power, Chadwick Boseman, Enola Holmes, & The BEST Online Games for Women

Geek Herring — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 August 2020 covers the heartbreaking passing of Chadwick Boseman, an absolutely quintessential list of the top 25 games women play (shame on you, E3!), Warcraft's Shadowland's release date, Kelly Marie Tran donning her Disney Princess crown, and us absolutely losing our SHIT about the Enola Holmes trailer.

We open this episode with a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. The devasting news of his death came just last week, revealing that he lost his four year long battle with bowel cancer. Chadwick brought so much to the world, especially the Black community, and will live on in our memories and on our big screens.

Chadwick is one of the most inspirational men we've ever seen (and no, we're not talking about cancer - get your inspiration porn elsewhere, kthanks). His tenacity, character, and genuine love and desire to support others has been a guiding light and should remain a model for others to strive to.

Rest in Power, King.

Next, we absolutely berate an article entitled: 25 Online Games That Women Enjoy. Insert major eye roll here. Thanks to E3 for retweeting this devastingly SHIT article that perpetuates negative stereotypes of female gamers.

Yes, the tweet has since been deleted. Yes, E3 has issued an apology. And yes, the article is been gone and now redirects to a different listicle.

BUT STILL. Like, y'all. What? Let's get better, E3, kthanks. Oh - and if you're going to write an article like this... let's actually talk to some female gamers, okay!?

But some good video game news came out for all us Warcraft Nerds! We have an official release date for the next expansion, Shadowlands. It drops October 26th/27th worldwide. Amanda gives us the perfect update and all the information YOU need to know about this expansion.

You remember our favourite underrepresented Star Wars heroine, Kelly Marie Tran, and how she was totally undervalued and not given NEARLY enjoy screentime in The Last Jedi. WELL. Disney might be making up for lost time by casting Kelly in an upcoming Disney cartoon: Raya and the Last Dragon. This film looks cute as shit and we can't wait to see her bring this badass babe come to life!

Finally. You heard us mention this the other day, but the first trailer for Enola Holmes has dropped and we LOST. OUR. SHIT. We watched the trailer live together on Twitch (you can totally come hang out with us and see us react live over on Twitch, too!), cut out our reactions from the episode you hear here, and talk about it.

Let's just say - Millie Bobby Brown as the non-conformist protagonist we NEED + Henry Cavill as the swole Sherlock Holmes brother who encourages her = the biggest thing we've been excited for all of 2020. It releases September 23 (cannot BELIEVE how close that is!). We're recording a review episode on October 6 LIVE on Twitch, complete with clips of our fave scenes! So come hang out!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

Check Out Geek Herring!

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: All Hail the Scream Queens with Michael from AllHallowScream

Geek Herring — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0000

The leading ladies of horror have developed quite the reputation of being strong, independed, badass, and, usually, ALIVE by the end of the journey they're on! We're joined by horror expert and host of AllHallowScream Podcast, Michael Skarzynske, to preach it out to the Scream Queens we know and love!

About Our Guest

Michael Skarzynske is the host of brand new podcast, AllHallowScream, and the co-host of Two Nerds, Maybe More. You may know him from other podcasts such as Nerd This (RIP but thanks for the inspiration to start Geek Herring) and The Blue Recluse.

Mike is an absolute horror fanatic! So we knew we HAD to have him on Geek Herring to chat about how horror is actually a pretty damn feminist genre!

Not only do we talk about our favourite Scream Queens, we talk about the trope that the leading women in horror movies tend to be the most badass.

We want to know - what do you love about horror movies? Hate? Maybe you're too scared to even pop The Ring in your VCR in case she comes crawling out of your TV at you.

Honestly, SAME.

This was such an enjoyable chat and one that you really need to hear in order to fall in love with all things horror and all things Mike!

Find Michael Skarzynske Online

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Michael Skarzynske.

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Geek Discussion: WAP, Sexual Empowerment, and Feminism

Geek Herring — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard, or at least heard OF, the new Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion song, WAP.

Woah, geeks. What a dang bop this one is!

But of course, with every song about women's sexual empowerment, middle aged white men like to shake their finger of disapproval. -BO-RING-

This time, Ben Shapiro weighs in on why wet ass pussys are, well, a medical problem. ...Scuse me, say what? We feel pretty damn sorry for your wife, Ben.

So let's unpack this, k?

Rap music is no stranger to sexually explicit subjects and lyrics. Ludacris even has a song dedicated to all the places he wants to bang his lady friends! -insert Amanda rapping here-

Is there an uproar over songs like this? Nah. Why? They dudes.

This episode is dedicated to sex. To WAP. To women owning and celebrating our sexuality and freaking enjoyment of sex. To the powerful women in mainstream music talking about doing the deed, whether alone or with someone fun. To Cardi B, to Megan Thee Stallion, to Pink, to Rhiannah, to Missy Elliot, to Nicki Minaj, to all those women who've come before and will come in the future (pun absolutely intended) to shout out that women enjoying sex is not shameful!

We salute you. WAP.

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Geek Interview: Creating Geeky Art and Creative Expression with Molly O'Riley

Geek Herring — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Combining a love of art and geekiness, Molly O'Riley creates a live of beauty, passion, and expression. This episode is the ultimate wake-up call you need to be you, own your weirdness, and honestly just create something every damn day.

Molly is the founder of The Darling Revolution. She creates stunning abstracts for bold humans, and considers herself an emotional doula, making space for the process and teaching people how to trust themselves through creative practices.

She believes in the power of creativity and that we’re all #ResilientAF.

Molly shares with us how she came to create art inspired by her favourite comic book heroes. Being surrounded by the colours and vibrancy of comics all her life, it was such a natural step for her. Her geek-driven art is so cool, so colourful, and, bonus, you can ask for custom art based on YOUR fave character!

We talk about art and beauty and individualism in creativity. Molly explains why you should start creating every damn day, even if it's something small, as this helps your individual expression.

Expression is beauty!

We love this episode with the enigma that is Molly and hope you do, too!

What's the best thing you learned from this ep?

Find Out More

Listen to The Darling Revolution Podcast
Find Your Determination with this YouTube Playlist

*Find Molly O'Riley Online! *

Find Molly O'Riley on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Molly O'Riley.

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Geek Girl in the News: Moqii Zoldyck leads Fortnite, down with Gamer Girl, and up with Blizzard's free gender changes!

Geek Herring — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 July 2020 covers the girls who outnumber the boys at a national STEM competition, The Witcher's prequel, rising video gamer stats, that awful trailer for Gamer Girl we all puked at, Assassin's Creed minimising female protagonists (LAME), the first female Fortnite pro taking 1st place, and Warcraft dropping the £13 fee for gender change.

Welcome to Geek Girl in the News! You might notice a different voice this week - we have the honourable Mx Frazley joining Monika to cover these news stories that matter to YOU.

Girls are leading over boys in a national STEM competition for the second time ever... and the first in TWENTY YEARS. Oh wow! Love to see this fab increase - girls showing what power there is in seeing other women in male-dominated fields. So here for this STEM equality!

And, of course, what kind of geek girl in the news episode would it be if we didn't talk about The Witcher? They've just announced a prequel following the first Witcher ever - yes pleaseeee!!!

The numbers are in, too! It's official - 75% of alllll households in the USA have someone living there who plays video games. Yes, this is the new norm and the future! Love love love. Frazley, being an American, can confirm this on good authority, too.

Okay, so, by now you've probably seen the Gamer Girl trailer. You know, that one that made all of us first be hopeful that something awesome was coming out but then BAM - GAME FOR INCELS. Obviously we're disgusted by this game and it's good to get chatting about it with Frazley.

And speaking of shit games - rumour has it that the Assassin's Creed devs had all kinds of pressure to NOT create female protagonists because they don't sell. Um, excuse me? We can name loads of games with female leads that sold millions. Catch yerself on, lads!

We're finishing this episode with some celebrations!

First: Huge congratulations to Moqii Zoldyck who is the first female Fortnite pro winning a tournament! How phenomenal is this!? We love to see all these girls and women taking national and international gaming titles, proving that women belong in games!

And last, but not least, World of Warcraft is scrapping the £13 fee to change your in-game character's gender with the next expansion, Shadowlands. This move is awesome for everyone - but particularly spectacular for trans/non-binary/genderfluid/agender players who might want to change their character's gender more often. Heck yes, Blizzard! Love the inclusive moves you're making as a company!

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

Find Our Guest Online

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Geekily yours,
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Special Guest: Frazley.

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Geek Discussion: Learning and Growing in these Challenging Times

Geek Herring — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

We all know the world is kind of an intense place right now. This episoded started with the intention of our geeky highs and lows... but very swiftly descended into a conversation about life, the Universe, and everything. We had a lot on our chests!

Okay, so we start out chattinga bout our geek highs and lows. Amandan's high was definitely when she was in Edinburgh for the midnight release of Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince. Despite everything going on with the series' author, that evil can't take our happy memories away from us!

We chatted about how we think representation should be done in video games and other forms of pop culture. It's all about making our differences part of the story and totally normalising it rather than any kind of bullshit and pointing it out and making it an othering statement.

That's one reason we loved The Last of Us Part 2! (Don't worry, no spoilers!) People were so upset about some of the diversity in this game, but like, why??? What's with this mob? Is the mob the majority or just the loudest assholes on the block.

Something that keeps coming up for Monika is the concept of duality - where something (or even someone) is both good and bad. It's about finding that balance and trying to go from there.

Fresh into our book of the month, White Fragility, we talk about what the “White frame” is and what other -isms navigate in a certain frame (sexism, ableism etc.). Something that a lot of people don't get (hellooooo incels, etc) is that just because we haven’t experienced it doesn’t mean that it's not valid.

Repeat that again for the people in the back: JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED SOMETHING YOURSELF DOESN'T MAKE SOMEONE ELSE'S EXPERIENCE LESS VALID.

It’s about the person: the valid point is a person’s emotion. We need to accept people for their own experiences.

And further from this - and something that we all need to get better at doing, is accepting and understanding that people have a past that we (and they) may or may not like. There might be decisions and mistakes from someone's past that makes everyone a bit uncomfortable.

People need to be allowed to make mistakes and make mistakes, reflect on their life and grow, learn and change from there. Yes, we need to hold people accountable to be better versions of themselves, but not at the expense of holding back their growth.

There is beauty in failure and beauty in being wrong.
You’re not a bad person because you did something bad.
You are not a bad person because you made one poor decision.

You are allowed to grow and learn as a person. Your entire experiences up until this point have led you to where you are now. If there's stuff from your past you wish didn't happen - try to think of it that without it, you wouldn't know that part about life.

We also understand that not everyone can reflect about their life.

We also totally know what it's like to care so damn much all the time. About everything. Ever. All the time. It never, ever stops.

It’s hard to care so much all the time and it hurts too. Our conclusion: Caring is hard. But we won't ever stop.

On the note of caring so much - this is why you need to fill your own cup first!! If you tear the house down and you’re not able to rebuild the house then what’s the point. When you look after yourself first and make sure you're okay, you'll be better equipped to serve others.

What did you think of this episode where we legit talked about everything on our brains!? Let us know!

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Geek Interview: An Insight into Second Wave Feminism with Professor Taliep

Geek Herring — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

We had the immense pleasure of chatting with Professor Taliep about growing up in the 50s and getting involved in the feminist movement of the 60s and 70s. This episode is epic and we hope you enjoy it!

Taliep is co-host of The Halfhill Report, a fictional World of Warcraft podcast. She started gaming later in life and credits her love of Warcraft to her co-host, Toshmifune. Taliep is a fully fledged and super proud geek - and she's also one of the most wonderful women we've had the chance to chat with!

Why poodles are the best dogs ever - Moni and Taliep definitely talk about this for like, 5 whole minutes. And it's the conversation you didn't know you needed in your life.

Taliep chats with us about what it life was like growing up in the 1950s. Like most women at the time, she was married young and had her first baby before she turned 19. Such a different culture to the one we grew up in!!

But Taliep didn't stay in her marriage. She talks about how The Feminist Mystique, a novel by Betty Friedan, opened her up to the possibilities of more freedom for women.

Yes - you guessed it!

Professor Taliep went full on into the feminist movement, marching, creating change, and even burning her bras in the 60s and 70s! What an absolute hero of a role model, right!?

Some of the big topics we cover in this episode are whether race or gender was the original oppression (what do you think!?), that women's relationships with themselves and with men are not changing and what we can do about this, the importance of role models and actually talking about feminism and progress, and how we NEED to plant seeds for future growth.

Taliep is passionate about how technology has fuelled the feminist movement. In fact, this was her focus as a sociology professor. She shares what it was like to teach about feminism to generations of college students by leading through through a maze to come to the best conclusions themselves.

One thing we all agree on is how amazing and progressive the dudes in Dragon Powered Studio are. We're so lucky to have such wonderful men in our community who inspire us - and hopefully other men out there. We all know it's not just up to women to fuel the feminist movement - it's men, too, who need to take up the mantle of change.

This was a SUPER quotable episode. Guess because Professor Taliep is so good at what she does! So make sure you listen to this whole ep, because it is literal fire, and check out these rockin' quotes, too:

Quotes

"We really had to discover ourselves before we reached out to other people."
"Its the kids who are growing up now that will make the changes we need."
"I think there's a lot of men out there who just don't realise what women's lives are like."
"We changed our own lives, but we also changed the conversations in society. We changed the framework."
"We were finding ourselves, you're finding each other."
"If we were taking care of the planet the way we should be taking care of the planet, then I am 100% optimistic about the future."
"Have faith, have patience, don't give up."
"I learned I didn't need a man to take care of me. I could do it myself."

Find Out More

*Find Professor Taliep on Twitter! *

Find The Halfhill Report Online and on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram and don't forge to subscribe on your face podcatcher if you dig Warcraft!

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plus size nerd
virginia

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Professor Taliep.

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Geek Discussion: Twitch and #MeToo with BiggusBennus!

Geek Herring — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

It's not every day that you get to hang out with one of Twitch's loveliest partners on your podcast, but here we are with the one and only BiggusBennus! He joins us to talk about his recent Twitch accomplishments and the recent outpouring of sexual abuse reports on the streaming platform.

Not sure who BiggusBennus is? Well, you are in for a treat!

Ben is a UK based streamer who mainly plays Animal Crossing. He hosts regular game shows, including Blind Date, Snitch Game, Come Isle With Me, and Family Fortunes (which we had the pleasure of being on!). He's fresh off 100 days IN A ROW of streaming live on Twitch, just raised over £8k for The Trevor Project, and recently made Twitch Partner.

When we say this guy is amazing, like, legit. Ok? Okay.

We learn all the background of who Ben is, why he games, and how he's curated one of the most wonderful and welcoming communities on Twitch. There's something to be said for building such a loyal following - it's all in the personality. And for Ben, that's some Family Friendly (snort) content heavily layered in innuendo -- of which there is plenty in this episode, y'all!

Then Ben throws us a curveball and, instead of this being an interview, we head into discussion territory. We think we recovered from the wine-induced surprise great, though, and got deep into the #MeToo conversation.

There has been an outpouring of sexual abuse allegations from women, and some men, on Twitch, naming abusers - many of whom are Twitch Partners themselves. Ben shares his thoughts on this, but the biggest takeaway from all sides -

We believe that, yes, what's been going on over Twitch is horrendous. We always stand with and believe the victims in these situations. And we're all hopeful that these accusations and the current #MeToo movement will help make Twitch a safer space for everyone.

What do you think?

Thanks so much, Ben, for sharing your views and all the laughs with us!

*Find BiggusBennus On Twitch! *

Learn more about ClickClickPlay - Ben's podcast!

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Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: BiggusBennus.

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Geek Interview: Women in Indie Game Development with Producer Kitty Crawford

Geek Herring — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

To celebrate Love Indies week in June, we interviewed the remarkable Kitty Crawford about her life as an indie game's producer! Kitty joins us with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and perspective on the industry.

Kitty is born and raised in Northern Ireland but now lives and works from Montreal - but most of her games clients live back over here in Europe. She shares with us how she started in the indie game industry after leaving television for physical and mental health reasons. Such an awesome transitio to make, though, right!? Before Kitty left us over here in NI, she spent 2 years as the Games NI Chairperson - head of a group dedicated to indie game developers in the country.

For Kitty, the key to her success in the indie game industry has been the two incredible mentors she has and her talent at networking. Because the industry is so competitive, building those relationships with other industry professionals is vital.

What's it been like for Kitty as a women in the industry? We always hear horror stories coming out of games, but thankfully, Kitty can't share any of her own! Not only do we talk about her personal experiences, we get real deep about how we can create more diversity in games.

Kitty believes it's a two pronged approach - keeping the women that are already in the industry and recruiting new women from schools. And it's not just women in games - it's vital that we encourage a diverse range of recruitment into indie games. Because diversity does nothing but make us, our projects, and our teams stronger!

And finally, Kitty gives us the lowdown on what it takes to be a games producer and what her days look like. Don't know about YOU, but we didn't know much about the profession and it's so cool - definitely one we both want to know more about!

*Find Kitty Crawford Online! *

Find Kitty Crawford on Twitter | LinkedIn | Twitch

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Geekily yours,
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Special Guest: Kitty Crawford.

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Geek Girl in the News: June 2020

Geek Herring — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 June 2020 covers Rowling's publishing company employees not wanting to work with her, Mixer's racist culture and sudden demise, Twitch's history of not taking abuse reports seriously, the calls for a Twitch Blackout, Tina Fey call for 30 Rock's removal of blackface episodes, an FDA approved prescription video game, and TikTok Teens and K-Pop Stans living their best lives for all our futures.

June was some month! We recorded this episode a week early, so this isn't even a full account of June. But even at what it is, so much happened in June it's pretty overwhelming. Honestly, it's like two years worth of huge news and upheaval and movement and fighting was smooshed into a puny 30 days.

Phew.

First of all, we want to make it clear our stance. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Love is love. Fuck hate. We've been absolutely disgusted by what's coming out of our former favourite author's mouth lately and under no circumstances can we in good conscious support her anymore. And we're not alone. Staff at her publishing agency, Hachette, have requested not to work with her on her latest children's book.

Streaming platforms Mixer and Twitch have made the news in June - and not for super great reasons at all.

Former employee of Mixer, Milly, has come forward with her story of racism at the Microsoft company. Wow - how is this okay? Let's just make it clear, okay? It's absolutely still possible to be racist if you hire one (yes one) Black employee. It's still possible to be racist if you have a Black friend/coworker/relative/etcetcetc.

But you know how Mixer actually dealt with this? Instead of owning up and addressing whatever issues on the inside, they've decided to pull the plug. Few partners knew the platform was closing before it did, many finding out on Twitter like the public. WOW.

Let's not stop there. June was the month that many women and some men came forward with their stories of sexual abuse and harassment from (predominantly) male streamers, affiliates, and partners. And despite similar experiences being reported to Twitch over the years - nothing was done.

Not anymore. The Twitch #MeToo era is here and it's not quiet. Blackouts were held, people resigned, some were banned, some permanently. Change is happening and let's believe that a more positive and inclusive Twitch is on the way.

On a better note, Tina Fey, one of Amanda's heroes and producer of 30 Rock, has requested the removal of 4 (yes FOUR) episodes of the show that feature blackface. First of all - what? Second of all - FOUR EPISODES WITH BLACKFACE WHAT. Third of all - at least they're gone!

We're finishing this episode with two good news stories:

The FDA approved a perscription video game to help treat kids with ADHD! This is a remarkable development in healthcare and we can't wait to see how this impacts the future of the industry!

Last but not least... we STAN TikTok teens and K-Pop Stans. Honestly, these teens are THE FUTURE we all want and need. From overwhelming racist and hate-filled hashtags on Twitter to literally claiming most of the tickets to Trump rallies... we can't even explain our love and appreciation for this generation. Thank you for doing the good work!

What’s your take on these news articles?

OH HEY BY THE WAY. We're recording our episodes LIVE on Twitch now! You can come join the fun LIVE every Tuesday at 7pm UK time/8pm Austria/2pm NYC/11am LA!
We're almost at affiliate level - YAY! - so every follow counts. We appreciate you!!! Follow us on Twitch right here :D

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

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Geek Herring & Chill: Happy Pride 2020!

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 08:00:00 +0000

June 2020 has been a month! But, even though Pride was delayed a bit, for very obvious and very good reasons, we are celebrating now. So plug in your earphones and get ready to join the Pride Party!

This episode starts a bit heavy with the pretty shitty news about our former favourite author. We've already talked about this pretty extensively in our episode with The Gayly Prophet, but we dunno about you, we're finding it harder to reclaim Hogwarts as our home again. We just need to take a minute and regroup on this one.

We've had some set backs come out of the White House (as usual -insert major eye roll here, amirite?-) but then we got some surprise news from the Supreme Court who ruled that LGBTQIA+ folk can't be discriminated against at work! Finally, in the month of all years, we get some good news and something worth celebrating!

Leading up to this episode, we polled Twitter and Discord for people's fave queer characters and were not disappointed! From Will and Robin (Stranger Things) to Cosima (Orphan Black) to Sir Hammerlock (Borderlands 2 & 3) and more, there was no shortage of replies. We discovered new characters to stan, and stan we will, and new shows to binge (hello Sense 8!).

We did discover a lack of bi, pan, trans, and ace characters gracing our screens so think we obviously need even more diversity on the big and small screens. And upon further investigation post episode, many of the characters that Google tags as bi, um, aren't. So let's do better, ok?

There's also talka bout who OUR favourite queer characters are, how geek culture and queer culture are connected (SO SUPER CONNECTED AND ALSO HI FANFIC/SLASH/YAOI!), how Amanda realised she wasn't exactly straight, and how EA are celebrating Pride with a virtual Sims parade!

All in all, this was an EPISODE! Check out out and let us know who your favourite queer characters are!

Resources We Talked About!

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Geekily yours,
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Geek Interview: Plus Size Nerding it up with Nancy Basile!

Geek Herring — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 08:00:00 +0000

For years, being plus size and nerdy has been linked to being unpopular and super uncool. Not anymore, friends! We are joined by the Plus Size Nerd herself, the wonderful Nancy Basile, to talk about reclaiming these words and honouring her nerdity.

Nancy started Plus Size Nerd to help other women get ideas for great-looking nerd clothes that make them feel good about themselves. She also wanted to create a community where women could come together and feel like they fit in. (Which can be hard when you’re plus size and a nerd.)

On this episode of Geek Herring, we get down with our geeky selves and dive into what it's like being a plus size nerd.

From being unable to find the perfect nerd clothes in plus sizes to the body positivity at any size community, this episode is an awesome one we think you'll enjoy!

Some of Nancy's favourite Instagram accounts to follow are:

*Find Plus Size Nerd Online! *

Find Plus Size Nerd on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Nancy Basile.

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Geek Characters: Peach Please! Is Princess Peach an Inspiration or Irritation?

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Voted number 48 in a list of video game's hottest female characters, Princess Peach definitely evokes a LOT of feelings. Some good, some negative, and all definitely valid. We talk about what we actually think about Mario's leading lady and uncover the sordid truth of her identity.

Did you know that Forbes lists Princess Peach in the top 10 richest video game characters with a fortune worth over $1 billion? That's a lot of money! But how does someone who gets kidnapped on average once a week maintain that fortune?

And surely, with Peach making yet another list of video games most influential politicians, being away from the job so often HAS to have a detrimental effect on the Mushroom Kingdom.

Presenting our last piece of evidence, Wikipedia states that Princess Peach not only has a public relationship with Mario, she's also friendly with Luigi. And Bowser Jr claims that she's actually his mother.

We're onto you, Peach.

Follow our investigation as we uncover the truth about Princess Peach. She's not a damsel in distress at all! She's a smart and manipulative woman who is actually a feminist genius.

We also talk about the more serious portrayal of Peach in the Mario games ;)

Let us know: Are you a Princess Peach lover or hater?

Don't forget to join us LIVE on Twitch, every Tuesday at 7pm UK time to see all the bits we edit out of our podcast episode! And trust us, there's a lot.

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News: #BlackLivesMatter

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:45:00 +0000

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 May 2020 is not happening this month. Instead, we're taking a minute to be silent and promote some amazing geeky podcasts hosted by black creators.

Go check out SuperTangent Podcast by our friend Justin Williams.

Definitely pop over to The Radical Geeks co-hosted by amazing The Blerd Gurl who is an incredible and uplifting voice 🖤.

And last, but definitely not least, head on over to Black Girl Nerds and show them all the love. They're having the big conversations already, so they deserve all the love and support out there.

Here are some anti-racism resources so you can educate yourself
Here are some further resources for how to help if you're in the UK or Ireland.

Thanks for always supporting Geek Herring, friends. Go show some of that support to our black brothers and sisters.

Black Lives Matter, yesterday, today, and every day ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Life as a Professional Feminist with Virginia Mendez from The Feminist Shop

Geek Herring — Fri, 29 May 2020 08:00:00 +0000

You've heard us fangirl about the website and what it stands for. Now, we're absolutely freaking JAZZED to welcome Virginia Mendez, co-founder of The Feminist Shop, onto Geek Herring to talk all things feminism and being a professional feminist!

Believe it or not, Virginia hasn't always identified as a feminist. Shocking, we know! But after a stimulating discussion with her father-in-law, believe it or not, who told her that all her ideals were that of a feminist, Virginia started to take the movement seriously.

And devote her life to raising feminist kids in an equal household, writing feminist childrens books, and starting her own hub for all things feminism.

Honestly, Virginia lives and breaths equality and we couldn't be happier to have this conversation with her!

We talked about modern feminism, how the next generation of feminists are going to make incredible waves, what role gender plays in the movement, what it's like nning your own feminist business with your husband, and so, so, SO much more!

This episode was an absolute joy to record and we would LOVE to hear what you think about it! Let us know in the comments of WHEREVER you see this episode! And make sure to check out The Feminist Shop for yourself!!

Find The Feminist Shop Online! Use code GEEKHERRING for 10% off your order!

Find The Feminist Shop on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Virginia Mendez.

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Geek Girl Reviews Hannah Gadsby's Nanette - Stand-Up Comedy that hits DEEP

Geek Herring — Fri, 22 May 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Whew. This week on Geek Girl Reviews, we checked out Hannah Gadsby's stand-up comedy Nanette on Netflix. Whaaaat an INCREDIBLE and freaking powerful stand-up. It's an emotional rollercoaster and honestly, towards the end the tears of laughter definitely turned to tears of compassion.

It feels wrong to call this a stand-up comedy.. because, okay, it starts out being pretty funny, but by the end of these 69 minutes, no one was laughing. Hannah gets deep and bares her soul and trauma and true experiences.

And it's heartbreaking. It's beautiful. It's a plea for us all to be better fucking human beings.

Hannah Gadsby is a stand-up comedian from Tasmania who rose to fame seemingly overnight when Nanette released on Netflix. But in reality, Hannah's been hard at work on the comedy scene for over a decade, playing to sold out shows across the globe.

Outside the laughs about gender, sexuality, being a lesbian, the patriarchy, and misogyny, Hannah hits on some real serious issues. Homophobia, abuse, violence, shame, despair... Nanette cuts deep and true.

As a society, we need to do better, to be better, to act better. We have it in us! It's just so fucking hard to see it right now.

The world is so full of hatred, not just towards queer people, but towards anyone (and sometimes everyone) who's different from that person's norm. Let us tell you - we're better than this and you are, too!

Diversity is strength. Diversity builds society. Celebrate and embrace all the different types of people that exist in this world!

Hannah Gadsby is amazing. Nanette is amazing. It's a MUST WATCH for every single person in the world. If you haven't seen it, stop what you're doing and go check it out right meow! Trigger warning though for sure. And probably bring tissues.

We've decided to issue an official #GeekHerringChallenge:

Make connections. Find a way to connect with your community in a way that you haven't before. Whether that's in your physical community in some way, where you live, in whatever stage of lockdown you're listening to this podcast in or whether that's a digital and online community. Find a way to connect and make others aware that you care and that you celebrate them as a person.

Share how you're connecting with your community like never before in the comments of this episode or on Twitter using #GeekHerringChallenge!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Herring & Chill: Gettin' Cheesy With It

Geek Herring — Fri, 15 May 2020 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Geek Herring & Chill, Monika and Amanda are getting all down with their vulnerable selves using a card game one of Amanda's clients gifted her! This is the first episode recorded LIVE on TWITCH! And it's DEEEEEP, friends.

Let's play a game!

Ask Deep Questions is a card game that consists of 48 thoughtful questions that go below the surface to create meaningful connections with ANYONE.

Honestly, this was the most fun we've had recording together in a long time! Not that we don't enjoy the topics we normally talk about, but getting to ask each other these deep AF questions and learn more about each other was super interesting.

We had a LOT of laughs, some himming and humming (LOOKING AT YOU, AMANDA!), and a few moments getting totes emosh, all while sharing our answers LIVE with our Twitch audience!

So if you want to know our answers to some of these questions:

How do you fix a broken heart?
What is something you're struggling with in your relationships?
What do you value most in friendship?
When should you quit?
What is something you've always wanted to learn?
When have you felt one of the biggest adrenaline rushes in your life?
AND MORE!???!!!

Then this episode of Geek Herring & Chill is for YOU. Get to know your Geek Herring hosts better than you ever have before.

Oh - and we will ABSOLUTLEY being doing this live on Twitch again, so make sure you follow us! Every Tuesday at 7pm UK time. See you there!

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Diverse Art & Illustration with Siti

Geek Herring — Fri, 08 May 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Art is totally subjective, but we're sure you agree - when there's a diverse range of bodies depicted in illustration, it's better for everyone! Creating and sharing body positive and diverse art is what our guest, Siti, does and we have to say... it's amazing.

Siti is a Dutch illustrator who creates wonderful and diverse art that represents a wide variety of body shapes, races, and ages and it gives us all the good feels.

We talk about why representation in art and illustration is so important, not just for the creator, but for everyone who sees that art. By normalising different bodies, we're celebrating everyone and recognising that differences exist... and that being different is a-okay.

Honestly, we love that art is getting more diverse. As a society, we've definitely normalised a certain type of body and race. But that time has well and truly passed and we're welcoming a shift in perspective.

The rise of the body positivity community is honestly THE BEST. Siti's art is basically an extension of this movement. HERE. FOR. IT.

Normalise all bodies! Normalise all body types! Normalise all genders!

We stan Siti's art and we're so excited to share this episode with you.

Let us know what you think!

Find Siti online

Find Siti on Twitter | Patreon

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Siti.

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Geek Girl in the News: Cyberpunk 2077 championing Sex Workers Rights, Ezra Miller did WHAT?, & latest celeb crush Olivia Munn

Geek Herring — Fri, 01 May 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 2020 covers the latest film release to get delayed, Ezra Miller literally choking out a fan, our newest celeb to stan, Olivia Munn, Land O' Lakes changing their problematic logo (yay!), beloved author Jacqueline Wilson coming out, Cyberpunk 2077 is the game we love to love for yet ANOTHER reason, and, of course, it wouldn't be a Geek Girl in the News without some adorable Animal Crossing news.

As sad as it is, Sony have released some expected news that Spider-Man is going to be delayed. We mean, it makes SENSE, because filming schedules are all up the left, eh!? So this is not completely unexpected news and honestly we're waiting to hear what else is getting that push back.

And as if we needed another reason not to go see the next Fantastic Beasts, video footage has been released (and since release taken away) of Ezra Miller choking out a fan in Iceland. Totally unprecedented and really unprovoked attack that had to have the club bouncers literally pull them off a female fan. Um, yeah, this is NOT okay. Totally fucked up. We're disappointed in this act.

But you know who we do 100% STAN!? Olivia Munn! She's Hearthstone's latest lover who's on a quest to Legend (and reached it!). We might not 100% know who she is all the time, but honestly now we're on a mission to binge everything Munn.

We're also loving Land O' Lakes new logo. Removing the cultural appropriation is a move we can absolutely get behind. We only wish they'd used this as a learning opportunity around WHY it's such a problem to use Native American imagery to sell your not native products. Of course, the MAGA-loving crowd aren't behind the move and are boycotting the company. Boo-hoo, see ya later.

Then we're headed to British territory where we talk about the beloved author, Jaqueline Wilson, known for the Tracy Beaker series of books has publically come out. While she never considered herself "in the closet," when celebs take a more vocal stand for LGBTQ+ issues, it helps normalise and grows acceptance. We're also super excited for her new book, Love Frankie, due out in bookstores this August! Will you be getting it!??

Okay, honestly, is Cyberpunk 2077 and CD Projekt Red the best game and developer out there right now? We literally cannot with how much we're loving how much wokeness is going into this game. The latest news? A gang led by a woman who pays her sex workers a legit wage and stands up for their protection. SEX WORKERS RIGHTS MATTER!!!

Last, but definitely not least, we're getting all sorts of excited over Elijah Freaking Wood visiting someone's island in Animal Crossing to sell some turnips. So wholesome. So good. We love this!! Hey Brie Larson, we sometimes get good turnip prices. Wanna come hang?

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About Animal Crossing: The CUTEST game you've played in years

Geek Herring — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 08:00:00 +0000

If you're living, breathing, and dreaming all things Animal Crossing - you are NOT alone. We're all in this together. Playing with breakfast, sneaking in some island clean-up at lunchtime, and, obviously, crossing our fingers for tarantula island before bed. We've brought our resident Animal Crossing expert, Birte Kahrs, on to give us the low-down on how this game works and why we're all addicted to it.

Don't know Birte? You should! She's a branding expert and graphic designer by day, newly unleashed video game geek by night. We've known Birte for 3 years and think she's the bees knees. Oh - and during our Rapid Fire Round... she told us that we changed her life. So... NBD, right!? (Excuse us while we go sob in the corner.)

Birte shares with us what we need to know about how to build your dream island paradise. She directs us to Austin John Plays' YouTube channel, too, because it's full of all the information you would ever need to know about Animal Crossing. There is legit so much to this game, it's kind of overwhelming. Buuuut overwhelming in a good way!

We also needed to talk about the crazy attention to detail that went into building this game. Every little thing was heavily considered. The thing we're maybe most impressed by? How walking and running on different materials makes different sounds. Grass sounds different to stone which sounds different to carpet. And how it changes AGAIN when you take your shoes off and wander around barefoot.

As the newer player of the bunch, Amanda directed this episode by asking all the burning questions she had. Perhaps THE MOST important question of the bunch: Is it possible to master Animal Crossing when you don't want additional content!??

Find out the answer in this episode of Geek Herring!

Find Birte Online and on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Birte Kahrs.

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Geeking Out About Sex Education: It's a Gen Z Miasma of Amazingness! And SEX.

Geek Herring — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Sex Education is the best show on Netflix right now. It has everything: sex, education, all the laughs, and talking about so many important issues that face our society. From bullying to fetish to coming out and MORE. So let's get sexy with Sex Education!

Honestly, if you haven't seen Sex Education yet, you really need to cancel all your other plans and just binge the heck out of it. It's the best show we've watched lately!

Not only did we learn a lot about sex (and coming from us, that's saying something! Hello the Sunday Night Sex Show (and find The Best of Talk Sex with Sue Johanson) and Bravo! We had some education growing up!)

So if we're learning a lot of this sex stuff as thirty-something adults with a fair amount of knowledge, imagine how this show is impacting Generation Z? Especially with how the education system is demonising sex education and promoting abstinence-only sex (like hi, when does that EVER work!?).

Sex Education is doing what society and so many parents aren't: Answering all those sex questions that teens (and adults) always wanted the answer to but didn't know who or how to ask! Fetish, gay and lesbian sex, cross-dressing, intimacy issues, masterbation... seriously - name it, and Sex Education more than likely talks about it.

But, it's not only about sex.

Sex Education talks about the harder issues society faces: bullying, sexual assault, growing up with drug addicted parents, family pressures, mental health, depression, emotional detachment, coming out, and so, so, so much more.

We can't recommend this show enough and think everyone should watch it. Everyone 16+. But yes, everyone.

Let us know what YOU love about Sex Education in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Literally Surrounded by Dudes with ZiggySera

Geek Herring — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:00:00 +0000

What do you get when you take the essence of pure positivity and combine it with wit, realness, and talent? You get the awesome being that is Ziggy! Ziggy is the co-co-co-host of 1600 Dust, a Hearthstone podcast, who brings us a totally unique viewpoint as a girl gamer literally surrounded by dudes.

After first regaling us with the best story that starts with Ziggy's life goal of wanting nothing more, and nothing less, than becoming Mickey Mouse, you can already sense the positivity that exudes out of this woman.

Hosting a successful podcast with three guys has been one of the best things to happen to Ziggy. She gives us all the deets about how she started streaming Hearthstone on Twitch, got invited on 1600 Dust, started her Twitter account, and met the love of her life, Spyvey from 1600 Dust, kinda all at once.

The internet, and Twitter in particular, has brougt so much joy and positivity to Ziggy and YES that's EXACTLY what she wants to give back. If you've ever been on her Twitter feed, you know it's all about finding the good and sharing the positive side of everything life throws her way..... because life has a way of throwing EVERYTHING into Ziggy's road.

Ziggy shares her experiences of being surrounded by guys in her gaming life. She's had nothing but a good time, never feeling the discrimination that so many women face every day in the geeksphere. Whether this is because Ziggy is just THAT AWESOME or whether it's because she has a certain level of protection and status thanks to the 1600 Dust dudes (thanks, guys!) -- but it doesn't matter. She's here to tell you that being open and vocal as a gamer girl can be a totally safe and ultimately FUN experience.

We finish this episode by challenging YOU, listeners, to start sharing positive things on your social media. Retweet all the good, share something positive about YOUR DAY, and do everything you can to make the online world a better and safer place.

Share this awesome interview with someone you think needs a dose of Ziggy in their life!

Find Ziggy on Twitter and Twitch

Find 1600 Dust Online and on Twitter

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: ZiggySera.

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Geek Girl in the News: Animal Crossing, Brie Larson is too pure for this world, and Celebs being Awesome!

Geek Herring — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 08:00:00 +0000

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 March 2020 covers the world's obsession with Animal Crossing, films getting their released dates pushed back, Brie Larson being a true gem, Thor: Love and Thunder's new villain (you might be surprised!), and all these famous people being pretty awesome during this pandemic, especially Elton John and John Krasinski!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that Nintendo released the latest Animal Crossing for the Switch. Are you O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D!? Because we are. Yes - WE - Amanda predicted she'd have Animal Crossing by the time this episode releases, and what do you know - she does! This is the perfect CUTE game to obsess over with your friends. So good for all this social distancing we need to do right now, right!?

Some pop culture news that's a bit of a bummer, but so many movie release dates are getting pushed back. Like Wonder Woman, which was due to be released in June has been rescheduled for August! There's also talk about doing some big streaming releases instead of red carpet premiers - wouldn't that be wild!? We think doing streaming releases is an awesome way for the film to still make money while keeping to the launch schedule and giving people something amazing and fun to look forward to! Hopefully Black Widow, which is releasing in early May (as of recording) will do this!!

So, really - is there any celeb out there cuter and more perf than Brie Larson? DIDN'T THINK SO. She's being vocal about the awesome women in her circle of support and encouraging other women to raise each other up. HEAR FREAKING HERE, Brie! Our new motto is officially "BE MORE BRIE". Ya dig?

And lastly, we're talking about how all these famous people are being brilliant in this time of crisis. Because isn't that what they're there for? To provide the masses laughs and love and entertainment? THANK YOU so much to people like Elton John, who's orchestrating incredible living room concerts, all those artists on Insta hopping on for impromptu live concerts, and - get ready to sob - John Krasinski and his new "Some Good News" series which talks about, well, good news - ONLY!

Never been more appreciative of the celebs than we are right now. Except Gal Gadot encouraging others to sing 'Imagine' by John Lennon. You can keep that to yourself, kthanks.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: The Hogwarts Problem with Lark & Jessie from The Gayly Prophet

Geek Herring — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year (hey, no judgement - the world's a hard place right now!), you've definitely witnessed J.K. Rowling tumble from her throne. We're pretty sure she's living in a place of hatred and judgement right now. We're joined by Lark and Jessie from The Gayly Prophet to talk about The Hogwarts Problem and how we can still appreciate our magical home without giving its creator another penny of our hard-earned money.

As the hosts of the queer and intersectional Harry Potter podcast you've always wanted - trust us, you've always wanted this, it's badass - Lark and Jessie set the record straight on what it means to be queer and trans and still in love with Harry Potter.

Because when its creator comes out with Tweets that make you and your peers feel unwelcome at Hogwarts, you have a few choices:

Ignore it. She's JK Fucking Rowling and can do whatever she wants. She is your queen.
Sulk because you've been kicked out of your fancy magic school.

Or, and our personal fave:

Reclaim Hogwarts. Hogwarts is YOUR HOME.

Yeah, sure, J.K. created it, but we've all made it what it is. It's been in most of our hearts for over 20 years. We've been roaming these halls for most of our lives. Let's face it - they don't belong to her anymore.

So here's some practical advice on how we can still feel at home in our magical castle! HINT: You never have to give a penny to J.K. ever again. That's right, delete alllll your official apps and accounts, buy your books from used book stores (or even better, from The Second Shelf books in London who give the profit of all their HP book sales to Mermaids - a charity helping gender-diverse kids, young people, and their fams), and SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS who, let's face it, make WAY COOLER HP merch than WB do.

We also talk about how to REALLY find out what your Hogwart's house is - because the Pottermore "test" is, well, shit.

Oh, and did you know that Ron is a mysoginst?

Find out ALL the hot Hogwarts goss in this ep.

How do you feel? We're here for you 💔💛💙💚

Talk to us in the comments of wherever you see this episode.

Mentioned Resources

Sorting Hat Chats
Trans Affirming Magical Care - Harry Potter FanZine
Rainbow Rowell - Author of Carry On (the book without Ron)

Find The Gayly Prophet Online

Find The Gayly Propher on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: The Gayly Prophet.

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Geeking Out in Times of Crisis: Rise of the Geek

Geek Herring — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

COVID-19. It's what's on everyone's minds right now. Because this pandemic that's sweeping the world is impacting everyone. Whether you're staying indoors, business as usual, freaking out, or that asshole who thinks none of these regulations applies to them - you're bound to be experiencing some kind of change.

On this episode of Geek Herring, we're talking about the current (as of Monday March 16th, 2020) government response to Coronavirus is and how it's impacting lives around the world.

While there's some people out there who are not taking it seriously, there's a bigger majority of people who are. We like to call them the saviours of the planet and her people! Just decided that right now.

How are you helping or stepping up in this time of crisis? Or maybe you're taking a step back because it all feels overwhelming and too much? That's okay, too! Honestly, however you're handling quarantine of whatever kind you're in is the right way for you to handle it.

One thing we're doing is playing more games with the Dragon Powered Studio crew! Want to play some too? Come hang out on our Discord channel!

Some other things we're cooking up? A Geek Herring Twitch channel where we'll be doing Twitch Sings. You don't want to miss this, so give us a follow!

We also go through and list a whole load of geeky activities you can get up to while under quarantine.

Share with us in the comments of wherever you see this episode whatever you need to share right now. We got you, fam!

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Women in Warcraft Podcasting with Ali

Geek Herring — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Being a woman in podcasting can feel like a really isolating experience sometimes. But being part of the minority in a super open and welcoming community makes it so much easier. Ali from Dungeon Fables joins us to talk about being a woman in Warcraft, her time podcasting, being an awesome part of the Warcraft community!

Ali shares why she first started podcasting about Warcraft and what led her to take a very lore focussed approach. Dungeon Fables is a completely unique show because Ali looks at one dungeon per show, does days of research, and talks about the lore and background about it.

In fact, Ali says that between Dungeon Fables and the other two shows she co-hosts, All Things Azeroth and BlizzMates, she is working on Warcraft podcasting every single day. WHEW!

Ali's podcast may be relatively new to the scene, but she's been welcomed to the Warcraft community with open arms. Because if there's one thing that community does, it's be a friendly, happy, and open to new people bunch. FOR THE MOST PART.

Ali shares about some of the times she's been objectified while playing World of Warcraft and what the experiences have meant to her. Thankfully, they're few and far between, and being thirty-something years old now, these brushes with incels roll right off her shoulders. AMEN TO THAT!

And excitingly, Ali gives us some pretty accurate stats about the ratio of women to men in Warcraft podcasting - and the difference isn't as shocking as you might think! AMAZING!

Have you listened to Dungeon Fables? Are you a woman wanting to get your podcast on? Let us know in the comments and how we can help!

Find Ali Online

Find Ali on Twitter
Find Dungeon Fables on Twitter

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Ali.

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Geek Girl in the News: Saying no to dick pics, Raising The Game, & The Witcher 2!

Geek Herring — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

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 February 2020 covers the incredible new Twitter extension that blocks dick pics 🙌🙌, the shockingly (not shockingly) male-dominated UK games industry, the female gaze coming in hot to Hollywood, Battinson's new look revelations, and all the hype about The Witcher 2!

A report has been released about the UK games industry that shows some pretty sad statistics for women in games. To all the men out there who say that women are rep'd just fine, how the heck is 28% of a workforce a good representation of women?? Get a mitt and get in the game, dudes! The good news is that there are organsations out there like #RaiseTheGame working hard to bring diversity and inclusion to the games industry. HELL YEAH!

Obviously, we all hate to get unsolicited dick pics. They are no bueno!! Thankfully, the incredible Kelsey Bressler developed a Twitter extension that lets you say BYE BYE to unwanted nude pics of a man (using the BBC lingo for that one because LOL). Kelsey, you have done us all an amazing service! We SALUTE YOU!

Have you ever thought about how films are made? And by who? And what the striking difference is between a movie directed and produced by men vs women is? WELL. It's about damn time you start considering it and how the gender of the production team can totally change the movie's vibe and even how women are portrayed. HELL YES to films being made for the female gaze. HERE. FOR. THEM.

We're gushing about The Witcher 2 again! Production has started (thank you Henry Cavill's Insta stories for being EVERYTHING WE NEED RIGHT NOW) and by the sounds of it, TW2 is going to be: EPIC. Some exciting and controversial (TW Hi sexual assault 🙈) storylines are coming up. But we're super hopeful they'll portray them sensitively and respectfully! We also speculate over who is going to play the role of Vesemir, Geralt's mentor!

And, last but not least, Robert Pattinson's Batman has finally been revealed. And the costume is... well. Interesting. We're just gonna leave it like that so you click on the article and check it out for yourself. PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!?? We're 100% TORN.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Report details how male-dominated the UK games industry still is We didn't talk about this next one, but it's related to the above article so a good reference!!
'I was always told I was unusual': why so few women design video games
New Twitter filter deletes naked pictures from messages
Like a natural woman: how the female gaze is finally bringing real life to the screen
We Have First Set Pics From The Batman and the Internet Has … Thoughts
The Witcher Casts 7 New Roles as Season 2 Production Starts

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!

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

Join us on Discord!!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: Mental Health, Inner Voices, & Video Games

Geek Herring — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:00:00 +0000

VULNERABLE EPISODE ALERT, PEOPLE!

This week, we're talking about our personal mental health journeys and how video games have helped us.

From using them as a very welcome distraction in our lives to actually processing our thoughts and problems while playing, video games are so much more than colourful videos.

We also go WAY off topic and talk about internal monologues and those weird people (cough*AMANDA*cough) who don't really have them!? So what does she have? SONGS. Songs in her head all. the. time. And the only way she can actually process her thoughts is by writing/journalling about them, distracting her brain with something else, or talking about them out loud. COOL? WEIRD?

Monika also shares some of the tips and help her therapist has given her for coping and taking care of her mental health.

We think video games get a lot of shit for being addictive and harmful - and while we're not denying that that CAN happen, it's the minority. The benefits of playing far outweigh any harm: community and friendship, distraction when you really need it, healthy processing, and just plain FUN.

How do video games help you with your mental health? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About The Witcher: Monster Hunters, Witches, and the Duality of Humankind

Geek Herring — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Binging The Witcher is some of the best TV watching we got done over our Christmas break. The Witcher is a Netflix series starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan, adapted by Lauren Schmitt from books written in the 1990s by Polish author Andrez Spakowski.

Aside from the super confusing timeline jumping (Monika 100% had the advantage over Amanda as she knew about this beforehand!) this series is addictive, attractive, and fierce as fuck. If you haven't seen The Witcher yet, here is your VERY FAIR AND VALID WARNING that the timeline jumping is mega confusing. Once you get it, everything will make so much more sense.

In this episode of Geek Herring, we're geeking out HARD about our love of this pseudo medieval portrayal of monster hunters, witches, the duality of humankind, and all sorts of moral lessons you wouldn't normally see on the surface of The Witcher.

About halfway through this episode we give a short spoiler warning before heading into some of the more specific scenes from the series. We talk about disability, happiness, seeking love, and destiny.

Have you seen The Witcher yet? If not - seriously get your ass in gear and go get your watch on! Are you as in love with Geralt as Amanda is? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode pop up!

We also talked about David J Pearson's newest book, Estan! You can get your copy here :D

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Interview: Smart is the New Sexy with Kate Wiswell

Geek Herring — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 09:00:00 +0000

If you've ever felt like the odd one out, seen mathematical sequences that help you understand life, know you're destined for more, or are ready, or already, to embrace your absolute nerdy self - this episode is for YOU. Kate Wiswell, author of Full Frontal Nerdity, joins us to talk about embracing your inner nerd, letting your smart girl out to play, and being unapologetically yourself!

Kate is a mathematician and logician turned comedy writer living in LA who has figured out that you don't have to hide any part of yourself in order to be happy and successful. In fact, for Kate, it was only once she embraced and loved both sides of herself, as an analytical nerd and comedic writing genius.

Kate's recent memoir, Full Frontal Nerdity, is a collection of essays she's written over the years. From using math formulas to help figure out who your soul mate is to sharing her absolute LOVE of gingers (we TOTALLY get it) to the rampant misogyny present in Hollywood and more, we guarantee you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll commiserate with her words. Could this be one of the realest and funniest books we've ever read? IT'S LIKELY, YO.

If you get one thing out of this interview, it's how honest, down-to-earth, and freaking hilarious Kate is. Pretty sure we're best friends for life, now!

You can buy Full Frontal Nerdity wherever you normally get your books, or right here on Amazon for all that ease.

Buy it. Love it. Share it with your friends!

You can find Kate

Online | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Kate Wiswell.

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Geek Girl in the News: Media's racist hot takes, Professor Umbridge is WHO?, & Australia dominating eSports

Geek Herring — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 09:00:00 +0000

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 January 2020 covers Australia's eSports dominance, why James Bond won't EVER be a woman, Professor Umbridge's new role, the media's racist hot takes, Batwoman's renewal, and the first look at what Disney+'s Marvel shows!

We are SO GLAD to be back and bringing the latest and greatest geek girl news to your ears. Did ya miss us!? Because we missed you! Both of us are excited for 2020 and have some pretty incredible interviews already lined up we know you're going to love!

Today's episode is all about these awesome news stories.

First up - we're totally jealous of Australia's stance on eSports. They're 100% paving the way for the rest of the world to drool over. I mean, starting competitive eSports at a middle grade level!? YES PLEASE!

And sadly, despite some leaked images and pretty big rumours, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli says it's never gonna happen. While we're a bit bummed, Amanda makes a great point (as usual XD) that James Bond is a PERSON - so anyone can play him, while 007 is a TITLE - which is much more open to interpretation. Whatever the next Bond films bring, we're hopeful for some badass female representation!

We're also sorry to report that The Crown has announced it's ending after 5 super successful seasons, with none other than Imelda Staunton (perhaps better known as Professor Umbridge) playing the good Queen Elizabeth. WOAH. Is it just us or is that WAY HARD to picture!?

We're also shaking our fists at the racist media - WE SEE YOU and we WILL call you out, Batwoman's success, and the exciting Marvel trailer played during the Super Bowl.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Holidays: Monika's Grinch is Melting!

Geek Herring — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

The holiday season is upon us again! And while we don't have a hilarious Hallmark bot script to make you ROFLMAO, we hope you bring you enough laughs to get you through our 4 week break!

In this episode, we reminisce about our favourite holiday movies - HELLO RUDOLPH AND FROSTY!, help transform Monika into less of a Grinch (she's actually bought a Christmas tree this year!), and get excited about all the geeky things we hope we'll find under our trees.

Really, you'll have to listen to our annual holiday episode to find out what we're up to this season and what goals we're setting for the New Year!

BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU??!

Tell us what you've got going on for the holidays.
Do you have some leet goals for 2020?

Drop us your deets in the comments of wherever you see this episode.

Remember, we're going on a 4 week break after this episode, but we are coming back with one hell of a bang!!!

Happy Holidays and Merry New Year from Geek Herring! Love you all!

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geeking Out About Diversity & Representation in Pop Culture: Aladdin, MIB, Shazam!, & More!

Geek Herring — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

There's a subtle (sometimes) and encouraging movement happening in Hollywood and we are so here for it. From classics getting remade with strong and kick-ass women in the lead to biopics of famous gay men to disability and gender representation... hooo yeah! These changes are making the gentle waves that will lead to some damn diversity for a change!

Despite that fact that all the freaking incredible female directors were totally and rudely overlooked at the Golden Globes, we are getting a bit closer to some actual, honest to goodness, recognition and representation on the big screen.

Believe it or not, this episode started out as a Geek Girl in the News.... but we were having so much fun chatting about what was new in our lives - and for Amanda who flew 10 hours across the ocean - it was all sorts of movies!

HAVE YOU SEEN ALADDIN!??! Okay, so Amanda is like, a year late to this party, but she finally got to enjoy it and holy shit, what a game changer. We geek out about it and what it means for the future of not only Disney films, but strong female characters ligting up the big screen.

Then we talk about Men In Black: International and how Tessa Thompson SLAYED in it, alongside Chris Hemsworth, and the nods to taking down the patriarchy were REAL. And, after a lot of himming and hawing because WHAT was the last movie Amanda watched on that 10-hour? SHAZAM! was phenomenal. Representing disabilities, foster care, different sizes and races in such a POSITIVE LIGHT. Also what about those toxic masculinity vibes!?

We also talk about Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman helping normalise gay men in our households. Even though Freddie Mercury and Elton John have been household names for literal decades, it was always with that caveat - but he's gay.

We're LOVING all these films out right now are making positive waves for diversity and representation. As always, what happens in Hollywood will trickle into our households and start helping society make the changes we so desperately are ON BOARD FOR.

Tell us what movies are giving you LIFE in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: Game of Thrones AXED, Sacha Baron Cohen is woke, & Trans Lead Characters

Geek Herring — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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 November 2019 covers the cancelled prequel to Game of Thrones, the next Star Wars trilogy (yes, trilogy!), Sacha Baron Cohen being an incredible human being, the 14-year-old girl who solved the blind spot problem plaguing drivers, the first leading trans character in a video game, and the game developers focussing on mental health problems in their releases.

Are we a little bit gutted that HBO have cancelled Naomi Watts' Game of Thrones prequel that was 3 years in the making? Uh - yeah! They've axed this progressive, super interesting sounding prequel in favour of one about the Targaryens. Sounds like just what the last 8 seasons were about. Snooze fest!

Speaking of Game of Thrones - you remember how the showrunners royally f#cked up the last season so they could go work on the next Star Wars trilogy? Well, they've bailed out of that one, too! So who's making the next trilogy? And why are they making another trilogy so soon after the last one? We dunno!?

Whether you've been a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen in the past or not has suddenly become irrelevant. His controversial characters have always had political and racial undertones meant to make society examine their belief system - and now, Sacha is gunning for justice for all walks of life. Take some time to listen to his absolutely scathing speech. Trust us when we say you won't regret it!

Submitted by Marty over at Sleepless in Copenhagen, we take a look at the 14-year-old girl who used simple technology that's already available to create a way to see through (yes through) the blind spot created by the passenger seat pillar. How inspirational is she!?

We finally have a game developer creating a lead character who is trans! In Tell Me Why, we're introduced to twins who have grown up with very different lives. French developer Dontnod has had input and support from GLAAD and trans beta testers to make sure the game remains sensitive and realistic to the issues facing transgender people in today's society. We dunno about you, but we cannot WAIT to play this one.

And finally, game makers Ninja Theory, who brought us the psychosomatic lead in Hellblade, are tackling mental health issues in their latest release, The Insight Project. Working with clinical neuroscientists and psychologists, The Insight Project will not only help people understand mental health problems, it will work as a tool for those going through a tough time. We love where the gaming industry is taking video games and are so excited for the future.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Herring Reviews Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

Geek Herring — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Feminists: What Were They Thinking Is a documentary about second wave feminism. It features stories from women involved in the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s and it definitely evokes emotion about the trials and tribulations women went through (AND ARE STILL GOING THROUGH) around our world.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking is available on Netflix worldwide. A photographic project called Emergence by Cynthia McAdam brought together these incredible women and feminists and this documentary sees many of them looking back at their photos and sharing their stories.

We highly recommend that you check it out!!

Why?

Because it's full of inspiration from women who were part of the grassroots movement. Women like Lily Tomlin, Z Budapest, Jane Fonda (BABE), Phyllis Chesler, Judy Chicago, and other incredible feminists. They talked about their experiences during the 60s & 70s and how second wave feminism was the first time women truly took responsibility for themselves.

In this review episode, hosts Monika and Amanda talk about what emotions this documentary stirred up in them. Do feminists look different? What do you think?

And did you know that Jane Fonda only learned in the last decade that "no" is a complete sentence? If Queen Fonda only learned this, and she's in her 80s, we still have a lot of work to do.

What does feminism mean to us? It's easy for us both to be feminists and we are ready to fight for our right to own our space, some a bit more rebellious than others ;)

We think, essentially, that second wave feminism was so important. Why do new wave feminists want to distance themselves from the early grassroots movements? We don't know!

Feminists from all walks of life need to work together to achieve true gender parity. We need older feminists, black feminists, LGBTQ+ feminists, white feminists, feminists of colour, geek feminists, political feminists -- this list could GO ON - to fight the good fight.

There are still hard things about being a woman in 2019. Just like there were hard things about being a woman in 1969. And hard things with first wave feminism back in the 20s. This is why we still need feminism.

We believe there's something higher we can be. Do you?

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Discussion: VKLiooon, & the Future of Women in eSports

Geek Herring — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

eSports history has been made when VKLiooon won the Hearthstone Grandmasters during Blizzcon. Not only was she the first woman to win an international Hearthstone tournament, she was the first woman to win an international eSports tournament ever!

So first of all: BIGGEST CONGRATS TO VKLIOOON! You're incredible and a true inspiration.

Just check out her speech:

“I want to say for all the girls out there who have a dream for esports competition, for glory. If you want to do it and you believe in yourself, you should just forget your gender and go for it. This is the best way to strike back at those people who doubted me only because I am a girl. It proves that girls can be strong pro players, just as guys do.”

And we're totally feeling this. All of this.

Not only this, VKLiooon said that at one of her first Hearthstone tournaments, a guy told her she didn't belong there and to leave. What bullshit is that even?? VKLiooon has obviously proven herself and shown that women do belong in eSports.

As we've talked about with previous guests, girls were never nurtured to play video games the same way the boys were. But we're out there. We play video games. And we're down with eSports.

Women playing professional eSports is on the rise. We already have legends like VKLiooon and past guest Pathra, a whole host of badass women playing Hearthstone in smaller tournaments, and women joining professional Overwatch and NBA2K teams.

The future of eSports is bright for women and we are HERE. FOR. IT.

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

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Geek Herring & Chill: A Whole Load of Nonsense

Geek Herring — Fri, 15 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Because hanging out listening to us talk is the best half hour of your week, we've gone free form again! Geek Herring and Chill is just that, time to sit back, relax, and listen to us ramble on. This week, we really do just ramble on about what we've been up to in our lives!

Have you read The Mortal Instruments by Cassanda Clare? Amanda's just started them! After listening to her friends obsess about them for years, she's finally got stuck in.. and let's just say she is STUCK. IN.

But this actually brings up an interesting topic! So you know in most books, there's a BIG BAD GUY. And that big bad guy is usually, well, A GUY? Voldemort, Valentine, Sauron... you know what we're talking about. Is there a fantasy series with a big bad gal? We can't think of one, so let us know!

What we did come up with?
Disney villains are more often than not women.
Cersei from Game of Thrones is definitely evil, but is she BIG BAD GUY evil?

What else did we chill with? Well, you're just gonna have to listen and find out!

Oh, PS. Leave us a comment wherever you see this episode if you're #TeamChillinIllinKillin or #TeamLame!

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Interview: Warcraft, Roleplay, and Podcasting with Sil

Geek Herring — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

It's been a year since we've spoken with Sil, host of Warcraft podcast Whispers of War, and we're so excited to catch up and see what she's been up to this year!

The biggest thing going on for Sil is her growing podcast. She's been having some of the coolest guests on the show who are all geeking out about their Warcraft experiences. And you know what? Everyone playing World of Warcraft has different thoughts and feelings about the game! But there is the overarching theme that they absolutely love it and can't get enough of the MMO.

Sil's also working on creating a go-to resource for roleplaying in Warcraft. Amanda's recently started playing on a roleplay server and could definitely use some tips and tricks from a seasons RPer. Roleplaying in an MMO definitely brings a whole different element to the game - it's so much more immersive and, dare we say, fun!?

Sil shares some of her experiences as one of the first female Warcraft podcasters, how she's created and grown her super supportive community, and what makes Whispers of War so badass.

Oh, and just so you know, Sil and Whispers of War has recently joined Dragon Powered Studios, our podcast network! It's so great that we can connect and chat with other awesome ladies hanging out in the dragonsphere. You rock, Sil! (PS, join our Discord here!

If roleplaying is in your future, make sure you get the World of Warcraft add-on Total RP 3 and create your character backstory!

You can find Sil:

Whispers of War Twitter
Whispers of War on Podbean and iTunes or wherever you normally get your podcasts!

And find Sil herself over on Twitch!

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

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

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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Sil.

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Geek Girl in the News: Blizzard vs the USA vs China, Natalie Portman's call to action, & women in space!

Geek Herring — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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 October 2019 covers Blizzard's reality check from Congress, female directors for Disney+ Star Wars shows, the new Catwoman, Natalie Portman's call for women to fuck up and own their mistakes, Delta's women-led flight to NASA, and the first all-female spacewalk FINALLY happening!

After recording and releasing our last episode about everything going on with Blizzard, China, and Blitzchung, it's now come to light that the US Congress - from BOTH sides - got involved, too. 5 politicians wrote Blizzard a, uh, pretty strongly worded letter urging them to reconsider their stance...

Next up, we hit the entertainment news and talk about Deborah Chow's lead directorial role with Obi-Wan Kenobi - how cool does this show sound!? And Zoe Kravitz getting cast as the next Catwoman. Then Amanda learns a shocking discovery about Monika's past - make sure you listen to find out what!

We totally celebrate and stan queen Natalie Portman and her latest speech given at the Elle Women in Hollywood evening where she encourages women to embrace their mistakes and thrive, not to let them ruin their lives. Amanda's hidden behind mistakes and she can tell you personally - IT'S NOT WORTH IT!

And last but not least we go to SPACE with Delta, 120 girls, an all-female flight crew, and the first all-female space walk that finally happened. More women in aviation, please, k thanks!

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geeking Out About Halloween: Costumes, Movies, and Cultural Appropriation

Geek Herring — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Halloween is all about dressing up as someone or something you're not, having fun, and eating all the candy your belly can hold. Or at least that's what it was like for Amanda, who grew up in North America. Monika, on the other hand, doesn't have the same kind of connection since they don't celebrate in Austria.

On this episode of Geek Herring, we're talking about some of Amanda's best costumes over the years. From the one and only year she dressed as a "slutty something" (what? You'll have to listen and find out!) to the amazing group costumes she pulled off at university - armhair and Backstreet Boys. Yes, seriously. (And she 100% made a mistake in recording, they dressed up as Nick, Kevin, Brian, and Howie - it was AJ who was the Phantom!)

Halloween movies are the absolute best, though, right? And by Halloween movies, guess we really just mean Hocus Pocus. Best Halloween movie ever. Maybe the only Halloween movie ever!? Okay... there's also Halloweentown - the best!

But let's get serious for a minute. Halloween isn't always full of good things. There's a real problem with cultural appropriation and downright racism that can come with some costumes. When your friends are still wanting to put on blackface in 2015, you know you need to stand up and say something.

Less costumes where you need to paint your face (unless you wanna be a Smurf - Smurfporpriate away!) and less Native Americans (to name a few) and more random, dorky costumes like armhair and Muppets!

What's your favourite costume you've ever worn? How do you celebrate Halloween?

PS: Check out The Feminist Shop online to see Amanda modelling!!

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Discussion: Hong Kong Protests, Blizzard Entertainment, & Cancel Culture

Geek Herring — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Geek Herring discusses a politically hot topic this week, giving an overview and our insights into Hearthstone streamer, Blitzchung's statement during the GrandMasters about the Hong Kong protests. Blizzard had made what seemed like a snap decision to delete the entire VOD of the stream, remove Blitzchung from the GrandMasters, revoke his prize money, and ban both him and the two casters from Blizzard eSports for a year.

We're joined by Thom from Three Extra Lives and Jonathan from all sorts of podcasts, two people we love and respect in the Blizzard content creation community. Together, we're taking an objective look at this whole situation - right from the start.

What's actually happening in Hong Kong?
What did Blitzchung actually say?
Blizzard Entertainment did what!?
The community backlash that shook the video game world
What Blizzard did to remedy the situation
How this relates to cancel culture
And lots more!

While we do go into what's going on in this situation in brief detail, this episode of Geek Herring mainly revolves around our thoughts, opinions, and how we can all move forward in this new era of partial censorship.

You can find links to all sorts of news stories and coverage of this event:

What do you think about everything that's going? Has this level of censorship and cancel culture gone to far? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

You can find more information about Thom and Three Extra Lives
Online | Twitter | Instagram | Twitch

You can find more information about Jonathan and All His Podcasts
Online | Twitter | Twitter | Twitch

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guests: Frazley and Thom Knight.

Geek Milestone: Geek Herring Turns One!! What's Next!?

Geek Herring — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:00:00 +0000

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEEK HERRING!

Can you even believe that we've been at this for a whole year? It's pretty crazy to think that we're here. And not only are we here, we're going from strength to strength, learning and growing every single day. So many awesome things have come out of this podcast in the last year and there's so much to come. What's coming!?

So first of all - THANK YOU - to every single person who has ever downloaded an episode of Geek Herring. To everyone who follows and chats with us on social media and Discord. And to everyone who's ever supported us in any other capacity. You all make this the best thing for us to do, ever, and we love you so much! Literally wouldn't be here without you <3 <3 YOU ROCK!

We're really excited about how much we've accomplished with Geek Herring in the last year. We've tackled some really hard subjects (looking at you, Rape Day!), cried on the mic (hello, Robin Hobb!), and geeked out hard. Plus we've interviewed the RADDEST GUESTS EVER!

Now we're saying hello to year two. So much excitement coming! A few highlights: round table discussions, exciting updates to Patreon, and even more awesome interviews in the works!

What was your favourite episode of Geek Herring in year one?
What do you want us to bring in year two?
Who should we interview? Let us know!

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Girl in the News: Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp -- and Ms Monopoly!

Geek Herring — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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 September 2019 covers Kristen Stewart's sexuality, Scarlett Johansson's unfeminist takes, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp (again), Siri's stance on feminism, and the awesome new game, Ms Monopoly!

September brought us a LOT of geek girl news. While we're bringing up a former couple we've spoken about a few times, there's been some new developments in the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp saga. What do you think about it?

We also think it's totally rude to tell sassy bisexual actor Kristen Stewart to tone down her sexuality - let your bi flag fly high, Kristen! Your fans are out here supporting you. Whoever told you that shouldn't be working in PR. But let's not skip over Scarlett Johansson's latest hot takes - no thank you! Where's YOUR PR support? Because they should tell you to sit down!

Let's celebrate the new game from Hasbro, Ms Monopoly, that celebrates women and takes a unique spin where women are getting paid 20% more than men. Love love love this! While this isn't what feminism wants (hello actual equality) Ms Monopoly is addressing the gender pay gap in the coolest way. Here for it!!! Plus, they've given grants to three awesome school girls making waves in STEM at their young ages. Go Hasbro! More companies like this, please!

Oh, and what do you think of renaming Lincolnshire's Fire & Rescue mascots Freddy and Frida!?? CONSIDER IT, OKAY!?

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Interview: Life as a Hearthstone Pro & Not Feeding the Trolls with Pathra Cadness

Geek Herring — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Rising up the ladder, hitting Legend, topping the Badass Women of Hearthstone league, and competing weekly in the Hearthstone GrandMasters is a journey, but not one without an emotional rollercoaster. We're joined by Pathra Cadness who's sharing her experience as a professional eSports athlete, currently competing at the GrandMasters!

Pathra is a Thai/Kiwi Hearthstone player who started streaming on Twitch back in 2015. She quickly climbed the ladder and started making a name for herself on the Hearthstone scene. When a friend convinced her to start competing with the Badass Women of Hearthstone, she soon started topping their leagues. Of course, Blizzard noticed, and now she's a regular feature in the Hearthstone GrandMasters, a weekly tournament run a couple times a year.

Now that Pathra has moved to Atlanta, Georgia, this competition has ramped up on another level. Because she still competes in the Asia-Pacific tournament, Pathra is waking up and competing sometimes at 4 in the morning - crazy or what!! Imagine that pressure, especially when you're not firing on all cylinders!

In this episode, we're talking about Pathra's experience at the GrandMasters. It's not easy sailing being the only woman competing at this level. She breaks down what it's like reading the comments and Twitch chat that isn't always (or even usually) very complimentary of her.

There's no doubt about it, playing Hearthstone at a professional level is nerve wrecking! It's 50% talent, 50% getting your head in the right space - and when you have harassment and trolls berating you in chat, it can definitely be challenge.

Join us as Pathra gets intimate about her experiences, how we think Twitch and the GrandMasters can be improved and moderated better, and what's next for this Hearthstone Pro.

Quotes
Be one tough cookie!

Find Pathra Online

Fine Pathra on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Pathra Cadness.

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geeking Out About Disney+: Star Wars, Marvel, The Simpsons, & 90s Feminist Cartoons

Geek Herring — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Disney+ is coming and we couldn't be more excited! What the heck is better than all that Marvel goodness, every Disney movie ever, The Simpsons, and more!?? Nothing, that's what!

Even though it might feel like Disney is taking over the world, who are we to argue? With so many incredible shows, films, and parks, not to mention the awesome merchandise out there in the world, it would just be fighting a losing battle to fight it. So we're not. Long live Disney!

Here's what you need to know:

It's an online streaming service similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and all those awesome things. Naturally, Disney had to get on board the streaming services!
It'll be released in 5 countries in November, 2019. Sadly, The UK and Europe (minus The Netherlands) are not included in those countries. 😭😭😭 forever.
It's going to cost as little as $6.99 for 4 different people to watch on one account. What a bargain! Netflix, who!?
And it's going to be available on iOS, Android, Apple TV (which Amanda's super excited about!), gaming consoles, and right on your internet browser.

What's on it?

Everything Disney has ever made. That's all the Disney films ever, Disney tv shows, including Disney channel originals, and who the heck knows what else!
Alllll the good Marvel content (except Deadpool 😭). Films like Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame will ONLY be realeased on Disney+!
Star. Wars. Now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, they have exclusive rights to the films and are putting out a new series: The Mandalorian!
And with Disney's recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, who knows what's going to be streaming. But we're here for The Simpsons, that's for sure.

Will YOU be subscribing to Disney+? It's hard to think of a reason not to.

Super affordable
All that awesome content
And that's it... that's what we've got.

Let us know in the comments or on social media what show or movie you're looking forward to streaming the most!

While you're here, don't forget to follow Amanda on Twitch!](https://www.twitch.tv/falamoyacrava)

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

Geeking Out About Marvel’s Phase 4
Geeking Out About Avengers: Endgame: Mental Health, Politics, + Representation
Geeking Out About Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, Feminist

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Interview: Passion, Beauty, and Art with Seage

Geek Herring — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Geek feminism is about issues that affect women across geek culture... and sometimes, those issues also affect the awesome geeky dudes in our community. Today, we're talking with Seage, an artist whose art styles mainly around drawing beautiful women in fantasy settings.

Seage shares what it's like for him to be an artist online. Some of his experiences may surprise you, especially the disappointment some of his followers feel and tell him about when they find out that Seage is actually a dude. He also gives us some insight into what his thought process was when considering drawing erotic art and why, ultimately, he decided not to pursue this.

We also talk about Seage's other passion: Electric Unicycle riding.

Yes, really!

Seage has recently started using one of these crazy awesome contraptions to get around the busy city of Toronto. He's also joined a local EU club so they can go on day trips together. Seage is passionate about getting more representation into this community and is actively encouraging women from Toronto and the surrounding area to join the club and learn more.

What will you get out of this awesome interview with Seage? You might actually get a bit of a reality check. Do you need a boot in the ass to get you working on what you're truly passionate about?

Because like Seage says, you never know what's going to happen tomorrow, so why are you afraid of doing what you love? Spend all of your days creating what you're passionate about.

Happiness over misery. Joy over sadness. And passion over depression.

Quotes

Mortality shouldn't hold you back from doing things that you might be interested in doing.

Seage

Anything can happen so why stop yourself from doing something that you might be passionate about.

Seage

It wasn't the praise that I was interested in, it was the fact that they seemed so happy, so I kept on drawing stuff.

Seage

Seage's Video "Brothers"

Find Seage on Twitch

Fine Seage on Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Seage.

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Girl in the News: Breastfeeding on Twitch, Banned Commercials, and Dr. Scully

Geek Herring — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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 August 2019 covers breastfeeding on Twitch, the newest female Hearthstone pros, banned commercials promoting gender stereotypes, inspirational women in TV STEM careers, teaching girls to code, and some awesome pop culture news!

We get a bit heated over some of these articles today.

Like, why is breastfeeding one of the most natural things in the world, not sexual, legal to do in public in most of the world, and totally okay on social platforms such as Instagram... yet it's sparking debate on Twitch? We mean, if a woman can get bits for eating a burger on stream, why can't another woman feed her hungry child? It doesn't make sense!

And have you seen the recently banned from UK TV adverts? Both Volkswagen and Philadelphia (yes, the creators of the infamous chocolate cream cheese) have had their latest tv ads banned by the Advertising Standards Agency for promoting gender stereotypes. You might think one or both of these ads are funny - and while, yeah, they might be - they're also harmful to progress. And not just for women, these stereotypes are bad for men, too.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity

Geek Herring — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

A recent post by a well known business coach sparked some outrage about what it means to be a woman. According to her, anything less than high heels, sexy lingerie, and cooking naked in the kitchen for your man is not feminine enough. We TOTALLY disagree! Femininity comes in many different shapes and forms, and what's right for one person might not feel right for the next.

As self-identified geek girls, or geeky women, we don't necessarily like to dress up and wear heels. But does that make us any less feminine? NO!

Being a womxn means whatever you want it to mean. You don't need to be all pink, frills, and lingerie if you don't want to. You can be sneakers, t-shirts, and jeans if that's what you want. The most important thing is that you are COMFORTABLE and HAPPY with what you do! Don't try to fit into a box just because some coach says you should.

It's like when we had our episode about The Mask You Live In where we talked about toxic masculinity in America. Feminine and masculine qualities fall on a spectrum, and really, most of the qualities that make us up are in the middle. We're more in common than we sometimes think!

But when we get down to it: why do we identify as geek girls?

For us, it has nothing to do with the clothes we wear and everything to do with the feelings we have when we geek out about things. Being a geek girl is about getting excited about the things you love, and yeah, they're usually rooted in some kind of pop culture. Being a geek girl is playing games with your friends or alone. And being a geek girl is about finding something you connect with, really, truly love, and not being afraid to express it.

Geekdom is self-care. Geeking out about what you love, whether you're vocalising it like we do, wearing it with pride, putting it on your wall, sharing it on social media, sitting alone and contemplating, reading, watching, being... geekdom is simply about expressing who you are. And it's pretty damn great.

Quotes

Your Identity is what you're comfortable and confident in!

Amanda

You can have your M&Ms and you can have your Skittles.
They are very similar but they are totally different and there are a lots of different colors.
If you mix them together you can really mix and match. They all look the same but they are all different aspects.

Amanda

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Interviews: Mental Health and Real Life Rep Grinding with Thyst

Geek Herring — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Running two successful Blizzard positive podcasts, building a super supportive community, and working in gaming, all while dealing with anxiety and depression can definitely be hard! But our guest today, the incredible Thyst of Lagging Balls, makes it all look easy and completely natural.

Thyst says that the best thing about everything she's doing is the community her and Laggin Balls co-host, Thorn, have built. They have an extremely active Discord channel where members of their community can share everything from memes and nudes to Blizzard game chatter to asking for help and support. It was really important to Thyst to have the kind of community that builds each other up.

Thyst shares why she started podcasting and how she's built it from the ground up while dealing with some mental health issues and depression. In fact, World of Warcraft and podcasting is what helped bring her out of her depression -- who says gaming is bad for you!

You can say that Thyst has definitely found her spark, which is a GOOD THING because holy crap this woman is BUSY! She recounts a "day in the life" with a typical Tuesday, where she's out of her house for 12 hours a day talking about video games before coming home, shovelling food into her face, and recording Convert to Raid.

Thyst gives some extremely valuable advice to content creators for getting industry jobs. If you've been wanting to take the leap from content creator to professional, you should definitely check this episode out! Super, super useful!

Did you know that Thyst has started working for Blizzard? All her hard work and real life rep grinding has paid off: she was chosen to sideline report at the Mythic Dungeon International in Australia. A literally dream come true!

Thyst talks about her experience as a female Warcraft podcaster, which for the most part has been pretty damn positive! Though she does get the occasional hateful comment or trolling, her community is so full of positive faces, both male and female, that she doesn't let them get her down.

Her final thoughts? Find your passion, make it work, and get paid doing it!

Quotes

"I always wait for life to happen to me, and then in the last couple years, something lit a fire under my ass cuz I've just been grinding and hustling and doing everything I could."

"Women in eSports are coming, just give it 5-10 years. It'll start evening itself out."

Find Thyst Online

Find Thyst on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Discord

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

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

Join us on Discord!

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Thyst.

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Herring & Chill: All The Games We've Played

Geek Herring — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Because hanging out listening to us talk is the best half hour of your week, we've gone free form again! Geek Herring and Chill is just that, time to sit back, relax, and listen to us ramble on. This week, it's all the geeky gaming we've gotten into over the past week... and trust us, it's a lot!

In this episode, we talk about what geeky things we've been up to lately! Amanda gets all excited about her big tech purchase, shares what games she's been obsessed with, and geeks out about Warcraft. Monika was finally able to join in on a Dragon Powered Studio games night! You can join our Discord and come to the next one! They're every 2 weeks on a Saturday right now 🎮

Join our regular Geek Herring Go! MarioKart 8 tournament with this code: 1175-9520-5163
Tournament is open Friday evening - Sunday evening weekly!

Check out and pick up the free-to-play game Under What? on Steam!

Check out and buy A Short Hike on Steam!

Get more games on Humble Bundle

You can also game with Amanda on Steam - add her as a friend!
And if you're on Battle.net, you guessed it, she's there, too! Add her as Cefpabda#2201

You can game with Monika on Steam - add her as a friend!

We're so excited to play some more games with our Geek Herring crew!

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geeking Out About Stranger Things 3: Friendships, Permission to Nerd, & Heartbreak

Geek Herring — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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!

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

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 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!

Monika is joined by special guest host Thom from Three Extra Lives who's filling in for our poor sicky-poo host, Amanda. Thanks Thom for stepping up to the game last minute for us! You rock our socks!

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

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

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

Special Guest: Thom Knight.

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geeking Out About Marvel's Phase 4

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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:

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Herring Reviews Period. End of Sentence.

Geek Herring — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 11:15:00 +0000

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 ProjectOnline / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Interviews: Gender Identity and Modern Medieval Life with Jamie

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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 assisgned 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 chivilrous, 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 they used to believe that women were the more priviledged 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!

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

Special Guest: Jamie Unrau.

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Geek Girl in the News: Gender discrimination in game development, FFVII, & female representation in video games

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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 June 2019 covers gender discrimination in game development, FFVII Tifa's chest restriction, E3's sad state of female representation, girls wanting to avoid the "geek" label, and the Amazon/Netflix OTP.

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Herring Reviews You're Never Weird on the Internet... Almost by Felicia Day

Geek Herring — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Love her or hate her, Felicia Day is, without question, Queen of the Geeks! This week on Geek Herring, we're talking about her hilarious and insightful, yet neurotic, autobiography, You're Never Weird on the Internet... Almost. Listen in to find out whether or not hosts Monika and Amanda enjoyed it!

Felicia Day was homeschooled by her mom and was encouraged to study the subjects that interested her. Raised with no real social interactions save her brother, Felicia forged her own way. She discovered the online RPG, Ultima, which began her lifelong obsession with games.

First known for her recurring appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicia has made a name for herself in the geek world. She's also known for appearing in Supernatural as Charlie.

Felicia is taking geek culture by storm. She is the creator and writer of the first YouTube series, The Guild, and is currently creating beautiful geeky things with production company, Geek and Sundry. But life wasn't without hardship for Felicia. Battling social anxiety, video game addiction, asshole Hollywood execs, and getting doxxed speaking out about Gamergate.

She writes about it ALL in her honest autobiography, which you can pick up:
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon DE
and at your local book shop =)

Find Felicia Day Online / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geeking Out About Anime and Manga with Jannie & Nat

Geek Herring — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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

Jannie is a writer and virtual assistant who works with romance authors. She was instrumental in bringing the very first anime convention to the Phillipines where she was a volunteer, attendee, and cosplayer - WOW!

Nat is a professional student, currently studying to open a metaphysical shop with her husband. She's been in love with anime and manga since she was a child and spends much of her time reading and writing in the genre.

In this episode, we're talking about the series' that captured our guest's interest and why they love anime and manga so much. They share their insight into how manga and anime differs from western comics and cartoons. And Nat and Jannie geek out over their current favourites.

Then Nat and Jannie share some positive and negative experiences they've had through their anime and manga love. Plus, you'll find out who they've met at conventions around the world!

What's your favourite anime or manga? Do you know what a reverse harem is? What series would you recommend for a totally newbie to the genre?

We also ask them questions from our Geek Herring listeners:

What sets anime/manga apart from comic books?
Why do so many anime girls get so much hate from viewer girls in certain series?
What's the best anime/manga to start out with as a total n00b?
Specifically, what manga is good? This particular listener basically found manga porn when she was younger :-O

We talk about these series!

Sailor Moon & Sailor Moon Crystal
Fairy Tail
Dragon Ball Z
Yona of the Dawn
Attack on Titan
Sword Art Online
Fruits Basket
Beast Go King Lion (Voltron, Daimos and Galaxy Express 999)
My Hero Academia
Little Witch Academia
Uta no Prince-sama (The Princess of Song)
Cardcaptor Sakura
InuYasha
One Piece
Full Metal Alchemist
Slam Dunk
Yowamushi no Pedal
Diamond no Ace
One Punch Man
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
Ebichu
Records of Lodoss War
Escaflowne (and why you shouldn't start out with this one!)

You can find our guests:

Jannie: Online / Facebook / Instagram / Tumblr

Natalie: FanFiction / wattpad / Tumblr / Instagram / Twitter
Game with Nat on PS4: Elysia_1987 / Steam: lyssa17 / Xbox: Alasara / Arc: elysia1987

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

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

Special Guests: Jannie Mitzeiko Harvey and Natalie Elizabeth Bartley.

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games

Geek Herring — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: Gillette's transgender ad, an end to child marriage, and Georgia's abortion bill

Geek Herring — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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 May 2019 covers Gillette's newest ad featuring a father and his transgender son, Nigerian geek girls fighting for an end to child marriage, Netflix taking a stand against Georgia's new abortion bill, R Patz officially becoming Batman, football, Hearthstone Grandmasters, and more!

What’s your take on these news articles?

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

Pick up Orson by David J. Pearson for yourself on Amazon UK

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

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

This page contains some affiliate links. If you do choose to buy anything through our links, we’ll get a small kickback at no extra cost to you!

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 31 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Sometimes you need to just sit back, relax, and shoot the breeze. So rather than stick to one episode topic, we decided to go free and talk about anything and everything that comes to mind in the geeky world. From the upcoming pop culture we're looking forward to, to what we've been up to, to mental health and gaming - time to grab a cuppa and join this friendly conversation.

In this episode, we reminisce about all the epic geeky things that have set 2019 alight (looking at you, Endgame and Game of Thrones!) while we mourn what the rest of the year will bring (...not that much).

Our casual chat meanders to what we're up to, with Amanda revealing her latest writing pursuits, and Monika sharing how much more she's embracing her geeky identity these days.

We also start talking about mental health and gaming, sharing some of our own personal experiences about both. Stay tuned for the standalone episode!

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geeking Out About Game of Thrones

Geek Herring — Fri, 24 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Have you been glued to your TV everytime 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!

Want to know what we thought about:

Danaerys and Jon Snow's relationship
The Battle of Wintefell
Who killed The Night King
Sansa and Tyrion's touching crypt moment
Tyrion's myriad of emotional scenes
Arya's sex scene
Ser Brienne of Tarth
Brienne and Jamie
Jamie and Cersei
The razing of King's Landing
Danaerys' last moments
Drogon, the smartest dragon in the world... or the stupidest
The fate of the Starks
Bran the Broken
And sooooo much more

Then tune in to this episode of Geek Herring! Fair f-bomb warning in advance.

What did YOU think of season 8?

One thing we want to be very, very clear about: We adore Game of Thrones. And whether we were disappointed with story pacing or not, the actors have been absolutely incredible with totally faultless performances and deserve every bit of credit in the world. Same goes for most of the crew, especially the cinematography and costuming departments.

THANK YOU for 10 amazing years.

Have you been living under a rock?
If you haven't been obsessing over Game of Thrones, either in book or TV format, it's time to CHANGE THAT.

Pick up your copies of the books and DVD boxsets here:

Buy the Game of Thrones book boxset on Amazon UK / Amazon US
Buy Seasons 1-7 Game of Thrones on Blu-Ray on Amazon UK / Amazon US

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

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

This page contains some affiliate links. If you do choose to buy anything through our links, we’ll get a small kickback at no extra cost to you!

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: Women in Game Development with Three Extra Lives

Geek Herring — Fri, 17 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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!

In this episode, we talked about:

What's your favourite women led video game? We'd love if you shared it with us!

You can find Three Extra Lives

Online / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Twitch
And on your favourite podcatcher!

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

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

This page contains some affiliate links. If you do choose to buy anything through our links, we’ll get a small kickback at no extra cost to you!

Special Guest: Thom Knight.

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: Space Trolls, Skyrim Granny, + Blizzard Employee Tracking

Geek Herring — Fri, 10 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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:

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 03 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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:

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 11:00:00 +0000

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.

Find Sol's work on her website or on YouTube.
Listen to Haring and the Trouts on Soundcloud.

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

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

Image Credits: Zackary Drucker | The Gender Spectrum Collection

Special Guest: Dr. Sol Haring.

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Geeking Out About Unicorn Store: Embrace Your Weird

Geek Herring — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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!

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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?

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

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

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Milestone: Celebrating 25 Episodes of Geek Feminism

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Our critical geek culture podcast is officially 6 months old! Thank you so much for joining us for the last 25 episodes. We're celebrating what it means to be a geek feminist and what avenues hosting Geek Herring has opened up for us.

We've also invited our listeners to tell us how Geek Herring has helped them become better geek feminists and other ways it's impacted their lives!

This episode is a relaxed celebration where we take some time to chill out together, sharing our excitement about what we've achieved since starting out 6 months ago, and definitely geeking out over our beloved podcast!

In this episode, you'll find out:

What Amanda and Monika's favourite episodes so far are
Whether there are any shows we didn't like
How hosting Geek Herring has changed our lives
What we're most looking forward to in the next 24 episodes

PLUS Special Guest Appearances From:

Thom Knight of Three Extra Lives | Twitter
Frazley the Gnome of FrazlCast | Twitter

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

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

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Girl in the News: Women's History Month, All Female Space Walk, NBA 2k!

Geek Herring — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 10:45:00 +0000

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 March 2019 covers the Women’s History Month, NBA 2k draft picks, history’s first all female spacewalk (however since recording, has been cancelled due to incorrect space suit size!), Brie Larson’s directorial debut, and Final Fantasy XIV race confirmations!

What’s your take on these news articles? What are your favourite books by women you think we should read?

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

Buy the books we talked about on this episode

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
Hunger by Roxanne Gay. Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

This page contains some affiliate links. If you do choose to buy anything through our links, we’ll get a small kickback at no extra cost to you!

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

You already know that Captain Marvel is the first female Marvel superhero to have a movie made about her, but do you know just how incredible the film has been for women in the industry? Geek Herring breaks it down for you, celebrating an almost exclusively female crew, exploring the strong friendships the franchise is built on, and even giving you a bit of a Captain Marvel history lesson.

What started out as full intentions to talk about every nuance and scene we loved about the film turned into so much more - in fact, we barely mentioned the actual film once!

But our love for Captain Marvel, Brie Larson, her creators, directors, and writing team are clear. The existence of this movie is more than just a female superhero in a leading role. We’re seeing a shift and new era of female dominance in action movies.

You get the added bonus in this episode of hearing Amanda give a bit of a background history about the Captain Marvel comics through the years, some pretty big mistakes the writers made in the early 80s, and the creation of a feminist icon.

Do you love Captain Marvel as much as we do? Share this episode with your friends <3

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

Geek Girl in the News: February 2019
Geek Interviews: Video Game Music Composer Karina Pardus
Geek Girl Community: Support, Sisterhood, and Friendship

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: Rape, Steam, & Responsibility

Geek Herring — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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 <3

Rape 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.

What do you think about Rape Day or other games with a morally questionable premise? Do you think it’s Steam or other platform’s responsibility to make sure abusive games stay off their systems? How do you think Steam should improve their vetting process?

In this episode:

What’s the problem with Rape Day?!
Why games about rape are bad
How a game about rape is different from a game like GTA or Call of Duty
Check out Steam’s policy on what games they accept
Steam’s response and reasoning for removing Rape Day from their platform
What we think Steam can do to be a more responsible indie gaming platform

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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 the plot. Hear Amanda get all super choked up, Monika get riled up over paternal duties, and both geek out over how much they love this story.

Have you read The Realm of the Elderlings books? If not - after listening to this show, are you definitely going to!? What do you think about the relationship between Fitz and the Fool?

Rep The Liveship Traders with pride with this awesome Geek Herring t-shirt!

Read all of Robin Hobb’s books for yourself on Amazon!

The Farseer Triology

Assassin’s Apprentice Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
Royal Assassin Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
Assassin’s Quest Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE

The Liveship Traders Trilogy

Ship of Magic Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE Part 1 | Amazon DE Part 2
The Mad Ship Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE Part 1 | Amazon DE Part 2
Ship of Destiny Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE Part 1 | Amazon DE Part 2

The Tawny Man Trilogy

Fool’s Errand Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
Th...

Geek Girl in the News: Captain Marvel, The Oscars, Cure for HPV!

Geek Herring — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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:

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: All Those Video Game Boobs

Geek Herring — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 09:00:00 +0000

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 Monika did with their week off from podcasting
Hearthstone covered up Jaina’s cleavage in her character portrait
Why video games have so many scantily clad women with big boobs
What breast physics is and why it’s present in so many video games
Fortnite apologises for having character animation with boob jiggle
Why boob representation in video games matters

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Characters: Final Fantasy Reveals Playable Viera Race

Geek Herring — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

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 through Final Fantasy’s history. We look at some of the reasons why the Viera weren’t an original playable race in the game. We also get into the gender roles associated with the Viera, the Au Ra, and the Roegadyn races and ask that important question: WHY?!

Then we get critical about their appearance, the sexualisation and fetishism over anthropomorphic races within fantasy games… plus, you’ll hear Amanda say one of the filthiest things that has ever crossed her lips.

What do you think about the Viera? Will you play this super sexy bunny race? Do you think fetishism in video games exists?

In this episode:

What the Viera are and where they come from
Why there are no male Viera
What is actually up with the Au Ra
How we feel about gender roles and playable races in Final Fantasy XIV
What we really think about so-called slutmogs
Why we think anthropomorphic races are fetishsised, especially in Final Fantasy XIV
How we can combat these stereotypes and stigmas

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

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

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Girl in the News: January 2019

Geek Herring — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:00:00 +0000

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:

If you have any geek girl news articles, please send them to us and we’ll feature them on our next show!

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

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

Geek Herring — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 14:30:00 +0000

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 to everyone who isn't that knee deep into nerdism, or everyone who wants to find out more about the female identifying geeks in the world (AND WE ARE MANYYYY).

You can get the book on:
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon DE
and at your local book shop =)

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl Rant: Gendered Clothes & Geeky Merch

Geek Herring — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 10:15:00 +0000

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

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geeking Out: Looking Forward Into 2019

Geek Herring — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 15:00:00 +0000

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.

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: December 2018

Geek Herring — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 08:00:00 +0000

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:

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Interviews: Cosplay, Conventions, Community, and Gender with Anna

Geek Herring — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 13:30:00 +0000

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 cosplay has no problems and all the problems at the same time
Why cosplay celebrates body positivity
How gender is approached and celebrated through cosplay

Find Anna on her website | Twitter | Instagram

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

Special Guest: Anna.

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Christmas: Controversy, Hallmark, and the Perfect Geeky Girl Gifts

Geek Herring — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000

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 need

Girls Resist! A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Geekily Yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Influences: 90s TV Shows

Geek Herring — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0000

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.

Geekily Yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: November 2018 Edition

Geek Herring — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 09:00:00 +0000

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:

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Interviews: Video Game Music Composer Karina Pardus

Geek Herring — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 09:00:00 +0000

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 | Patreon

Mentioned resources:

Soundgirls.org
Women in Game Jobs
Women in Games International
Women’s Audio Mission
International Game Developers Association
GANG - Game Audio Network Guild
Utah Digital Entertainment Network

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

Special Guest: Karina Pardus.

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Discussion: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Cast Them

Geek Herring — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 10:15:00 +0000

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.

Geekily Yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl Community: Support, Sisterhood, and Friendship

Geek Herring — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0000

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 <3

In 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.

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl in the News: October 2018 Edition

Geek Herring — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 14:00:00 +0000

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:

Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Characters: Glorious Ladies of Warcraft

Geek Herring — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 09:00:00 +0000

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!

You can find Sil:

Whispers of War Twitter
Whispers of War on Podbean and iTunes or wherever you normally get your podcasts!

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

Special Guest: Sil.

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Girl Stereotypes: How the World Sees Us

Geek Herring — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 13:00:00 +0000

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.org

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Geek Characters: Badass Witches of Harry Potter

Geek Herring — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Do you love Harry Potter? Geek out over Quidditch? Know everything there is to know about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?

This episode of Geek Herring is for YOU! We talk all about the witches of Harry Potter. Why Hermione is the perfect role model for young girls, what role Luna plays in Harry's life, and fangirl about the queen herself, Professor McGonagall.

Amanda and Monika talk about the badass and totally rad female witches of Harry Potter. We all know that J.K. Rowling has created an incredible franchise with her Harry Potter series, but have you ever wondered WHY it’s so good?

In this episode of Geek Herring, you’ll find out:

Why Hermione is the perfect role model for young girls
What role Luna plays in Harry’s life
How Professor McGonagall is the most incredible and strongest witch in the series
Why female representation across geekdom is important for our children
How the Harry Potter witches represent diversity, strength, and loyalty
What makes these witches good role models

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

Support Geek Herring

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Geek Representation: NYCC and Beyond

Geek Herring — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0000

Monika and Amanda discuss their experience (or lack of) going to comic cons over the years before deep diving into New York Comic Con 2018. Geek Herring talks about 2018’s comic con panels, Intersectional Feminism, and marginalised groups across geek genres.

In this episode of Geek Herring, you’ll find out:

What types of panels at NYCC18 focused on diversity
Why intersectional feminism is so important, especially across geek culture
How to address diversity when creating

From @SamMaggs: “We just need MORE women in things because right now when you have always the one female character, it means that we are presented with all these different ways to be a man, and then the one woman has to represent all women of all types in all ways.” #NYCC2018”

Geekily Yours,
Monika & Amanda

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Meet the Geeks

Geek Herring — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 18:00:00 +0000

Hosts Monika and Amanda talk all about themselves, what they geek out over, and what they love about being geek chicks!

You’ll also discover what Geek Herring means and what this show is all about!

In this “get to know you” episode of Geek Herring, you’ll find out:

Who Monika and Amanda are and where they’re from
How long they’ve been geeks for
What their first geeky memory is
What their biggest geeky influences were
How they incorporate geekdom into their daily lives
Where they met
What Geek Herring means and what it stands for
Why they started this podcast and
What they hope to achieve from this podcast!

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,
Monika & Amanda

Support Geek Herring

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★