Geek Herring

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:

• Jameela Jamil
• Kristen Bell
• I Weigh
• Bleed Geeks
• Bellesa

*Find Plus Size Nerd Online! *

Find Plus Size Nerd on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube

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

• Geek Interview: Life as a Professional Feminist with Virginia Mendez from The Feminist Shop
• Geek Interview: Diverse Art & Illustration with Siti
• Geek Discussion: The Hogwarts Problem with Lark & Jessie from The Gayly Prophet

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

Special Guest: Nancy Basile.

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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.

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring
• Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity
• Geek Herring Reviews Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

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

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 ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geeking Out About Animal Crossing: The CUTEST game you’ve played in years
• Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games
• Geek Discussion: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Cast Them

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

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

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geek Girl Reviews Hannah Gadsby's Nanette - Stand-Up Comedy that hits DEEP
• Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring
• Geek Herring Reviews Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

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

Special Guest: Virginia Mendez.

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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!

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring
• Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity
• Geek Herring Reviews Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

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

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!

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geeking Out About Animal Crossing: The CUTEST game you’ve played in years
• Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games
• Geek Discussion: The Hogwarts Problem with Lark & Jessie from The Gayly Prophet

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

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

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

• Geeking Out About Sex Education: It’s a Gen Z Miasma of Amazingness! And SEX.
• Geeking Out About Diversity & Representation in Pop Culture: Aladdin, MIB, Shazam!, & More!
• Geek Interview: Passion, Beauty, and Art with Seage

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

Join us on Discord and Twitch!

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

Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Siti.

Support Geek Herring

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

The latest and greatest 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? 

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:

• Things We Saw Today: Sony Delays Future Spider-Man Films Due to Pandemic
• Twitter Thread: ezra miller fully choked a fan after being jokingly asked to fight 
• Olivia Munn apparently loves playing hearthstone
• Conservatives Lose Their Minds After Land O’ Lakes Retires Problematic Native American Logo
• Jacqueline Wilson reveals publicly that she is gay
• Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter Account Begins Detailing the Game's Gangs and Corps
• Elijah Wood visited an Animal Crossing player's island to sell turnips

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!!

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!

• Geeking Out About Animal Crossing: The CUTEST game you’ve played in years
• Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games
• Geek Discussion: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Cast Them

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

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!

• Geek Girl in the News: Animal Crossing, Brie Larson is too pure for this world, and Celebs being Awesome!
• Geek Herring & Chill: All The Games We’ve Played
• Geek Discussion: Rising Representation and Diversity in Video Games

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: Birte Kahrs.

Support Geek Herring

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!

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

• Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity
• Geek Interview: Feminism and Gender with Dr. Sol Haring
• Geek Girl Reviews: The Mask You Live In Exploring Toxic Masculinity

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