Isn’t “Neckbeard” Just a Way to Shame Fat Men?

NSID 2010 – Day 9 by Johnathan Nightingale

I’ve always hated the term “Neckbeard,” because it seems like a really quick and cheap way of saying “fat, nerdy guy” in a way that’s acceptable to people who would otherwise be against body or status shaming. It is definitely not something that you use to describe a thin, popular guy with lots of money. It’s definitely a shortcut to mocking a guy for being fat, a little socially inept, and lacking a high-status career, but not saying so

Fortunately, I’m not the only person who’s had that thought. Here’s what Ozy Frantz has to say on their Tumblr:

I was totally talking about like “neckbeards” earlier and how mad I am about attributing misogyny solely to low-status men and, like, usually men coded fat, ugly, and mentally and emotionally disabled but I think my true rejection isn’t the things I’ve stated that are wrong with the idea, although I think those are wrong too it is that, over the course of my life, the men who have harassed me, bullied me, done sexualized things to me without my consent, or directed misogyny at me have usually been Pretty and Popular and Well-Liked sorts who went to parties on weekends

It’s a little stream-of-consciousness, and the editor in me wants to scream “OMIGOD! WHERE ARE THE COMMAS?!?!” But my personal neuroses about grammar and stuff aside, the sentiment is one that I fully embrace.

Let me tell you  sometime how much the term “fedora” as a shortcut for “misogynist douchebag” pisses me off. I like fedoras. (Besides, the ones that get constantly maligned are more properly called Trilbys.)