“Women You Should Know” tells 10 Year Old Star Wars Fan She’s Not Alone
By Ani Bundel
Sometimes it feels like the Nerdverse has taken over pop culture. Those things that many of us were shunned for loving when we were in elementary and middle school–the comic books, the Star Trek episodes, the Star Wars toys, the fantasy novels the size of doorstops–those have all become mainstream culture now. Between Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, Game of Thrones, the insanity of the continuing string of hits from the MCU and DC Comic’s desperate struggle to catch up, it feels like sometimes feels like we really are living through that revenge of the Nerds we were promised would happen. The world is the nerd’s oyster now. More than one nerd parent has wondered what it will be like for their kids, to grow up in a world where their tastes are dominant.
But the truth is, it’s not really like that. For many kids, being a nerd is still a terrible experience, being picked on by their peers, and unable to find many other kids their age who share their tastes. We were reminded of this recently when the site Women You Should Know did a beautiful thing for a ten year old girl. A Star Wars superfan, minecraft player, Jijitsu trainee and clear high class caliber of nerd, Ellie has just turned 10 years old, and she’s in a place many of us will know from deep experience–rejected by her peers, lonely and depressed, her tribe is out there–one she’ll find once she’s old enough to get on the internet and meet them. But it’s not there now, and she needs to know she’s not alone. WYSK did that for her, posting a call to their Facebook page for women of all ages and stripes who love the same things Ellie does to call out on her birthday and remind her that she rocks.
The results were spectacular.
In less than 24 hours, our page was flooded with images and messages from legions of women and girls of all ages from all over the world (the U.S., New Zealand, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, Italy, etc.) moved to rally for Ellie, wanting to be a part of her birthday surprise because they all love the same types of things she does. The swell of support and love just kept growing from there, which filled us with enormous gratitude because we truly have THE BEST community of friends.
We here at Dorkside would like to add our voices too. Happy 10th birthday Ellie. We hope you love The Force Awakens, and know that when you’re ready, we superfans will be honored to have you in our ranks.
Check out WYSK’s post and Facebook page for all the touching, heartwarming messages from the nerd community, and Star Wars fans across the globe.