Gifts for the Fandom-Oriented, Gender-Fluid WGA Supporter
By Teresa Jusino
There are plenty of geeky fans out there supporting the Writer’s Guild of America strike, and this holiday season they will be boycotting just about everything! So, what do you get these activist geeks this year? I have a couple of ideas that will allow you to be generous while not offending their union sensibilities! In the spirit of the TV genre writers we love, who often embrace alternative lifestyles in their work, rather than compile separate, gender-specific lists, I’ve chosen gifts that would be appropriate for guys, girls, or anyone who considers themselves either or both!
1) GEEKY T-SHIRTS
There’s nothing corporate about T-shirts! To be safe, though, you should stay away from any fandom-related merchandise sold on network TV websites or the like. Instead, try an independent t-shirt retailer like TresGeek Online! They have a great selection of off-the-beaten-path geek merchandise, much of it fandom-related. Whether you want your purchase to express Buffy love with a simple “Bored now”, Battlestar tendencies by proclaiming “I heart Apollo/Starbuck”, or general geekery like “Talk binary to me”, there’s a t-shirt here for your favorite geek. Note: this website also specializes in geektastic shirts with a gay/lesbian twist!
Price range: $15-$30
Best for: Casual and geeky guys and girls of all persuasions
2) INDEPENDENT MUSIC
In the spirit of sticking it to The Man, stay away from big music labels and give something more indie a try. I would highly recommend the “delicious acoustic harmony-driven gender pop” of the band Girlyman, a pop/folk/bluegrass trio with amazing vocal prowess and stunning musicianship. Their first album, Remember Who I Am, is a great intro to their work, though their most recent album, Joyful Sign, has my favorite songs on it. You can’t go wrong with any of them, really. Treat your favorite geek to some great music, and they can rest assured that none of the money you spent went to a corporation that isn’t paying their writers!
Price range: CDs are $15, T-shirts are $20
Best for: people who like to know about bands before they “sell out”; people who like girls who look like boys and boys who look like girls
3) THE WORK OF THEIR FAVORITE WRITERS IN OTHER MEDIUMS!
Your favorite geek’s favorite writers are on strike. But just because their TV shows aren’t airing new episodes and you have to boycott the webisodes online, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy their other work. If your comic geek buddy hasn’t read either of these yet, I would highly recommend Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan (story editor on Lost) or the “Long Way Home” story arc of Buffy: Season Eight by Joss Whedon (writer/creator of the new show Dollhouse, coming soon I hope!), both available in trade paperback. Fans of Jane Espenson (writer on such geeky hits as Angel, Firefly, Star Trek: DS9, and Battlestar Galactica) would be happy to receive her collections of essays on the Firefly universe, Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly, and her newest collection, Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon’s Firefly Universe.
They might not be able to watch it, but at least the geeks in your life can read the work of their favorite TV writers.
Price range: $14-$25
Best for: people who love women in touch with their masculinity, men in touch with their feminine sides, and the writers who create them
4) MEMORABILIA FROM THEIR FAVORITE SHOWS
Believe it or not, there are sources for authentic TV show memorabilia that doesn’t have to come from a big studio’s website! For example, if your WGA supporter is also a Star Trek fan, head over to Roddenberry.com. This is the website for Roddenberry Productions, an independent production company owned and operated by Gene Roddenberry’s son, and they have exclusive licensing rights to a lot of the official merchandise. They have everything from prop kits, to costume pieces, to episode scripts!
Price range: $15-$500
Best for: Star Trek fans, and polyamorous gender-fluid fans of S&M. As Margaret Cho says “There seems to be a weird connection between people who like Star Trek, S&M, and the Rennaisance Faire…”
5) SUBSCRIPTION TO AN INDEPENDENT, GEEKY PUBLICATION
Beware those big studios! Those companies seem to have their hands in everything…but there are some great mags out there that are published independently. Like Geek Monthly. Any special geek in your life, be they male, female, or anything in between, will find something to love in this magazine no matter what they geek out about.
Price range: $20 for a one-year subscription; $35 for two years
Best for: anyone who geeks out about anything
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!
Never miss an update. Subscribe to Pink Raygun by Email or subscribe via RSS
TERESA JUSINO entered the world kicking and screaming in 1979 and hasn’t stopped screaming since. An actress, writer, and producer, Teresa’s work has been seen in several venues and mediums. As an actress, she has appeared at various venues in NYC and regional theater. As a writer, her work has appeared in Elmont Life newspaper, and on the sadly defunct website, CentralBooking.com. She is also Associate Producer for a New York theater company, Stone Soup Theater Arts, and is producing a reading series for them that runs through January. As a geek, Teresa loves Star Trek, Lost, comics, and anything Joss Whedon ever touched. Also, she has a fangirl *squee-ing* crush on Brian K. Vaughan. Yes, she knows he’s married.
|
|
