Geeks Out Event at Rubin Museum Trades Talk of Lady Gaga for Talk of Wonder Woman

(GeeksOut at Rubin Museum of Art)
 
Gay nerds brought a touch of bespectacled fabulousness to the Rubin Museum of Art on Friday for Geeks Out January social event. A social group of at least 60 nerdy queers took over the museum's K2 Lounge, which was bumping with '80s tunes and happy hour drinks. And though several other groups were also meeting that night, including an urban photographers club and a Christian fellowship meeting, but no clashes were reported.
 
The official excuse for the gathering was "Hero, Villain, Yeti" an exhibit of comic book portrayals of Tibet. Mostly it consists of white superheroes like Dr. Strange or the Green Lama, who gain their mystical powers in Tibet, but the show also included Scrooge McDuck's adventures seeking the lost city of "Tra-la-la", and the book "Tintin in Tibet." Several gay nerds delighted in a bit on dialogue on the first page of the Tintin book, which describes the young explorer as "all fagged out." 

 
Josh Siegel, one of the founders of Geeks Out, has an "in" with the Himalayan art museum—his husband works in the Rubin's educational program. A gathering at the museum, Siegel said, seemed like a natural fit for Geeks Out, especially now that they have a comics exhibit.
"I like to have a gay event that's in an academic setting" said Joey, a fan of video games. "Of course, it's hard to balance being drunk and reading about the exhibits." Other guests included party promoter Joey Stern (also the Geeks Out organizer) and Next Magazine illustrator Tim Piotrowski. 

 
One newly-nametagged gay, Henry, had come to the museum for the photography meet-up, but ditched that group when he saw the Geeks Out flyer. "First I saw 'geek' and thought 'I'm going to hang out here instead,'" said Henry. "Then I saw 'gay' and said 'Hurray! I found Mecca!" 

 
Gays with nerdy interests can sometimes feel alienated in both the gay community and in nerd circles, making events like this welcome space. "I met interesting people who share my interests", said Christopher Stansfield. "It's nice to know that there's a heavy geek contingent in the gay community." Another Geeks Out member noted "It's nice to find gay guys who talk about things other than going to the gym and Lady Gaga." Wandering around one could overhear discussions of programming languages, George Takei, Wonder Woman's outfit, and yes, exercise routines. 

 
The evening ended with a screening of the campy 1973 musical Lost Horizon, written by Larry Kramer and starring Peter Finch, Liv Ullman, and out actor John Gielgud as the Tibetan leader "Chang," along with songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. But the film's 149-minute running time proved too much for the geeks, most of whom slipped out during the intermission.