Geeks are traditionally stereotyped as pocket-protector wearing, library-loving, graphing calculator enthusiasts. But for Nicole Morgan, a Tufts graduate student in the Department of Music, geekiness is in the eye of the beholder. Morgan has become the first female "geek" on "Beauty and the Geek," a reality show on the CW Television Network.
In past seasons of the show, intellectually challenged but gorgeous women paired off with intelligent yet socially inept men to compete for a $250,000 prize. This season, however, Morgan is paving the way for brainy women as she reverses the show's previous gender roles.
Morgan's unique educational interests are what initially attracted the show's producers, who found her through her MySpace.com profile before asking her to participate in the show. On the page, she emphasized her love of musicology and illustrated her general quirkiness through pictures and quotes.
"It just felt different from all the other [MySpace] sites," casting producer Allison Kaz said. "She lets people know up front who she is academically."
Asked if she considers herself a geek, Morgan said she sometimes has trouble with social interactions.
"I definitely have my moments of awkwardness," Morgan said. "I come across as very stiff when I first meet someone. I almost turn into a robot."
According to Kaz, the point of the show is to transcend these boundaries between "nerdy" behavior and healthy self-confidence.
"If the contestants don't learn, they aren't successful," Kaz said.
For Morgan, though, the word "nerd" is subjective to begin with. Rather than accepting common stereotypes portrayed in popular culture, she provided her own definition.
"[A nerd] is someone who is so focused on something that they are lacking in other aspects of their life," she said. She admitted that she has done this herself by neglecting certain social experiences, such as dating or going out to clubs, to pursue academics.
Participants on the show take part in a variety of tasks to test the beauties' intellect and the geeks' knowledge of pop culture. Morgan competed with the male nerds, while her male counterpart Sam, a party promoter and hair gel guru, joined the team of beautiful women.
Morgan admits that at first, the "beauties" intimidated her. She felt that in many ways, she could better relate to the geeks.
"I think I can understand the guys a lot better because we think more alike," she said. "[But] there are also certain things you get from girls that you don't get from guys, like sensitivity."
At one point on the show, when Morgan's grandmother passed away, she turned to the girls for comfort.
"Girls have more of that nurturing instinct," she said.
Morgan particularly enjoyed the downtime she and the other contestants had during the show, when they could finally bond outside of the high-stress environment of competition.
"There's a challenge later in the season where there's a lot of prep time with all of the geeks together, and that was one of my best times there," Morgan said.
She even developed crushes on some of the show's geeks. She said John, a graduate student at MIT, and Luke, an electrical engineering major at Ohio State University, were both her type.
"I'm attracted to what I call the 'alpha geek,'" she said. "In a group of geeks he'll be the funniest, smartest and most popular, but on the whole he's still a geek."
In general, she has gained confidence in interacting with members of the opposite sex, she said. But she attributed that change to the time she spent with the beauties, who naturally exuded self-assurance in their interactions with men.
Morgan has also noticed other subtle changes in her lifestyle as a result of the experience.
"I reprioritized a little bit," she said. "I try not to stress too much about work, something I picked up from Sam."
Kaz said she witnessed Morgan's gradual transformation as well.
"She was put in situations that were difficult, and she learned to deal with that," Kaz said. "She realized that good-looking guys won't necessarily judge her."
Although Kaz refused to reveal the outcome of this season, she emphasized that the cash prize mattered very little to the contestants by the end of the program.
"Ninety-nine percent [of the contestants] wouldn't change it for anything, not even the money."
