Now, more than ever, a Geek Girl movement is thoroughly under way. Books like Chicks Dig Time Lords, panels like “Geek Girls Exist” at San Diego Comic Con, and upcoming events like Geek Girl Con in Seattle all spotlight the fact that not only do women and girls genuinely enjoy things like sci-fi and fantasy independent of the men in their lives, but that they have valuable contributions to make to the creation of sci-fi/fantasy stories, as well as to their respective fandoms.

It’s easy to dismiss such efforts as unnecessary in 2010. After all, do we really need another “Women in Sci-Fi” panel? Aren’t we past all that? Couldn’t women just be included in things where gender isn’t the primary focus? Well, no. Not yet. If you ever wonder why the current rise of the “Geek Girl” movement is so important, one only need look at stories like that of Katie, a 7 year old Star Wars fan in Illinois who was teased in school for carrying a Star Wars water bottle.

Because Star Wars is “for boys.” Apparently.

Katie’s mother, Carrie Goldman, wrote a blog for ChicagoNow about the general topic of bullying and related it specifically to the teasing Katie was getting as early as first grade. When the news of Katie being teased for her Star Wars paraphenalia hit the internet, the geeky troops were rallied and the story was spread everywhere. Soon, Katie and her mother were being interviewed on national news programs and online for outlets like The Huffington Post. #MayTheForceBeWithKatie became a popular hashtag on Twitter, and a Facebook group was started for what has become Wear Star Wars/Share Star Wars Day, which is tomorrow, December 10th!

I had the chance to speak with Ms. Goldman about being a parent to the most well-known Star Wars fan under 10, how Katie’s been doing now that she’s been adopted by the geek community, and how she hopes Katie’s story will help others.

How did Katie get to be a Star Wars fan in the first place? What sparked her interest in it?

CARRIE GOLDMAN: Katie idolizes her daddy, and she noticed at [about 2 or 3] that he is a Star Wars fan. She becomes very “fanatic” about his same interests, and so in addition to Star Wars, she is a big Chicago White Sox fan, a Harry Potter fan, a Narnia fan. She loves science fiction and fantasy stories.

What’s the reaction been like from other parents with whom you associate, or from kids that go to Katie’s school after her story exploded the way it did? Do you find that parents see this as a way to teach their children about teasing and bullying?

CG: There has been some amazed disbelief by the other parents at school, but in a positive way.  I was worried about a backlash from the parents of the first grade boys, but fortunately, they have all been supportive. To protect Katie from that situation, I have told her that she is NOT to reveal the names of the boys involved, because I want to protect their privacy. After all, they are just little boys. Katie has been excellent about not naming them publicly. We also have protected the name of her school so that Jedis won’t show up there! The other parents have read my article and many of them have passed it around on their own Facebook pages, so I think they are proud of the way that the school and the community have responded. And, yes, people are definitely talking about teasing and bullying.

I know that you’ve been trying to keep it from getting too overwhelming for her, but how does Katie feel about all the attention she’s gotten?

CG: Katie does not want too much of a spotlight on her. Although she is very outgoing and talkative when she is comfortable, she gets shy around people she does not know.  But she warms up quickly!  Still, a few days into the whole Star Wars explosion, she had trouble falling asleep, and when I sat on the bed to talk to her about it, she admitted that she felt “cuckoo.” That was the night after she spoke to the Tribune and also gave an interview to WGN, and I decided that she was done giving interviews. From now on, I will do interviews without her. She is just a little girl, and it is my job to give her a normal life. Her life is not going to be lived on TV.  It is fine for me to speak publicly, because I am an adult, and I can handle the pressure. But I don’t want to subject her to the pressure. So, no more interviews for Katie. And once I made that decision, I was glad, because the next day CNN and MSNBC asked us to do live national interviews, and I said I would do them without Katie, and it was great. Katie is back to acting like herself, and she is really enjoying the Star Wars explosion as long as she doesn’t have to talk publicly. She REALLY loves reading the comments and emails and messages. She gets a wonderful smile, and she is awed by the support.

I think that using the support Katie’s received to spread the Star Wars love to needy children was a great idea. How would you recommend people take part in that? Are there any specific organizations you’d like this effort to support?

CG: A Facebook event has been created on December 10th called “Support Star Wars and Geek Pride for Katie.” So far 12,700 people are participating. Basically, people are going to wear Star Wars clothing that day in support of Katie. My husband and I have asked to remarket the event as “Wear Star Wars/ Share Star Wars“ and we would like every person who participates to donate a Star Wars or science fiction toy to a hospital or shelter or low income child that day.  And we hope that the donors will include a Post-It note that specifies that the toy can go to a boy or a girl, not just a boy.  Katie has received such an outpouring of love and support; we want to spread that goodwill around to other kids. Every kid deserves to feel supported. As far as specific organizations, I think that people should donate to whatever feels special to them.  Katie was in foster care when we adopted her, so of course we like to donate to children in foster care or group homes.

I think it’s great that, when buying toys for Katie, you didn’t really adhere to “boy toys” vs. “girl toys.” Other than her being a Star Wars fan, how have you noticed that not adhering to those distinctions has affected Katie as far as her personality, her schoolwork, or in her relationships with other kids? Or do you think those things are entirely dependent on the individual child?

CG: Katie likes all kinds of toys, both “boy toys” and “girl toys,” and she has always enjoyed playing with boys.  I do think the early exposure to trains and trucks has paved the way for her interest in “boy toys,” but nurture alone is not responsible.  I believe that every child is the product of both nature and nurture combined. As far as Katie’s social activities, in the summer, she is always one of a very few number of girls who attends the local Sports Camp, and she makes friends with the boys instantly. In Kindergarten, she was readily included by the boys when they played Star Wars on the playground, and I think that was part of why she felt so shocked and dismayed when she reached first grade and suddenly the boys told her that Star Wars was not for girls.  She had a crisis of confidence about her identity, because she has always played Star Wars. Katie has always had plenty of friends, both male and female, but she is like any child in that she wants to be liked and included, and she has cried to us more than once about being teased.  But every kids gets teased at some point, and we are teaching her to be herself no matter what.

It’s telling that what boys will readily accept in kindergarten they are taught not to accept by first grade. This is why things like the Geek Girl movement remain important. Because apparently, we still need the reminders: that women and girls do enjoy geeky pursuits and plenty of other things that are arbitrarily deemed “male”; that the little girls that grow up enjoying that stuff today may well become the sci-fi writers, scientists, or engineers of tomorrow; and that no one should be forced to hide who they are or what they like for fear that someone will give them grief for it.

So tomorrow, wear your Star Wars shirt (or any other sci-fi related clothing) with pride, and donate a Star Wars toy to your favorite children’s charity in honor of Katie and all the other little geek girls out there. I will be rocking a Star Trek shirt and donating a Star Wars toy to the Children’s Aid Society. And I’ll be labelling it “FOR A GIRL.”

If you’d like to continue to keep up with Katie, “Like” Portrait of an Adoption on Facebook.

Words by Teresa Jusino. Pictures courtesty of Carrie Goldman.