Felicia Day calls herself “situationally famous,” and those situations are absurdly specific. The actor/writer/producer can walk around in most public places with anonymity intact, but the closer she gets to an epicenter of geek culture, like a comic book store or a video game convention, the higher the chance is that she’ll be mobbed by fans. There’s also a “huge barista recognition factor—75 percent,” she notes.
I still feel anxiety and social awkwardness in daily life. If I meet someone who knows video games or comic books or who has a reference in common with me, I feel more comfortable. But if I’m at a random party where I don’t know anyone, my impulse is to run out the door and drive home. It’s a way I’m wired and how I was raised and it’s something, but as I say in the book, your shortcoming can be shortcoming or they could be your superpower—everything has a black and white, a good and evil to it. I was able to create a career path for myself that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have those things.
I never want to be that well known. You know, it’s always been a struggle because as you become more recognizable, you’re treated more as an object rather than a person. What I love about the digital world is that people see my flaws and see me on my good days and bad days. I treat my social media like I’m IMing a friend. I would never trade that for this position where you’re constantly being examined.
Was there something unique about Gamergate in terms of this kind of thing? I feel like I’ve seen toxic dialogues in politics, sports, just about every topic on the Internet.
It’s certainly become a lot more popular and less of a device of shaming. It’s more a badge of pride now. There’s also definitely more of a commercial aspect because the things that geeks tend to love are permeating pop culture. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, it lets people love what they love without being ashamed of it. Geek to me is an outsider who loves something, despite another person’s judgment. And to share that love with other people, it’s almost a counterculture in a sense. I think that bravery to really be yourself is counterculture.
