What does a geek look like?

So, hmmmm, when I think of the stereotypical geek, I think of taped glasses, bad plaid shirts, high waters and pocket protectors (Okay, so I watched too much of Eurkel on Family Matters back in the day...). I certainly don't think of this:

Yes, this is a picture of my darling Maria. I do not think of her as a geek. But apparently, there are plenty of others in her class that do. Maria mentioned casually tonight that all the kids at her lunch table were making fun of her lunch today. I sent her with some mashed sweet potatoes (at her request) for her veggie, and all the kids at her table told her that they were disgusting and looked like puke. She said one of the girls cringed away from her and said "Ew, ew, get AWAY from me!!". She then said that one of the other girls said that Maria always had nasty food, and referred back to the other day when Maria brought in cherry tomatoes. Seriously, are sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes that odd?! I mean, do I have to send my daughter with Twinkies and juice boxes in order for her to be accepted?

She then went on to tell me that several of the girls in her class make fun of her because she doesn't have any Bratz dolls (I seriously HATE those things) and because she doesn't know who Justin Bieber is. These same girls made fun of her kitty socks today and said they were "gross" (I'm not sure how socks can be gross, unless they're dirty of course, but ooookay...), and tell her on a regular basis that she can't play with them because they have enough people and don't want anymore. I told her to ignore these girls and that they were just being mean because they thought it made them look cool. I asked her if she had anyone to play with in school, and she said that there were a couple of boys who were nice to her. Great.

I tried to not make a big deal out of this in front of her, because I don't want her to get more of a complex than she possibly already has, but what the HECK?!! Why are little girls so mean?!! I have really kept Maria sheltered from all the tweeny bopper stuff like High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Bratz and now Justin Bieber because I think it's too old for little girls, and kids get rushed into growing up WAY too fast nowadays. I don't want her mimicing a trashy rock star, skanky dolls or pining after some boy heart throb who is a sex symbol before his voice has even changed. She is SEVEN for crying out loud!! Is it wrong for me to steer her away from the latest trends that I find a bit too old her for? Am I setting her up to be an outsider? I just can't imagine encouraging her to just "go with the flow" when I know that most of the "flow" leads to crap nowadays.

Now mind you, I know that Maria can be a bit bossy and a know-it-all, and she's not your average girl in that she'd rather read her "Animals A-Z" Encyclopedia than read Miley Cyrus' fan book. She loves chiles rellenos and asks for seaweed-rice balls on a regular basis. But does that mean she doesn't get to have friends? Does that mean she has to be the "weirdo"? We have taught Maria her whole life to be nice to everyone, to never pick on others for being different. Little did we know that SHE would be the one who is different, that SHE would be the one to be picked on!!

Just look at this face! She is such a sweetie (okay, she has her moments, but in general, she is a dear girl). As her Mom, of course I want to fix it somehow but I know that I can't. I just have to love her and encourage her to ignore the mean comments around her.

Sheesh, already dealing with this in second grade...