Do you ever think, “Duh!?” when you read a news story about how fattening movie popcorn or fast food is for us? I get that same feeling when I read that yet another research study has been published proving that girls and boys are equally good at math. How much more proof do we need?
Professor Marcia Linn’s paper focuses in on why there are differences in girls confidence around the world. The answer? Social expectations. [PDF link]
A society’s gendered division of labor fosters the development of gender differences in behavior by affording different restrictions and opportunities to males and females on the basis of their social roles….if the cultural roles that women fulfill do not include math, girls may face both structural obstacles (e.g., formal access to education is limited to boys) and social obstacles (e.g., stereotypes that math is a male domain) that impede their mathematical development.
Many people like to believe that we live in a post-feminist society. The evidence includes Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and women making up half of the workforce. But girls and boys still receive messages on a daily basis that they have roles to play and only those roles. As recently as this past holiday toy buying season, Toys R Us advertised three different magnification power microscopes and telescopes, guess which one had the lowest power? Yup, the pink one.
Some will argue that we need to pinkify science things to attract girls, but do they also need weaker microscopes too?
And that brings us to another Duh moment…Pink often does stink.
Comments
Susan David Bernstein — January 13, 2010
Thank you Science GRRL! Fascinating about those pink microscopes! My daughter, a senior in high school, reports about the demographics there in "advanced" science courses: girls are a decided minority in her advanced physics and advanced chemistry classes. But the advanced biology class is gender-balanced. The only other class where this gender disparity has been obvious is her women and society class--but the other way round, of course (two boys out of 25 students). And while there are many women biology teachers at her school, only men teach these physics and chemistry classes. A very limited sample, I know, but here it is....
renee — January 14, 2010
Weaker microscopes? ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeesh.
Deborah Siegel — January 14, 2010
Oh boy this kills me. Or rather, oh girl...
Veronica Arreola: A Woman Making History – WMC Blog — March 6, 2010
[...] I’ve particular been inspired by Veronica’s voice on issues like science and sports, where women are often disregarded. Veronica the Assistant Director of the Center for Research on Women and Gender and directs the Women in Science and Engineering Program at UIC. Her “Science GRRL” column at Girl W/Pen has highlighted an outreach program for pre-college girls to meet women who work in science and research that shows (again) that girls and boys are equally good at math. [...]
SCIENCE GRRL: When is being girly good? | Girl with Pen — November 10, 2010
[...] that Mindware is selling a “science is fun!” spa kit. Yes, I still get upset when I see microscopes painted pink to attract girls, I don’t think women in science & engineering need to be sexy to attract the next [...]
franczyza — November 15, 2011
Magnificent web site. A lot of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks for your sweat!
SCIENCE GRRL: Study #…Oh, who am I kidding, I lost count, that says girls can do math | Girl with Pen — December 15, 2011
[...] We’ve been here before. I’m not blaming them. This research needed to be done. I wish it didn’t. But it does. This study does not only address if girls can do math or not, but it also addresses the frequent “solution” to helping girls do well in math and science — single-gender education. [...]