1. To Qualify, You Must Be A Geek
Geek. Nerd. Same thing. The terms conjure up images of socially inept geniuses, usually with little to no fashion sense and thick glasses. They don’t take showers and they really love Doritos and Mountain Dew.
At some point in time, someone tried to make being a geek/nerd cool. The characters on the Big Bang Theory epitomized “geek chic”. Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard were to be revered as successful intellectuals “with quirks”.
Their female counterparts have highs and lows. Bernadette is a microbiologist, who makes more money than Howard. Even if she does make more money, her accomplishments are nothing compared to Howard’s. After all, HE went into SPACE! Bernadette is awkward with her little squeaky voice…and she marries Howard of all people! Amy is a neurobiologist and she’s involved in quirky projects, like the effects of nicotine on monkeys (why?). She’s downright unlikable, obsessed with her reproductive system’s failings…and she’s dating Sheldon of all people! The only successful female scientist on the show is Leonard’s mother, a psychologist (you know, the soft sciences) and she’s portrayed as a heartless, cold bitch.
Who isn’t a geek? Penny. Penny is good-looking. She has social graces. But she’s stupid. She’s incapable of learning Physics or passing a history class on her own merit. The Big Bang Theory practically oozes the message that pretty girls don’t belong in the sphere of science. They can appreciate their boyfriend’s accomplishments in STEM, but STEM is not for them. No, Penny can be an actress (although unsuccessful) and even an entrepreneur (although she needs a man’s help to do that), but she’ll never be a scientist.
That’s the message being sent to girls by the media. It’s not just the Big Bang Theory. It’s every science-y show, from Dr. Who (The Doctor understands what’s happening, but his female companion will inevitably be the victim) to Bones (sure, Bones is good at forensics, but again, totally socially inept).
The notion that you must be a geek/nerd to enter STEM needs to be crushed. It makes for good television, but it’s terrible for recruiting strong, smart, normal women into these fields.
2. Pink is a Girl’s Favorite Color
If it’s pink, girls will like it, some say. A few months ago, Goldie Blox burst on the scene to encourage girls that they could do anything! But they’re mostly pink. The rest are “pastels.” What’s wrong with regular building blocks colors–red, blue, yellow, white, and black? Do they discourage girls?
Yes, there are some women who really like the color pink. They embrace feminine things, including feminine colors. But the reality is that using pink actually singles women out, seperates them from the main stream, and gives the feeling that those products are inferior (dare I say “dumbed down”?). I think it’s totally ridiculous that manufacturers think pink is more approachable for girls. A silver computer or a black computer case isn’t masculine. Its color does not deter women from using it.
Pinkifying technology to attract girls to STEM is actually a huge turn-off. Let’s stop doing it.
3. Girls Like Doing Girly Things
I volunteered at The University of Pennsylvania as a helper for an event to encourage middle and high school girls to pursue careers in STEM. It was sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers. As I helped the girls make a windmill to be placed into a wind tunnel (the windmill with the most balance and that withstood the most airflow won), I asked the girls what other things they’d done at the event.
“We made lip gloss.” That’s what the girls told me. “Was it fun?” I asked. “It’s okay,” they replied. Making lip gloss was the activity to interest girls in chemistry. I was pretty certain boys didn’t pursue chemistry because they once had a teacher who taught them to make homemade lip gloss.
In fact, this is a standard lab to inspire girls into the field of chemistry. And that’s the problem. The whole mindset that in order to get women into STEM, we need to make STEM “girly” is just plain wrong. Once again, those that are trying to get women into the sciences are isolating women from the real thing. Instead of getting men and women to work on the same challenging work, women are separated and patronized, even from those of the same gender! Girls don’t need pink things and they don’t need girly experiments. Girls need to be treated as equals, side by side with men, in the classroom and out in the field.
In Conclusion
Yes, young women need more positive experiences in STEM. But the images of women in the field are deterrents. Embracing geekiness is great, but it undermines those who are mainstream - male or female. And catering directly to women by embracing the feminine is actually rather patronizing at best. If we are serious about recruiting women into STEM, we need to show them all that STEM has to offer, all that is exciting and intriguing. A few pink gizmos and lip gloss labs isn’t going to cut it.