Let us talk about patronization and insulting behavior directed towards women. This is regarding how some women complain that men do not take them seriously in the professional fields of math and/or science. Nor when these topics arise in everyday conversation.
The thing is, I have never had this problem. Nobody has ever acted like, “awws how cute, that girl wants to study science.” Nobody has ever patted me on the head and said, “oh how adorable.”
I honestly have never had to deal with that. People look at me and automatically assume I am smart. This has been a recurring, trusty old constant throughout my life. No matter whether we are talking about teachers/profs or work supervisors. Or friends and acquaintances. It is very nice, and very accurate, of them.
All my math, physic, chemistry, and biology teachers in high school expected me to do great things. They were proud of me when I got A’s on tests, but more importantly they expected that from me. As a matter of fact, they were disappointed with me if I did not get excellent grades. This is terrible-- one time in Honors Physics I got a C on a test. Aghhh, not characteristic for me at all. My honors physics teacher in high school, a white man, took me aside and asked me, "What in the world happened? I was just bragging to your Dad about how you are one of my best students." I made sure I got an A in that class.
My chemistry, biology, and advanced math teachers in high school were mostly women. All throughout grade school, most of my math teachers were women, with a few men math teachers. The vast majority of them were excellent teachers. Nobody looked at those female math teachers and doubted their abilities.
In college -- chemistry, calc-based physics, calculus professors have never acted like they expected anything less from me as a woman student than they would from my white male counterparts (other students in those same classes). College-- yes that would include white male professors. You know, the demographic that the media keeps telling us are evil, and are the cause of all the world’s pains and suffering?
Same mutual respect and courtesy between the white male students in my classes, and myself. None of them have questioned my knowledge [[[grasp, comprehension]]] of the subject matter. Heck, during a lot of the lab assignments, they look to me for guidance! They ask me to clarify a step in instruction, or they sometimes ask me to explain a lecture concept.
Perhaps I just give off a demeanor that is incredible nerdy. Shrug. Fine with me.
((Same with my own father, and mother also.))))
Same with the men as well as the women in the Bengali-American community that my family habituate. As a matter of custom and respect, all the kids (my generation) address them as aunties and uncles. All the uncles would ask me what my proposed college major would be, what college I planned on attending, what job I would seek after graduating. The aunties, as well. Not a single one of them was taken aback when I answered that my planned major was microbiology, a hard science subject. Once I told them my major is Microbiology, they nodded knowingly and acceptingly. They well understood that this is a realistic stepping stone on my path to medical school.
Now that I am in college, they hold conversations with me about my progress, what all prerequisite math courses I have completed thus far, all that good stuff. They also are curious as to what entails an undergraduate degree in Micro, presumably because none of them were Micro. Many of them also encouraged their own daughters to purse math and science degrees.
Which all makes me wonder. These girls I read about out in the media, complaining that men in science do not take them seriously -- are they projecting a vibe of being air-headed?
The thing is, I have never had this problem. Nobody has ever acted like, “awws how cute, that girl wants to study science.” Nobody has ever patted me on the head and said, “oh how adorable.”
I honestly have never had to deal with that. People look at me and automatically assume I am smart. This has been a recurring, trusty old constant throughout my life. No matter whether we are talking about teachers/profs or work supervisors. Or friends and acquaintances. It is very nice, and very accurate, of them.
All my math, physic, chemistry, and biology teachers in high school expected me to do great things. They were proud of me when I got A’s on tests, but more importantly they expected that from me. As a matter of fact, they were disappointed with me if I did not get excellent grades. This is terrible-- one time in Honors Physics I got a C on a test. Aghhh, not characteristic for me at all. My honors physics teacher in high school, a white man, took me aside and asked me, "What in the world happened? I was just bragging to your Dad about how you are one of my best students." I made sure I got an A in that class.
My chemistry, biology, and advanced math teachers in high school were mostly women. All throughout grade school, most of my math teachers were women, with a few men math teachers. The vast majority of them were excellent teachers. Nobody looked at those female math teachers and doubted their abilities.
In college -- chemistry, calc-based physics, calculus professors have never acted like they expected anything less from me as a woman student than they would from my white male counterparts (other students in those same classes). College-- yes that would include white male professors. You know, the demographic that the media keeps telling us are evil, and are the cause of all the world’s pains and suffering?
Same mutual respect and courtesy between the white male students in my classes, and myself. None of them have questioned my knowledge [[[grasp, comprehension]]] of the subject matter. Heck, during a lot of the lab assignments, they look to me for guidance! They ask me to clarify a step in instruction, or they sometimes ask me to explain a lecture concept.
Perhaps I just give off a demeanor that is incredible nerdy. Shrug. Fine with me.
((Same with my own father, and mother also.))))
Same with the men as well as the women in the Bengali-American community that my family habituate. As a matter of custom and respect, all the kids (my generation) address them as aunties and uncles. All the uncles would ask me what my proposed college major would be, what college I planned on attending, what job I would seek after graduating. The aunties, as well. Not a single one of them was taken aback when I answered that my planned major was microbiology, a hard science subject. Once I told them my major is Microbiology, they nodded knowingly and acceptingly. They well understood that this is a realistic stepping stone on my path to medical school.
Now that I am in college, they hold conversations with me about my progress, what all prerequisite math courses I have completed thus far, all that good stuff. They also are curious as to what entails an undergraduate degree in Micro, presumably because none of them were Micro. Many of them also encouraged their own daughters to purse math and science degrees.
Which all makes me wonder. These girls I read about out in the media, complaining that men in science do not take them seriously -- are they projecting a vibe of being air-headed?
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