At what point are we going to allow female scientists to just “be”, without continually commenting on their appearance?
Under The Microscope: Feminism, Scientists and Sexiness
“In my profession today I work closely with many talented men. We write on related topics and speak to similar audiences. Yet, I’m regularly reminded that I face many challenges they don’t have to deal with. No one jokingly whispers about their receptivity to sex during conferences just loud enough to overhear. No one questions whether they were hired so the boss could to get some “tail.” These kinds of experiences are common for women in and out of the ivory towers. We rarely complain for fear of being considered troublemakers or worse. We work hard and don’t want special treatment or penalization, so we turn a deaf ear, aware that some will never see past what’s on the surface. We stop speaking up and a negative feedback loop continues to reinforce gender roles over time.”
Sheril Kirshenbaum is once again forced to comment on her sexuality when someone considers it a compliment to congratulate her on her desirability. Instead of being “grateful”, Sheril reminds us just how different the science community can be for men and women, and how the constant focus on a scientist’s appearance is, in fact, not a compliment.
I also find stuff like that really noticeable but you can always tell when you’ve come across a group of heterosexual/acting women because its all about sexy men…In Indianapolis I have found both a policeman and one of his professional adversaries who both have really great bodies….For those of us who are into that sort of thing.
And not just scientists – all people in all professions.
My husband was horrified by some of the personal stories he heard from women at TAM, not just about being judged by their “sexiness” but about how they were steered away from scientific and other academic pursuits. He couldn’t believe these things still happen. (I could; I’ve had them happen to me, more than a few times.)
There is hope; we’ve got a lot of people working on this in a lot of ways.