After having read this
article, posted by Katie, I would love to see the interviews talked about below:
Quote:
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The girls read magazine interviews about three female university students displaying feminine characteristics (wearing make-up and pink clothes, likes fashion magazines) or gender-neutral traits (wearing dark-colored clothes and glasses, likes reading). Role models also displayed either STEM success (described as an engineering star, praised by a chemistry professor) or general school success (described as a freshman star, praised by professor from an unspecified field).
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I'm assuming there was a photo shoot accompanying the article and given how media portrays everything else, I have a hard time believing that each one of those girls wasn't wearing makeup or at least digitally altered in some fashion. Perhaps her skin was airbrushed to remove some acne, or some foundation and concealer was applied to hide the fact that she didn't sleep well the night before because she was stressing out over a test or project.
Personal background time:
Growing up, I had a sizable collection of toys that would rival the most diverse pre-school. All of the building type toys, dolls/Barbies, makeup/hair things, coloring materials, and books galore. We had a full (7 feet tall) bookcase dedicated to just books for children of all ages. And I LOVED to wear dresses. My mom can sew (it's still black voodoo magic to me) and she regularly made me dresses for various holidays. Then I turned 7 or 8 and just stopped wearing them. I still don't know why. As a teen I wouldn't touch them and now at 22, I'm "rediscovering" them and even own MULTIPLE dresses. (Gasp!)
And now? I'm studying to be an engineer. Personally, I'd be turned off by "student displaying feminine characteristics" because from the quote alone, it sounds hyper-feminine. Nauseatingly so. Why did she have to be in pink? Why not a more feminine cut top (as opposed to say a t shirt) in a light color? Why couldn't she wear glasses? Why do reading and glasses seem to go together in this study as being "unfeminine"?
It's been my experience that usually people have varied interests. I build robots, swing dance, wear makeup, LOVE bright colors, and am studying engineering. I'm a role model to those on my team yet my interests don't seem to lump me into any one of those pre-defined categories... Just because I wear makeup doesn't make me feminine just as wearing glasses and loving to read doesn't make me "gender-neutral".
I agree with Jane's feelings on wanting girls to feel confident. You don't have to use makeup to look like a clown. What about using it to teach girls the power it has to allow them to focus less on what they look like* and more on what they're doing? For that matter, I've seen some men who are better at applying no-makeup makeup (makeup that looks like you're not wearing) than I am.
* Middle and high schools are often incredibly self conscious. It's a trope in movies and tv where the lead will have a "massive acne breakout" before the big event. I feel that used correctly, makeup can allow both men and women to focus less on personal flaws, that few others notice except for them, and focus more on the task at hand. (Do you really notice light acne on someone? I know I don't. Do I notice even the tiniest speck on my face? You betcha.)
Tangentially related: In addition to all that above, I'm queer. And I'm out. More than seeing more girls in STEM, I'd love to see more support for LGBTQ FIRST students. The STEM field is harder than most to come out in because it is so polarized by gender binaries and expectations. I've talked to a few teams about starting to get involved with supporting LGBTQ students in some of their outreach efforts and each of them has been worried about backlash from their school and parents. This is a topic I haven't seen brought up at all on CD. Regardless of your feelings on homosexuality or gender binaries and expectations, all of our students should feel supported and included.
If anyone, student or mentor, wants to talk to someone about identifying on the LGBTQ spectrum, my inbox is always open. Or heck, just pm me and let me know that I'm not the only queer CD'er on here.