[Carlee10]

Wow. Just read through this whole thread. And I agree/disagree with bits and pieces of what people here have said; so many that I think I'll just sum up my feelings without quoting people,to save some reading time.

My mom raised us no certain way. She read to my brother and I , sang songs, played word games, and did ABC's,shapes,colors,and numbers. I could read at 3. I taught my baby brother everything I learned each day in kindergarten, and he could read chapter books by kindergrten, too. We played with what we wanted to, dolls,tucks, or both. We shared alot, and played together.

Now,we both are on multiple acdemic teams. He's a great actor, and i just like to watch theater or work backstage. We both play instuments, but at opposite sides of the scale(flute/tuba). Im on robotics, and he likes speech. He comes up with ideas and writes great stories, but i love trying ideas and talking about them or trying them. We both read, but different things. He wants to be a vet or theatre major, where I'm going to school for engineering.

So. I think the best option when it comes to engineering/women/sterotypes/sexism/feminism is not to play into it all, but to just to embrace.....smart, if that makes sense to anyone. If you encourage boys and girls to be smart and be curious and to love knowledge, then they will choose what intellectually stimulates them, whether it's desinging clothes or buildings,acting or managing a design team. I feel like I could be happy having a great engineering career, or have a family(or both!)

All in all, I think it's up to the individual girl as to whether or not she wants to be super interested in STEM subjects and/or engineering.

0.02