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In reply to the discussion: I haven't been able to shake the feeling I got when my daughter said "I think men are smarter than [View all]Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I work in a small lab with another woman who is a chemist and my boss who is a woman and a trained chemist too. I sarcastically remind them that chemistry is man's work. To emphasize that point, I ask them to name all of the famous chemist they could think of. The only one any of us can come up with off the top of our heads is Marie Curie. So that kind of squashes my point. All of the other names of famous scientist people can come up with are usually physicists or biologists. After my "chemistry is man work" comment I usually end up cleaning glassware in the back
Anyways, Marie Curie not only was the first woman to receive a Nobel prize in science, but she was the first person to receive two Nobel prizes in different fields. She is most famous for her work on discovering radiation and was undoubtedly brilliant.
As was mentioned in a post above mine, I believe the only way to squash your daughter's sentiment that men are smarter than women is to challenge her. I don't know how old she is, but with a little bit of encouragement and direction you could turn this into a feminist spark for her. The only reason that men dominate so many fields is because society and culture both consciously and unconsciously perpetuates that. Illustrate that point to her and maybe explore some feminist theory with her and maybe she'll see things differently.
It is a struggle for women and it isn't fair that girls and women should regret not being born with a penis. I have two daughters myself and I'd hate for them to think that they could never be as smart or as good at anything as a man can be. I truly understand how you feel after hearing a comment like that from your daughter.