Marie Curie was a groundbreaking scientist and an admirable figure.
The need to celebrate the one symbolic "woman of science" is sexist and crude. The idea of one "woman of science" makes the work of other female scientists seem less important. The idea that the "woman of science" be symbolic makes Marie Curie's work seem symbolic and unimportant.
Why can we not just celebrate both Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace as excellent scientists, leaving gender out of the discussion?
I agree. We don't have an Einstein, Tesla, Newton, or Galileo day so why do we need a Marie Curie day? I personally find this idea very sexist. It does nothing to further my appreciation of feminism and their ideals, I would go so far to say as this is base pandering.
Just to be clear: my blog post is not arguing that there should be a Marie Curie Day, it is arguing that if you are going to have a day named after a woman scientist as a celebration of women in science then I think Ada Lovelace is a poor choice.
Comments
Marie Curie was a groundbreaking scientist and an admirable figure.
The need to celebrate the one symbolic "woman of science" is sexist and crude. The idea of one "woman of science" makes the work of other female scientists seem less important. The idea that the "woman of science" be symbolic makes Marie Curie's work seem symbolic and unimportant.
Why can we not just celebrate both Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace as excellent scientists, leaving gender out of the discussion?
I agree. We don't have an Einstein, Tesla, Newton, or Galileo day so why do we need a Marie Curie day? I personally find this idea very sexist. It does nothing to further my appreciation of feminism and their ideals, I would go so far to say as this is base pandering.
Just to be clear: my blog post is not arguing that there should be a Marie Curie Day, it is arguing that if you are going to have a day named after a woman scientist as a celebration of women in science then I think Ada Lovelace is a poor choice.
I don't think either is a suitable 'trophy woman' of science.