A Rare Flounce of Teenage Attitude from an Overtly Mature (Feminist) Teenager
Those journal entry titles can be rather long, surprisingly...
So somewhere between immersing myself in studies of imperialism (because the U.S. is such a BAMF country that we must extend our CULTURAL SUPERIORITY over lesser beings so that they may become IGNORANT HYPOCRITES like us - thanks, manifest destiny) and listening to the terrible sadness that is the Birth by Sleep OST (Vanitas' Final Battle theme has Spanish influences, I swear), me and my feminist mindset got to thinking about women in the educational system - not just junior high or high school, but colleges and universities. Of course, I am rather inexperienced in this field being that I am merely a sophomore in highschool, and the one experience I have had most akin to what I will/may experience in college was an Algebra I course I took with Brigham Young University in the eighth grade.
So I am obviously unversed on the matter and therefore will most likely be biased throughout my discussion. My rational thinking is screaming at me to turn and run away as fast as I can.
Let's ignore my rational thinking for a few, rare minutes.
May it be that I am biased, there's no denying the cold hard numbers and their relevance to this issue; thank God that most matters concerning social conflict and disagreement have statistics available (of course, this context completely disregards the manipulation of data in favor of an argument, though I doubt that anything I get into will be so convoluted. Moving on.).
The majority of studies that I have seen seem to communicate that employment of women in departments such as the sciences and mathematics has increased over the years. I would look up the figures, but I am far too lazy to do so and writing this is mainly for my own benefit, so I will refrain. Now, numbers are great; hell, numbers are excellent. But numbers do not factor in the emotional bias of the public. Are women still constrained by gender roles in both public and home life? In my opinion and experience, yes. Is sexism still rampant in society? In my opinion and experience, yes (towards all genders). The United States is not a patriarchy, but it still reflects opinions of the public that disturb me to no end. One way that I have come to look at this is that the society of this country reflects subjugation present in geographically distant, oppressed countries (Africa, the Middle East), but what separates those nations from ours is that the U.S. has no omnipresent, devastatingly immoral and blatant event that, through its occurrence, exposes a social dystopia. I speak of war, extreme poverty, genocide, and other acts of violence that effectively bring attention to the plight of a certain demographic, religious sect, ethnicity, et cetera.
This argument, of course, is only applicable to the present state of the U.S.. We have conflict, but it is not as ubiquitous (not anymore). The health care reform has sparked quite the reaction among both political parties (and I wish more than ever for a bipartisan effort), but are civilians rioting in the streets, taking out each other with a wide array of weaponry? Is there mass murder? Is there serious threat from within our own country? Maybe I am biased on this issue because of my own location (hey, I'm surrounded by the Rocky Mountains), but I must conclude this; the U.S. is not isolationist, but we are certainly closed off from the rest of the world when it comes to first hand experience in these devastating matters. From what I've seen, the concern of our military and the concern of philanthropists are focused on political and social (immoral) hotspots across the world rather than strictly within our own borders (fortunately, in some [most?] cases). I may very well be wrong, but I can't help but see headline upon headline informing of another natural disaster, another bombing, another assassination in a country that is not the U.S.. This is not to say that we, as a country, are not involved in the matters of other nations, but simply to state that we do not see what they see. We do not see the death, destruction, terror, and cacophony that is present in the world to the extent that other populations do.
Okay...that was a massive and superfluous tangent. I don't know why I typed that. Maybe because, to some extent, it angers me to see how ignorant some people are. I would much rather be informed about the state of affairs in, say, Iraq than what Lady GaGa wore to the VMA's and OH MAH GAWD THOSE SHOES CLASH WITH THOSE EARRINGS.
I pity my generation. Oh, the plight of a high school sophomore.
So in as few words as possible (being the journalist that I am), this is the point that I was attempting to make with that gigantic rant; the United States exhibits degrading moral issues that are present in a more obvious fashion across the world. This includes sexism.
...It took me 844 words to explain that? My God, IB would decapitate me with a blunt chainsaw.
So now onto what interests me about this argument. It's true that women have less of a foothold in maths and sciences than men in a collegiate/university environment. But I am in highschool, and more than half of the students enrolled in some type of IB Math course (Mathematics or Math Studes) are female (these are juniors and seniors that I'm talking about, disregarding the occasional outlier. And yes, there are outliers. You'd be surprised). Several have applied to and been accepted by schools that focus on engineering. So it's a little more of highschool environment vs. college environment. Lifestyles differ, courses of study differ. However, a rather disturbing argument on this matter that I have come across is that women (and girls) are simply not as confident in their academic prowess in mathematics as men (and boys) are. Now, I see examples of this all the time. Every. Single. Day. And it frustrates me beyond belief; not because of the fact that some people are just don't like math, but because it is often accompanied by an attitude of "OMG I can't do it, I'm going to GIVE UP and BE ANGSTY and CRY IN A CORNER."
Unfortuantely, this does little to refute any sort of argument or enforce my own bias. Damn.
I like mathematics. I've considered pursuing a degree in mathematics (aside from my equestrian interests). And it bothers me that a broad spectrum of my gender can be so insecure when it comes to an area of academic study. But it bothers me more that pre-established stereotypes coerce my gender into thinking that success in a certain area of study is futile.
Wow. That was a long and pointless rant. Uhh...points for word count?
Words - 1,215 (I feel special).
Here, have some statistics -
According to citytowninfo.com and concering colleges and institutions that admit women to undergraduate programs, with a student body of 2,000 to 10,000 students -
- The highest male-to-female ratio is the UTI of Illinois, clocking in at 98.5% and with an enrollment of 2,588.
- The lowest male-to-female ratio is Hocking College, with 53.0% and an enrollment of 4,503.
Here, have an epic phrase -
Ain't no time like Demyx time.
Hoorah.
So somewhere between immersing myself in studies of imperialism (because the U.S. is such a BAMF country that we must extend our CULTURAL SUPERIORITY over lesser beings so that they may become IGNORANT HYPOCRITES like us - thanks, manifest destiny) and listening to the terrible sadness that is the Birth by Sleep OST (Vanitas' Final Battle theme has Spanish influences, I swear), me and my feminist mindset got to thinking about women in the educational system - not just junior high or high school, but colleges and universities. Of course, I am rather inexperienced in this field being that I am merely a sophomore in highschool, and the one experience I have had most akin to what I will/may experience in college was an Algebra I course I took with Brigham Young University in the eighth grade.
So I am obviously unversed on the matter and therefore will most likely be biased throughout my discussion. My rational thinking is screaming at me to turn and run away as fast as I can.
Let's ignore my rational thinking for a few, rare minutes.
May it be that I am biased, there's no denying the cold hard numbers and their relevance to this issue; thank God that most matters concerning social conflict and disagreement have statistics available (of course, this context completely disregards the manipulation of data in favor of an argument, though I doubt that anything I get into will be so convoluted. Moving on.).
The majority of studies that I have seen seem to communicate that employment of women in departments such as the sciences and mathematics has increased over the years. I would look up the figures, but I am far too lazy to do so and writing this is mainly for my own benefit, so I will refrain. Now, numbers are great; hell, numbers are excellent. But numbers do not factor in the emotional bias of the public. Are women still constrained by gender roles in both public and home life? In my opinion and experience, yes. Is sexism still rampant in society? In my opinion and experience, yes (towards all genders). The United States is not a patriarchy, but it still reflects opinions of the public that disturb me to no end. One way that I have come to look at this is that the society of this country reflects subjugation present in geographically distant, oppressed countries (Africa, the Middle East), but what separates those nations from ours is that the U.S. has no omnipresent, devastatingly immoral and blatant event that, through its occurrence, exposes a social dystopia. I speak of war, extreme poverty, genocide, and other acts of violence that effectively bring attention to the plight of a certain demographic, religious sect, ethnicity, et cetera.
This argument, of course, is only applicable to the present state of the U.S.. We have conflict, but it is not as ubiquitous (not anymore). The health care reform has sparked quite the reaction among both political parties (and I wish more than ever for a bipartisan effort), but are civilians rioting in the streets, taking out each other with a wide array of weaponry? Is there mass murder? Is there serious threat from within our own country? Maybe I am biased on this issue because of my own location (hey, I'm surrounded by the Rocky Mountains), but I must conclude this; the U.S. is not isolationist, but we are certainly closed off from the rest of the world when it comes to first hand experience in these devastating matters. From what I've seen, the concern of our military and the concern of philanthropists are focused on political and social (immoral) hotspots across the world rather than strictly within our own borders (fortunately, in some [most?] cases). I may very well be wrong, but I can't help but see headline upon headline informing of another natural disaster, another bombing, another assassination in a country that is not the U.S.. This is not to say that we, as a country, are not involved in the matters of other nations, but simply to state that we do not see what they see. We do not see the death, destruction, terror, and cacophony that is present in the world to the extent that other populations do.
Okay...that was a massive and superfluous tangent. I don't know why I typed that. Maybe because, to some extent, it angers me to see how ignorant some people are. I would much rather be informed about the state of affairs in, say, Iraq than what Lady GaGa wore to the VMA's and OH MAH GAWD THOSE SHOES CLASH WITH THOSE EARRINGS.
I pity my generation. Oh, the plight of a high school sophomore.
So in as few words as possible (being the journalist that I am), this is the point that I was attempting to make with that gigantic rant; the United States exhibits degrading moral issues that are present in a more obvious fashion across the world. This includes sexism.
...It took me 844 words to explain that? My God, IB would decapitate me with a blunt chainsaw.
So now onto what interests me about this argument. It's true that women have less of a foothold in maths and sciences than men in a collegiate/university environment. But I am in highschool, and more than half of the students enrolled in some type of IB Math course (Mathematics or Math Studes) are female (these are juniors and seniors that I'm talking about, disregarding the occasional outlier. And yes, there are outliers. You'd be surprised). Several have applied to and been accepted by schools that focus on engineering. So it's a little more of highschool environment vs. college environment. Lifestyles differ, courses of study differ. However, a rather disturbing argument on this matter that I have come across is that women (and girls) are simply not as confident in their academic prowess in mathematics as men (and boys) are. Now, I see examples of this all the time. Every. Single. Day. And it frustrates me beyond belief; not because of the fact that some people are just don't like math, but because it is often accompanied by an attitude of "OMG I can't do it, I'm going to GIVE UP and BE ANGSTY and CRY IN A CORNER."
Unfortuantely, this does little to refute any sort of argument or enforce my own bias. Damn.
I like mathematics. I've considered pursuing a degree in mathematics (aside from my equestrian interests). And it bothers me that a broad spectrum of my gender can be so insecure when it comes to an area of academic study. But it bothers me more that pre-established stereotypes coerce my gender into thinking that success in a certain area of study is futile.
Wow. That was a long and pointless rant. Uhh...points for word count?
Words - 1,215 (I feel special).
Here, have some statistics -
According to citytowninfo.com and concering colleges and institutions that admit women to undergraduate programs, with a student body of 2,000 to 10,000 students -
- The highest male-to-female ratio is the UTI of Illinois, clocking in at 98.5% and with an enrollment of 2,588.
- The lowest male-to-female ratio is Hocking College, with 53.0% and an enrollment of 4,503.
Here, have an epic phrase -
Ain't no time like Demyx time.
Hoorah.