Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Old White Guys


As much as I like to consider myself as individualistic and an “out-of-the-box” thinker, I sadly failed to be original when drawing my stereotypical scientist. Before I even picked up a pen, I knew that I was going to draw an old white male with crazy hair and scarily curious eyes just like the majority of people, from children to adults to my own peers. Even though my actually drawing looks more like a stick version of bozo, the notorious stereotype was still present.

            The stereotype of scientist, along with all other existing stereotypes, has several negative consequences. One of the noteworthy consequences is the fact that the stereotype may deter young scientist, especially women and minorities, from continuing on the path of discover.  As young children, many of us are amazed by the world around us and are determined to discover more through experimentation. Sadly though, we quickly learn that the only people who actually do this in life are white males. This is never blatantly said, but we still quickly pick up on it through snide comments from peers, lack of encouragement from teachers, and the media’s and textbooks constant barrage of white male scientist. This discourages minorities’ and women’s love for science and indirectly forces them into a non-scientific field therefore further perpetuating the stereotype along with further reducing the world’s scientific literacy.

            Along with discouraging potential scientists, the stereotype also amplifies people’s hatred for science. The majority of people in the world are not white males. So, by making the face of science a spitting image of Albert Einstein we are making most people feel like the science is irrelevant to their lives since they cannot personally relate to the person behind the science. In addition to not being able to relate, most people also do not have the literacy needed to understand science’s complex jargon, which results in people turning away from science and goods science writing and towards non-scientific, overly personable sources, like celebrities.

As both a female scientist and a science writer, I believe that I have the duty to eliminate the prominent scientist stereotype from society, beginning with myself. This can be done by showing the world that the science community is not only made up of old, crazy white men. Even here at Ursinus, we have an array of scientific students and teachers, from the typical old white guys all the way to young, minority women. By getting this fact out there, we are not only providing scientific role models for everyone in the world but also bringing science from a remote, incomprehensible subject to one that much more personable and accessible therefore increasing the world’s scientific literacy potential.

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