4 ms·

The last picture of with all the girl scientists makes me stupidly proud.

by ainiriand 11y ago

hippo8 11y ago
Why?
- lev_k 11y ago
  I'm assuming that the user above is probably proud because females have been notoriously under-represented in sciences, engineering, and technology. The fact that scientists who are females made such an interesting discovery could potentially inspire others to follow in their footsteps if they are interested in paleontology.
  - ainiriand 11y ago
    You are right. I said stupidly proud, because there should be no gap in science and somehow this picture is amazing.
kyberias 11y ago
I wonder whether they'd like to be called "girl scientists".
- lev_k 11y ago
  Maybe "scientists who are girls" would be more befitting? I suppose that the phrasing "girl scientists" first emphasizes the fact they are girls before they fact that they are scientists (clearly the more relevant of the two traits).
  - BorgHunter 11y ago
    I think the point is that the word "girl" infantilizes the women who put in a lot of work and effort to the project.
  - mcv 11y ago
    As opposed to "scientists who are boys"? How old are scientists these days?
    - biot 11y ago
      In modern speech, the opposite of "girls" is "guys". Think "girls night out" vs. "guys night out". I have female friends approaching their fifties who refer to themselves and their female friends as "the girls". Perhaps this is a regional thing, where saying "women" sounds old-fashioned and stodgy.
      - erroneousfunk 11y ago
        Right, and I have "girls' night out" with my friends and occasionally address them as "hey girl!", but god help the new co-worker who comes up to me and says "you're a girl software engineer!" Honestly, I can't believe you'd think that would be remotely appropriate in this context (or that I'd even have to have this discussion on Hacker News at all, or that ainiriand would feel a sense of "pride" as a male -- yeah, I checked his gender -- over a group of female biologists -- a science that is more than 50% female...) "Guys" is casual. "Guys" is sometimes used for a mix-gendered group, but with a female-only group, you might use "Gals" or even "Ladies," but "Girls" is only used if you want to emphasize youth/casualness/fun (hence, the group of 50-something's calling themselves "the girls") I've lived on the east coast, I've lived on the west coast, I've spent a great deal of time in the middle -- no one refers to a group of women in a professional context as "girls." After mid-puberty, that word starts to carry specific connotations when used as a description.
        biot 11y ago
        I'm not saying it's appropriate; just offering a possible explanation for the use of the word. Personally, I'd just go with "female" or simply saying "she's a software engineer" gets the point across well without having to delve into sex vs. gender identity etc.
        erroneousfunk 11y ago
- ainiriand 11y ago
  That's why I said stupidly proud. There should be no distinction but somehow this picture is amazing.

The last picture of with all the girl scientists makes me stupidly proud.

hippo8 11y ago

Why?

lev_k 11y ago
I'm assuming that the user above is probably proud because females have been notoriously under-represented in sciences, engineering, and technology. The fact that scientists who are females made such an interesting discovery could potentially inspire others to follow in their footsteps if they are interested in paleontology.
- ainiriand 11y ago
  You are right. I said stupidly proud, because there should be no gap in science and somehow this picture is amazing.

kyberias 11y ago

I wonder whether they'd like to be called "girl scientists".

lev_k 11y ago
Maybe "scientists who are girls" would be more befitting? I suppose that the phrasing "girl scientists" first emphasizes the fact they are girls before they fact that they are scientists (clearly the more relevant of the two traits).
- BorgHunter 11y ago
  I think the point is that the word "girl" infantilizes the women who put in a lot of work and effort to the project.
- mcv 11y ago
  As opposed to "scientists who are boys"? How old are scientists these days?
  - biot 11y ago
    In modern speech, the opposite of "girls" is "guys". Think "girls night out" vs. "guys night out". I have female friends approaching their fifties who refer to themselves and their female friends as "the girls". Perhaps this is a regional thing, where saying "women" sounds old-fashioned and stodgy.
    - erroneousfunk 11y ago
      Right, and I have "girls' night out" with my friends and occasionally address them as "hey girl!", but god help the new co-worker who comes up to me and says "you're a girl software engineer!" Honestly, I can't believe you'd think that would be remotely appropriate in this context (or that I'd even have to have this discussion on Hacker News at all, or that ainiriand would feel a sense of "pride" as a male -- yeah, I checked his gender -- over a group of female biologists -- a science that is more than 50% female...) "Guys" is casual. "Guys" is sometimes used for a mix-gendered group, but with a female-only group, you might use "Gals" or even "Ladies," but "Girls" is only used if you want to emphasize youth/casualness/fun (hence, the group of 50-something's calling themselves "the girls") I've lived on the east coast, I've lived on the west coast, I've spent a great deal of time in the middle -- no one refers to a group of women in a professional context as "girls." After mid-puberty, that word starts to carry specific connotations when used as a description.
      - biot 11y ago
        I'm not saying it's appropriate; just offering a possible explanation for the use of the word. Personally, I'd just go with "female" or simply saying "she's a software engineer" gets the point across well without having to delve into sex vs. gender identity etc.
        erroneousfunk 11y ago
ainiriand 11y ago
That's why I said stupidly proud. There should be no distinction but somehow this picture is amazing.