Yesterday morning I watched this whole piece on the International Math Olympics and the USA's team on CBS's Sunday morning show. Then I wrote this whole rant about it. Then, like an idiot, I closed the window without posting it. This turns out to make the whole rant much more complete. A rant with follow-up ranting.
Okay, so there was this whole segment about the kids who went to this Math Camp. All the kids are boys. No mention of this being an all-male camp, but whatever, there were no girls. Not in one lousy shot did I see a girl. Maybe this camp was only for boys. Maybe there are other math camps for girls. Given that it's a camp, I can accept the lack of ladies. Besides, I wasn't as awake as I could have been and I wasn’t really looking for girls.
So then there's all this footage of people taking the test to get to go to the International Math Olympics. Not one girl. I was awake at this point and looking for girls. Did the girls take the test in another room? Where were the girls? Did not one girl in this country even aspire to the international math olympics? No one mentioned the lack of girls.
So, now I'm thinking, maybe this is like the physical olympics where girls and boys compete separately. I mean, this is international. Maybe I can blame random other countries for being sexist and backwards and not letting the girls play. There's no mention of the female team or the female math olympics... but then mostly they are covering this kid who is going for his unprecedented fourth consecutive gold. Maybe our girls just don't stack up internationally. I can accept that.
Okay, but then there's the footage of the opening ceremony and some girl from Columbia introduces herself. So girls *could* participate. Why did the US send 6 team members and 2 alternates and not one was female????
I was truly appalled. Where were the girls? Did not one girl in our country aspire to the international math olympics? Is there not one girl in the country who has the math skills rank in the top eight??
Honestly, now apparently I am very naive. I have been openly complaining about this for 24 hours now to anyone who would listen. I am the only one who is suprised, or bothered, by the lack of girls. When my boyfriend woke up I told him about this. He said basically that it's still true that girls just aren't expected to do well at math. He even thought maybe that there just weren't any girls who made the cut to take the test. I was shocked and dismayed by this idea.
So, I brought it up at work. No one else was even surprised. Okay, they were disinterested. No one was bothered. Not remotely.
Is the stereotype that girls are bad at math still alive? Seriously, I was a freshman in high school when I first heard this "boys are better at math" bullshit. It came from a teacher. It caused me to go running to the Headmaster in fury.
I went home and my mom laughed. She said that was funny and it was something people really did think.... a long time ago. I believed her. I hadn't come across this idea again (except for that whole Barbie who talks and says "math is hard" thing). Then I saw this whole piece.
Am I totally ignorant?? Why were there no girls representing the United States at the international math olympics??????
7/16/2001
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