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themathguru:

It’s great to see that so much attention is being given to the obliteration of the ridiculous stereotypes involving women and mathematics. This article addresses the fact that even though girls really do often feel just as capable as boys, they just don’t dig it. Like, they just don’t feel like math is their thang, you know? 

While Caryl Rivers and Rosalind Barnett stress the importance of confidence building, they also point out that negative images of mathematicians in the media certainly don’t  HELP girls relate to math. (Sidenote: In my opinion, they do the exact opposite! Seriously - why are the smart girls always the ones being made over in like, EVERY teen movie?!) 

My fave line (surprise, surprise): 

“We need to do all we can to help math-and-science girls believe in themselves. We also need to help them believe that STEM careers are not for lonely male “nerds.” Engineering and science are typically collaborative efforts; the image of the socially awkward loner is a far cry from reality.”

Well said. 

v.