Doctor Who, her?
More “angry” feminist diatribe this time centering on the Doctor. It seems that the next Doctor Who ought to be a woman, because cult Saturday evening television is where preteen girls get a fix of role-model adulation. Borrowing from the Guardian, spokeslady (naturally) from the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC) said:
There is a distinct lack of role models of female scientists in the media and recent research shows that this contributes to the under-representation of women in the field.
The UKRC believes that making a high profile sci-fi character with a following like Doctor Who female would help to raise the profile of women in science and bring the issue of the important contribution women can and should make to science in the public domain.
The brainiacs behind this are unsurprisingly female scientists. Because you see, in science gender means something. And I thought it was all about questioning preconceived ideas about the world around me. My bad.
Great engineers and scientists ought to be the role models for our kids, not a tick-box of anatomy. Passionate teaching and questioning norms. Curiosity. Argument. Discovery. These are all attributes that ought to be on the list for great science role models. Vagina, not a biggie.