Girls and Science (STEM)

Today, once again, the debate about why girls don't seem to take part in science has been brought onto our news bulletins. Part of the article came from a Chemistry lab at my old high school. I remember that lab well, gosh I hated chemistry.

All that matters is that girls are people, just like boys. Some people like science, some people hate it and there are myriad of ways that people can feel about all of the branches of science that are out there.

If we tell society that girls aren't interested in science, then we perpetuate that idea amongst the people watching TV. So maybe one family watching will steer their daughter away from science because they saw on the TV that girls don't do science. Society has potentially lost a budding inventor or discovery!

'But what about the pressures on girls to look good from their non-scientific role models?'
Go out and ask a group of girls and a group of boys, from similar demographics who they see as role models. Many teenage boys probably like footballers. So that argument is null and void (and sexist!).

I am a therapy radiographer, I have a degree in Chemistry and also a degree in Radiotherapy and Oncology.

I chose a degree in chemistry because, despite it being my worst science, I felt that too many girls did biology and mostly boys did physics (and I dropped out of A level physics so I didn't have to see MrB as much after we broke up at 17, young love eh?).

I flipping love science.

It is the reason the sky is blue (the very same thing that makes blue eyes blue), why sunsets are beautiful,
why your plastic carrier bag works,
how new drugs are developed,
why people are cured from previously fatal diseases.

Science rules. It isn't cool, it may not be rock n' roll and I am pretty sure that Nobel Prize winning scientists aren't as cool as your favourite celebrities. But science rules.

Stick this in your news bulletin!

And please can we stop saying STEM? It makes it all sound boring. No one wants boring!!