Science: Apparently Still Hard For Girls
I ordered some Halloween costume supplies off of Edmund Scientifics on Wednesday, and when I realized I was paying as much for shipping as for the product itself, I figured I'd do some early Christmas shopping and get my money's worth.
Helpfully, there was a pulldown menu for "Shop by Recipient." Expecting categories like "Amateur Geologist" and "Robot Hobbyist," I was surprised to see the categories entirely segmented by gender. Yup--it turns out that when you're buying educational science gifts, the most important clue as to what the lucky recipient might want is whether or not they have a penis.
And it's pretty much as bad as you'd think.
| For Boys/For Him | For Girls/For Her |
| A "Carnivorous Creations Terrarium," because plants would be, like, so much cooler if they could kill you, man. | A "Sensory Dome Terrarium," because nurturing is just so rewarding (and good preparation for the future, if you know what I mean! ;-)). |
| A catapult-making kit, because did I mention the killing part? It's so cool, and this is how they used to do it. | An animated butterfly model! It's so pretty. Don't worry, though, it comes already put together (assembly is haaaard). |
| Khet, the deflection laser game that teaches strategy AND physics. It's like war except as a board game! | A special gun that catches bugs without killing them, because killing is so sad and awful. |
| A levitating globe, because it's important to know about different countries around the world. | Pretty glowing balls that change color. |
| A personal planetarium--it uses GPS technology to help you locate and identify stars and planets. | Rock tumbler and polisher, because shiny things are beautiful, just like me. |
| Megazooka air-powered gun! And an air-powered glider called JetHawk! | Oooo, supplies to make your own makeup and a kit that tells you about the science behind going to the spa. I never knew that learning could be, like, so fun. |
And I'm not just picking the low-hanging fruit here. These are all off of the front page of results. I'm composing an email to them letting them know that I find these categories offensive, especialy from a company in the business of helping young people get excited about science. Feel free to follow suit.
A levitating globe, because it's important to know about different countries around the world.
... because we may eventually need to kill them.
Same goes for the planetarium, although that's a bit more aspirational.
Yikes, that's obnoxious. I've linked to your post on my blog now. Maybe if one of my five readers writes to Edmunds as well they'll see the error of their ways.
I'm more interested in what you were doing shopping for Halloween at Edmund Scientific...
Here's a hint: it appears on the first page of results for Girls and/or Women. (and no, it's not "Sexy Graduated Cylinder")
and Anonymous--thanks! I think this kind of subtle sexism is really reprehensible, partly because it's easier to ignore than the outright stuff.
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