‘Boys don’t like smart girls’. How are we, as smart women, meant to deal with an answer like that?
From the article: “This friend works in the science field and was involved in a discussion around the ABC story, and how it fits into a Women in STEM decadal plan she’s involved in looking at ways to increase women’s STEM participation and retention from school through careers over the next 10 years.
She told me about a colleague who was talking to a teenage girl, one who had just won a STEM award, about the biggest hurdles preventing young women from pursuing STEM studies and careers.
The young girl’s answer was, “Boys don’t like smart girls”.
How are we, as smart women, meant to deal with an answer like that?”
The old cliche about how “men are intimidated by smart women” that feminists seem so fond of repeating has never wrung true to me. It’s just a little too convenient and self-flattering for a woman to use it as the explanation for why men aren’t attracted to her. Don’t you think?
“It can’t be that I’m doing anything wrong! In fact… it must be that I’m just too fantastic and that there’s something inherently wrong with all men!”
Besides, if it is true that girls are not pursuing certain careers because they think it will make boys less attracted to them as the article suggests…. then shouldn’t we be identifying girls as the ones with the issue that needs addressing rather than disparaging boys?
Of course, not all women buy into this nonsense as the selection of responses to this column from The AGE that I’ve included below my rebuttal makes clear.
Going to Getugly: How are you meant to ‘deal with an answer like that’? You tell the “young girl” who said it the truth… that she’s wrong and that she’s been brainwashed by feminists who want to manipulate the perceptions of females to believe that men are their enemies and that if anything doesn’t go their way in life then it’s men who are to blame.
Several women commenting had a similar response:
Helen S: Not true.
Sally B: Rubbish
Ange Dav: Utter BS
Raewyn McC : If you believe that, you are not a ‘smart girl’ .
Daisy Ma: Since when?? Men love me and my intelligence is one of my most attractive features..
Lynne Os: Lazy journalism, let’s just fire another salvo in the gender wars.
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