National Geographic – Genius

This show does a lot to portray the degree to which women influenced Einstein’s development into *the* Einstein. A quote from the article above (written by Gia Mora) reads:

“From his first girlfriend to his lovers later in life, these women challenged him intellectually and emotionally, shaping the “man behind the mind.” Instead of sanitizing Einstein’s dalliances, showrunner Ken Biller (in adapting Walter Isaacson’s book, Einstein: His Life and Universe) embraces them to reveal the role women played in shaping how Einstein thought. This is no small matter considering that the way he conceived of ideas distinguished him from his contemporaries and still serves as the means by which we measure all future ‘geniuses.’”

Before watching this show, I personally knew next to nothing about Einstein’s childhood or his personal life, including the women in it. As I’ve watched, I’ve found that the treatment of the women in his life – his first wife Mileva Maric and his second wife Elsa Lowenthal – showed the great degree to which women not only influenced him, but as his woman contemporaries who at times matched his genius themselves.

STEM Women in Film – Ghostbusters

 

However you felt about the most recent Ghostbusters installment, many found that this film was highly progressive in its’ treatment of women in the sciences in mainstream/pop culture like films. A Bust article by Isabel S. Dieppa entitled How ‘Ghostbusters’ is Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM details this specifically, quoting Kate McKinnon on her role in the film as a non-sexualized, smart and successful woman in science:

“I wore pants the whole time and my hair was up the whole time. Not one hair on my neck … It sounds like a small thing that I got to wear pants and have my hair up, but it’s actually a really big thing because we were playing scientists. Women playing scientists wearing jumpsuits, kind of ugly jumpsuits. And they made dolls of this! That has never happened! … No cleavage. Dolls.”

Originally posted by live-from-nyc

Often, intellectual women in pop culture, or women portrayed in any sort of STEM field, must have their image tempered with an overwhelming sexualization, or hyperfemininity to “reassure” a male audience that she is still conventionally desirable and non-threatening. Or, women who possess leadership qualities typically associated with men (confidence, tenacity, assertiveness and competitiveness) are labeled as a “bitch” or are somehow automatically homosexual. This film does the opposite – it shows a group of highly intelligent women, working together to keep their community safe. They are also not ‘incomplete’ or ‘missing something’ just by virtue of not looking for relationships or dating men – for once the focus for women is on her work and her passions, where sexuality and romance are largely left out so that we can all appreciate the real person beneath.

https://bust.com/movies/16827-how-ghostbusters-is-breaking-barriers-for-women-in-stem.html