Whatdya’ Know, Girls Can Do Math Too

Whatdya’ Know, Girls Can Do Math Too

Although we have come a long way when considering how we view differences between men and women, some old wives tales still make their way into the public consciousness. One that, as a millennial woman, has always dumbfounded me was the utterance of men being naturally better at math. I have memories of my grandmother saying “oh boys are just good at that stuff” and then being perplexed at my brothers failing math grades. And haven’t we all seen the infamous episode of Sex and The City where Charlotte rebuffs the offer by a male artist to dress in drag saying she would be terrible as a man then using the example that she’s bad at math to further her point. I had never subscribed to this belief myself, as I knew girls who were good at math and boys who were bad at it. But I can’t deny that it is a common myth and when used, defended by comparing the amount of men in STEM fields versus women. It is a myth that anyone in women and gender studies would scoff at, or at the least want to expound upon further with obvious cultural causes to this so-called phenomenon.

So when NPR published their newest article talking about how young girls and boys views math the same way at an early age, feminists everywhere sighed a collective… duh. Despite the information being clearly laid out, some still go back to same old tired arguments. What we do know is that at an early age certain parts of the brain are engaged different in boys then in girls. This is done through socialization and different types of toys offered depending on gender. Boys get Legos and building blocks, girls get dolls and play make up. Some large inroads have been made from my grandmother’s time to now, but if these topics are still being researched and debated, and articles are still being written it shows that we still have a long way to go.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/11/08/777187543/math-looks-the-same-in-the-brains-of-boys-and-girls-study-finds