Hidden Messages

          There are many things that happen in the world without us realizing it. Big food companies hide what’s in their food; individual people hide what they’ve done. Our ignorance ranges from big to small, important to insignificant. Sometimes, information is presented, but it is very hard to find the bad parts, because they are hidden in the information, much like food labels on food. The show “The Big Bang Theory” demonstrates a lot of sexism toward women scientists, though it is hard to see. The article, “Why Are There Still So Few Women In Science,” that Eileen Pollack wrote in the New York Times, shows the sexism in the show.

            In “The Big Bang Theory” there are two women scientists, named Amy and Bernadette. The two scientists are very awkward and strange. There aren’t many men in the show who like those women. There is another woman in the show named Penny. She is a community college drop out, and is waitressing while trying to pursue her acting career. Penny is gorgeous, and most of the men in the show love her. Pollack argues that when women watch this show, or any other one that portrays the message that women scientists are awkward, they are discouraged from pursuing a science career. Pollack thinks that shows like this are a big reason for the lack of women in the sciences. Why would anyone want to be strange and undesirable like Amy and Bernadette, when they could be gorgeous, and outgoing like Penny?  

            Pollack also states in her article that in European countries, such as France or Italy, women scientists wear revealing clothing, and act as feminine as other women. In those countries there are more women scientists, because women get the message that they can be pretty and likable, and still be a scientist. When television shows female scientists as awkward and weird it is as if they were saying a certain race is awkward and weird. It’s discriminating. As a result there aren’t enough women scientists. There are brilliant minds that could be contributing to the world, but aren’t.

            There are many TV shows, movies, songs, etc. that send a message that one type of thing has to have a certain trait. Most people don’t notice this, and the article is excellent because it shows there are good people like Pollack who can see the sexism in the show. Most people don’t watch a show and think about how women (or any other type of person) are portrayed in that show; but the images and ideas still influence them. There are far too few people who see the sexism in “The Big Bang Theory,” and there aren’t many people who will read the article, but every person who sees it, and every person who informs others of it, is taking the world one step closer to having a faultless world.