If you vote for Obama, this is what you’re voting for (Reminder #9)
In 2005, Harvard President Larry Summers told an audience of distinguished women scientists that instead of worrying about sexism, they should consider the “evidence” that women are simply genetically inferior to men in terms of aptitude for math and science. This genetic inferiority, he erroneously asserted, was more likely to be the reason for women’s relatively low levels of achievement in math-related fields than any social explanations, such as sexist bias. Summers even offered an anecdote about his daughter (who named her toy trucks “Mommy truck” and “Daddy truck”) as evidence that females are intrinsically more suited to taking care of babies than doing hard math.
All of this was of course nonsense: there is no evidence that women are genetically inferior in their aptitude for math. But there is abundant evidence that women in math-related fields face enormous obstacles from sexist men like Larry Summers. In fact, the number of women offered tenure during Larry Summer’s reign at Harvard dropped by almost two-thirds — a factor difficult to attribute to genetics.
Larry Summers was eventually forced to resign from Harvard, but his name continues to be a byword for the gross male chauvinism that still flourishes in academia.
In 2008, Barack Obama invited Larry Summers to be a senior adviser to his campaign.
19 Responses to “If you vote for Obama, this is what you’re voting for (Reminder #9)”
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the15th says:
One quibble: Summers was wildly reviled by Harvard faculty for many reasons that had nothing to do with his ideas about women’s inferiority — he forced a popular dean to resign, for one thing. The idea that his resignation was due to these comments unfortunately gives feminists a lot more power than we have.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:11 pm EST -
Cyn says:
Goddess, it is a long row we women have to hoe.
If we are so are genetically inferior, why are we birthing those babies? Math and science are a hell of a lot easier…
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octogalore says:
the15th: Do you mean Cornel West and/or Conrad Harper? It’s interesting to me that while Summers’ comments as to West’s scholarship were viewed by many as racist, because he is now allied with Obama, this surely will be swept under the rug.
But, if HRC had chosen Summers (highly unlikely)? Want to hazard a guess?
I “came out of the closet” voting-wise in my latest post. How scary that it makes me wonder which of my feminist online acquaintances who haven’t already dumped me will do so now?
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NJW says:
As per an earlier post of mine, Obama clearly follows Summers’ belief re genetic predilections for jobs:
“So whether you are Suzy the student, or Nancy the nurse, or Tina the teacher, or Carl the construction worker, ….,” Obama said
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david in iowa says:
Thank you Violet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If more feminists and a few regular folks read your blogs and reminders we might be voting for Hillary on Tuesday.
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Kiuku says:
Thank god I wasn’t born to Larry Summers
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Kiuku says:
“Mommy truck and daddy truck”
Because you know, back in the Pleistecine, there were trucks, and only men used them, because only men existed in the Pleistecine. It is only the culling of the human genetic code throughout human reign over earth that baby women can respond to trucks intrinsically, and completely by nature, recognizing, or rather, not recognizing a truck for what it is, but assigning parental archetypes to them, meanwhile the boys with the boy genes, because only boys have boy-genes, recognize them immediately!
It’s the same with math…obviously.
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the15th says:
the15th: Do you mean Cornel West and/or Conrad Harper?
The dean was William Kirby.
I’d completely forgotten about the Summers/Cornel West controversy. I read sites like Inside Higher Ed all the time, and whenever Summers’ name comes up, someone invariably bemoans the PC feminist thought police that forced him to resign. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone blame it on the PC African-American studies thought police.
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octogalore says:
The15th: good point. In addition to Summers’ having adversaries within both the Feminist and African-American contingents at Harvard, he also was the reason West and Harper left — West when Summers surprisingly criticized his scholarship, and Harper because he felt Summers mishandled situations such as the discussion re women and the West incident. I will be curious to see whether this comes up on the part of Obama’s supporters (well, I’m not exactly holding my breath waiting for a word of dissent to any of his judgment calls, or anything).
It’s funny, though, re “someone invariably bemoans the PC feminist thought police that forced him to resign,” the only time feminists get any credit for making anything happen, it’s when a male leader’s authority is made vulnerable. Other than that, feminism has basically been a self-serving, upper-middle-class, racist and unproductive endeavor, serving only to occasionally hurt upstanding patriarchs.
On a related note, we just went on a tour of a K-12 school for my daughter and we (well, I) noticed that the math classroom was papered with posters of noted mathematicians and scientists — all male (despite a variety of female choices: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/whmbios2.html). Same with the music classes, and which musicians were pictured. We were then told that there was a special group of students for whom the school had set up a special advanced math study group: Ted, Jim and Brian. Hmm, something tells me that’s not genetics. Needless to say, we walked out. I have a feeling my daughter will be a proud math geek (runs in the family), and with the Summers’ of the world in high governmental positions, she doesn’t need any additional hurdles.
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myiq2xu says:
Why are the people asserting male or white superiority always some of the most inferior people you will ever meet?
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tinfoil hattie says:
From New Yorker magazine, latest edition:
But although there has been chatter that Obama might also retain Hank Paulson at the Treasury, the inside betting is on a Larry Summers encore.
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samanthasmom says:
Feminist geek here. Degree in physics. When I taught, my students asked why the picture of Antoine Lavoisier, the “father of chemistry”, that I had up on my wall included his wife. I told them it was because chemistry was really born to a woman. Good decision, Octogalore.
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madamab says:
Why would any woman vote for Barack Obama?
Oh right. Sarah Palin will forcibly impregnate every woman in American and make sure they don’t have the right to an abortion.
AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!
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Kiuku says:
That’s because African Americans only matter when they are men.
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Alice Paul says:
This is the most disturbing thing to me about Obama. He has used misogyny throughout his campaign and sat silent to benefit from it. He’s used old sterotypes in many of his speeches, “periodically when she’s feeling down.” about once a month, the Jay Z. “bitch” calling friend. There is an utter disconnect with Obama. He does NOT have a working knowledge of women’s issues at heart and he does exploit gender bias to keep favor in circles I deplore.
I’m very disturbed that he seems to have no issue with people like this. I do not for the life of me understand any woman voting for him at all.
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Marge Twain says:
Vom. That is all I can say.
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samanthasmom says:
Alice Paul,
I spent some time with women at a Democratic rally. Most were wearing “Hillary sent me” buttons. They have bought into Palin is an airhead and will be an embarrassment to women, they think that if they vote for the AA this time, the Dems will reward them by running a woman next time, and they are in denial that sexism was a major issue. -
Alikatze says:
Wow; I had no idea that Nobama had done that! Ugh! Another reason I’m am sooooooooooo not voting for him! (And I am studiously avoiding the major fete planned for my hometown should he win.) I don’t, however, wish McCain/Palin on anyone — they’ve made themselves look like buffoons as the final days of the campaign waned. I wonder what it will take for this country to ever switch to a multi-party system????
Oh, and while I am voting straight Green for all local and state offices, I have decided to write-in Hillary for Pres and Russ Feingold for Veep. I just can’t let the whole primary fiasco go.
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Yanni Znaio says:
samanthasmom says:
Alice Paul,
I spent some time with women at a Democratic rally. Most were wearing “Hillary sent me” buttons. They have bought into Palin is an airhead and will be an embarrassment to women, they think that if they vote for the AA this time, the Dems will reward them by running a woman next time, and they are in denial that sexism was a major issue.November 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 pm EST
Manners prevent me from posting what this post makes me want to say.
Violet’s been kind enough to put up with me, and I will remain civil.
Although I WILL say that this is very disappointing.
YZ
