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This is why feminism is important
Dec. 6th, 2012 12:25 pmI am a Montrealer. I'm a woman. I'm fascinated by science, technology, and engineering, though I don't make my living in the STEM fields.
When I was five and a half, Marc Lépine took issue with women in Montreal who were equally fascinated by science, technology, and engineering, and who wanted to make their living in the STEM fields. So on December 6th, 1989, he brought a gun onto the campus of the Polytechnique, and shot twenty-four of them, killing fourteen. He shouted "You're all a bunch of feminists, and I hate feminists!"
Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968), civil engineering student
Hélène Colgan (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Nathalie Croteau (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Barbara Daigneault (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968), chemical engineering student
Maud Haviernick (born 1960), materials engineering student
Maryse Laganière (born 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department
Maryse Leclair (born 1966), materials engineering student
Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
Sonia Pelletier (born 1961), mechanical engineering student
Michèle Richard (born 1968), materials engineering student
Annie St-Arneault (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Annie Turcotte (born 1969), materials engineering student
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958), nursing student
This is why feminism is important. Because this still happens around the world when women want to learn something that isn't traditionally considered feminine. Because little girls should be able to dream of being engineers and scientists, and because little boys should be able to dream of being teachers and nurses or bakers, without anyone telling them or implying that they shouldn't. Because if you ask anyone to name five important female scientists, most people will get stuck after Marie Curie*. Because the "Fake Geek Girl" meme is a thing. Because Malala Yousufzai was shot for blogging and criticizing people who wanted to deny her an education.
Shot. For wanting to bite the apple of knowledge. This is why feminism is important.
*(Ada Lovelace, Rosalind Franklin, Hedy Lamarr - yes, the actress -, Sally Ride. You're welcome.)
When I was five and a half, Marc Lépine took issue with women in Montreal who were equally fascinated by science, technology, and engineering, and who wanted to make their living in the STEM fields. So on December 6th, 1989, he brought a gun onto the campus of the Polytechnique, and shot twenty-four of them, killing fourteen. He shouted "You're all a bunch of feminists, and I hate feminists!"
Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968), civil engineering student
Hélène Colgan (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Nathalie Croteau (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Barbara Daigneault (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968), chemical engineering student
Maud Haviernick (born 1960), materials engineering student
Maryse Laganière (born 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department
Maryse Leclair (born 1966), materials engineering student
Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
Sonia Pelletier (born 1961), mechanical engineering student
Michèle Richard (born 1968), materials engineering student
Annie St-Arneault (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
Annie Turcotte (born 1969), materials engineering student
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958), nursing student
This is why feminism is important. Because this still happens around the world when women want to learn something that isn't traditionally considered feminine. Because little girls should be able to dream of being engineers and scientists, and because little boys should be able to dream of being teachers and nurses or bakers, without anyone telling them or implying that they shouldn't. Because if you ask anyone to name five important female scientists, most people will get stuck after Marie Curie*. Because the "Fake Geek Girl" meme is a thing. Because Malala Yousufzai was shot for blogging and criticizing people who wanted to deny her an education.
Shot. For wanting to bite the apple of knowledge. This is why feminism is important.
*(Ada Lovelace, Rosalind Franklin, Hedy Lamarr - yes, the actress -, Sally Ride. You're welcome.)
