“I’m usually in the basement lab, sitting in the dark, and I get to see pictures of women in the field, looking at sharks underwater, saving cancer patients’ lives, all sorts of amazing things – and from scientists all over the world,” she says.
Despite increased visibility for women working in STEM, a lot of work still needs to be done for the stereotypes to be debunked completely, and for young girls to finally find women scientists in their textbooks.
There’s also a general perception that women scientists should look ‘serious’ and not feminine. “I think it’s hard for the internet to accept that a woman who is in a bikini or in heels can also be an excellent scientist,” Phillips says.
A 2019 study from the Journal of Vascular Surgery set out to quantify professionalism among US vascular surgeons on social media, and condemned some female doctors’ “inappropriate attire”, which the authors of the paper defined as “pictures in underwear, provocative Halloween costumes, and provocative posing in bikinis and swimwear”.
Julia Ravey, a PhD student in neuroscience at UCL who shares insights of her life as a scientist on her Instagram page, also says she received negative comments when posting pictures of herself in a bikini. Launched in 2018, her page has more than 16,000 followers and advocates for a fairer and more honest representation of women in science.
“Growing up, I had no real role model in science that looked like me,” says Ravey, “and even now, no one ever thinks I’m a scientist when they meet me, because I wear dresses and make-up. I wanted to break down these barriers and show that you can be whoever you want to be. On Instagram I show who I am as a person, both my womanhood and my scientific research.”
Some of the comments she received under a picture of her wearing a bikini claimed it was “inappropriate for a scientist” and that she was “self-centred” for posting it. The person who left the comments also wrote they wouldn’t want their daughter to look up to Julia, and that posting pictures in swimwear makes her an inappropriate role model for young girls.
Kazmi, from How 2 Rob a Bank, says that the combination of the power imbalance within the heavily male-dominated STEM community and “men who have ego problems or chauvinistic tendencies” is what creates the hostile environment for women. “Maths, which has an objective truth, shouldn’t have these sorts of issues, but it does.”
She adds: “We stopped sharing that we are women after the incident – and we got more respect as a result.”
How 2 Rob a Bank’s Instagram account was reactivated a few weeks after it had been shut down. Kazmi believes that by sticking together, women in STEM can fight those stereotypes: “As women, we need to actively support each other, it’s the only way to solve this problem.”
We asked Instagram to comment on allegations of abuse, harassment and deactivation but we did not receive a response.
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Anna Colivicchi | Radio Free (2020-12-02T23:00:00+00:00) These women are using Instagram to celebrate unsung women in science. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/12/02/these-women-are-using-instagram-to-celebrate-unsung-women-in-science/
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