Not entirely sure this ad on Science Magazine‘s website needs much explaining of the blatant misogyny here. The look of ecstasy on the clear faced young attractive women, the dominating positioning of the gecko anole, an often masculine animal symbol, ever so precariously perched on her lips…
I don’t think I am reading too much into it either. It takes a special kind of person to decide this is how the American Association for the Advancement of Science wants to get it’s supportive message out there for women in science. Not only that, but it was probably photoshopped together as opposed to posed. So not only is the imagery just plain wrong, some one likely decided to position these images together in such a way.
Way to go Science, giving it your all for women’s careers in science. Click on image to see how women in science are “forging new pathways”.
At risk of being labelled a sexist pigdog: I think you’re overreacting.
I’ve looked at that ad a lot of times before reading this. I just don’t see it.
But maybe I am a sexist pigdog. I would love to hear from others on this.
at the risk of being trivial, and also not knowing whether/how it affects the argument, i would point out that that’s not a gecko, it’s an anole . . . different families — Iguanidae and Gekkonidae . . .
tg
Frankly, my first reaction was EWWWWW! Do science, have lizards crawling on your lips? I like lizards, but EWWWWW. Second reaction: think Kev’s on the money here. She’s sitting there passively while something happens to her (like women in lots of advertising, see the excellent blog Sociological Images for this ad nauseum). That’s not what science is about!
As my officemate Julie said when she saw the image, “Forging new pathways . . . backwards?” Just to come right out and say it–sorry to be blunt–it looks like she’s giving the anole fellatio. Yuck. Thanks for calling them out, Kevin.
LOL Danna, yeah thats what I was getting at…
Tony, it matters the most. Corrected so readers wouldn’t think that the girl was actually doing anything to a *gecko*, sheesh what was I thinking!
Zen, that is the point. It is subtle but stereotypic. You wouldn’t see it unless you are looking for it. I tend to look for it everywhere I go now thanks to having a strong-willed swede for a wife lol. It doesn’t make you a sexist pic by itself though. But can you agree that it is really a pointless way to advertise for women in science? I mean how does a blissful encounter with a lizard encourage women to pursue career paths in science?
Miriam, stay classy in San Diego
Yeah, Kevin. The fellating lizard with the sex face is kind of strange. I’m not so sure I get it…there are plenty of other images of strong, capable women they could have chosen instead of this.
“You wouldn’t see it unless you are looking for it.”
What I was trying to say was: I’m looking for it, and still don’t see it.
my first impression was WTH?! I doesnt project “Women in Science” per se. If this lizard is going extinct, then maybe. I think maybe its worth putting the recently awarded 3 women nobel prize winners instead….that’s “women in science”. There are lots more women in science that are unrecognized…that’s also worth saying something.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kevin Zelnio and Isis the Scientist, Madhusudan Katti. Madhusudan Katti said: RT @drisis: If you want to be a succesful woman in science, you've gotta fellate a lizard. http://bit.ly/4lrE62 via @kzelnio [...]
My first impression is what idiot came up with that ad and then you read on and it’s sponsored by L’Oreal…enough said. It could have just as easily been a young man and I would have still said, what idiot came up with that to depict anything about science. My guess is that they were looking for something that says women in science aren’t afraid of having reptiles crawl on their face, but who really cares. I think at the end of the day it really boils down to, is that it’s people in marketing that come up with these images not scientist. They are trying to sell women in science and it’s very eye catching. The only thing really disappointing about the ad isn’t the fact that it’s a young women with something crawling on her face it’s that it doesn’t depict women in science. Science is about discovery and no one will every learn anything by having this animal crawl on its face unless it turns out to produce some chemical that is beneficial to your skin. I suppose you never know. I don’t think its sexist just a crappy idea.
Ah, for the childlike joy of science, neat fossils, shiny stones, and cool lizards that crawl on your face….. Wait, what’s that siren? Why it’s the Politically Correct Perv Police……” Put down the lizard and any joy you have in learning Miss. We’re from the University, and we’re here to help.” All of you ‘scientists’ above can go rot in hell. May my daughter (who currently loves science) never encounter YOU.
um, que?
Doc, how the hell is letting any animal crawl on your face a “childlike joy of science?” The “childlike joy” for many is the “aHa!” moment of discovery of new knowledge, always an eye opening event, no matter the age and better than any drug. This ad show nothing of that, or the very active pursuit of it. It’s a marketing goobers idea of what would “sell” women in science, but I think it misses the target badly, even if you don’t think that it is sexist (which I do) I think you would agree it is a feeble attempt and ineffective.
Hi all, it seems a shame to kick off this conversation with the header “Women in Science Fail.” Can we give Young Women in Science a break and let them enjoy creepy crawly scaly critters as much as the next guy?
“Doc, how the hell is letting any animal crawl on your face a “childlike joy of science?””
Um, Charles Darwin might disagree:
But no pursuit at Cambridge was followed with nearly so much eagerness or gave me so much pleasure as collecting beetles. It was the mere passion for collecting, for I did not dissect them and rarely compared their external characters with published descriptions, but got them named anyhow. I will give a proof of my zeal: one day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles and seized one in each hand; then I saw a third and new kind, which I could not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which I held in my right hand into my mouth. Alas it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that I was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as well as the third one.
As far as the original topic goes, while the photo sure doesn’t make me connect women to science, neither does it strike me as heinous, or even close to offensive. It looks to me like typical advertising industry goofiness. I think folks in this thread are reading way, way too much into an oddball photo.
When I saw it, I immediately thought “fellate the lizard to win an ipod.” However, I kept a blank expression, and asked my girlfriend in a neutral tone, “What do you think of this?”
She replied, “How is having a lizard on her lips supposed to interest young women in science?”
So, blatant misogyny? Not sure about that, but it definitely doesn’t make a good impression.
i dont think the image really conveys anything to be honest – certainly nothing to do with sex discrimination. maybe just the artist is a little warped and I think women have a mind of their own to know that their sex does not prevent them from being succesful in whichever field they choose – credit us mere females with a little more intelligence.