HEX Issue 5: Bloody Great!
Follow Scotland's lead and change the system
Ah, hags, some bloody good news at last!
Yep, good ol’ Scotland is socking it to period poverty by providing free tampons and sanitary towels in schools, universities and other public buildings. Even better, the bill was passed unanimously – there’s something heartening about 121 MSPs genuinely giving a shit about universal access to products some consider a luxury (they should try binning yet another pair of ruined pyjama bottoms and tell us how luxurious they feel then).
Thanks, Scotland – you’re “brave” indeed to lead the charge on such progressive legislation. Be good to see the rest of the UK follow suit now the tampon tax has been axed – a fact you may have missed because of the whole pandemic furore (or Bake Off. We’re not here to judge you).
What other news have we got for you? This week’s heady mix includes seahorses and fairytales, the Mandalorian and gender disparity in leadership jobs. We’ve also sprinkled in some bardcore – if you’ve not heard Dolly Parton’s Jolene sung medieval-style, you ain't lived. Don’t say we never treat you.
Stop “Fixing” Women
Telling women to behave more like men isn’t helping anyone
Why are women in STEM encouraged to “fix” themselves to get ahead? Why do workshops and initiatives to help women mostly focus on individual empowerment rather than system change? Why are women encouraged to keep leaning in instead of men leaning the f*ck out for a change? Why are women targeted with “leadership” courses?
The system is the problem, not women, says Rosalind Frankly.
TIT BITS
Keeping abreast of the latest news, views, and research
Putting the men in mentor 🙄
Is it women who are holding other women back? Are we banging on about the patriarchy every week for naught? Nah, we don’t think so either. Women in STEM were up in arms this week after a paper was published claiming mentorship by women leads to less success for students – and that what mentees would really benefit from is a MALE mentor. (Feel free to take a moment here to check it’s not the 1970s.) As you’d expect, there has been much outrage (🍿), with prominent figures calling for the paper to be retracted. At this time, Nature Communications are looking into it, and we can only hope they reach a faster decision than the publisher of THAT endometriosis paper...
Are you sitting uncomfortably…?
Fairy tales aren't known for their gender equity. Women are generally baby-cursing hags or snoozing princesses, men are dull AF heroes or controlling fathers. But what if all the genders in the tales were switched? One book has done just that – and, according to the review, will probably make you aware of your unconscious biases too. Do Dads cook custard? Is it weird for a princess to choose a husband by his shoe size? Can you cope with a 'Sleeping Handsome'?!
We’re going to need a bigger pool
A new study suggests one way to narrow the gender gap in leadership jobs – referred to quite sexily by the authors as the ‘leaky pipeline’ – by choosing at random from a pool of top candidates. The researchers found that competitive games where the winner was randomly selected from the top three performers “removed the difference in competitiveness between men and women” i.e., women were more likely to take part. The authors say that their approach might “enlarge the pool of high-performing women who apply for top jobs”. Selecting new hires at random (albeit from a pre-selected pool of strong candidates) might seem a bit “out there” but it’s not as wacky as it sounds. Consider our pipeline leak partially staunched.
Birthing partners
Ah, to be a female pygmy seahorse. In a setup we humans can only dream of, it is the male who carries the fertilised eggs and gives birth – a series of events that has now been captured on camera for the first time. In these incredible pics, Tom the pygmy seahorse is seen fertilising the eggs within his own reproductive system and ultimately pushing the babies from his “brood pouch” (get that on your Womb Euphemism List). It’s still unclear whether his mate Josephine also manages to dodge the pay gap, street harassment and being expected to buy cards for relatives’ birthdays.
TO THE KRAKEN 🦑
The Kraken won’t be bending the tentacle to this pervy potentate
Consigned to Davy Jones’ locker this week: King Louis XIV of France, who apparently helped popularise giving birth lying down. For most women, this is among the worst positions to give birth in and, prior to Louis’ reign, women in France typically gave birth sitting upright on a birthing stool. But the monarch’s creepy love of watching childbirth meant he insisted that his wives and mistresses (he fathered a total of 22 children) gave birth lying on their backs, legs akimbo, to give him a better view (grim). Hold on to your wig, Louis, you’re in for a bumpy ride with Queen K.
We can’t pin all the blame on the kinky king though – the main reason for the switch in preferred positions was for the convenience of (male) surgeons, who in the 1600s were keen to establish their dominance over (female) midwives and encourage a more medicalised approach to childbirth. In light of this, we’ll show leniency… and allow the king to meet his fate in any position he chooses.
FEMINISTS RUIN EVERYTHING (including a galaxy far, far away)
The coven discuss what we’re reading, watching, loving, and loathing
The Mandalorian is a great solo dad but we feel he needs a fathers support group. Rosalind Frankly and Jean Splicer discuss the latest Star Wars spin-off.
Rosalind Frankly: I was just wondering… am I weird for slightly fancying the Mandalorian, even though he is in a mask and armour all the time?!! Or do I just want to adopt Baby Yoda? 🤣
Jean Splicer: No, wanting to marry the Mandalorian and raise Baby Yoda with him is totally valid and I also want to do this. It’s his head tilts and also the voice.
RF: And that he’s a good egg really.
JS: He’s doing his best. Although watching The Mandalorian when I have a toddler makes it, like, extra stressful. I’m forever yelling parenting advice at the screen.
RF: Ha!
JS: “Mando, letting a baby sleep in a hammock does NOT conform to The Lullaby Trust safe sleep advice.”
“Should he be eating that frog?”
“GET THAT FLAMETHROWER IN A LOCKED CUPBOARD PLEASE.”
RF: IKR!
JS: I get that he follows a sacred ancient code but eye contact is VERY important for a baby’s social development and that helmet is not cutting it.
RF: Also, Baby Yoda has witnessed so SO much violence; what impact will that have on his social development?!
JS: It’s a great series though. I feel very seen as an underserved section of the population – people who want cool Star Wars gunfights and also the dynamics of a single father raising his baby while pursuing a demanding full-time career as a bounty hunter.
RF: Good thing he hasn’t had to take leave from the day job to breastfeed with all that armour! Although, as he doesn’t seem to be saddled with the more mundane and time-consuming elements of childcare, he has more time to focus on his bounty hunter ways. I can’t recall seeing him do a nappy change or scrub crayon off the walls of his ship 😉
More things firing up our jetpacks this week:
FeministVoice’s 9 reasons why ‘Black hair is not just hair’ | Science Scribbles’ excellent Shout About Science pins | These “bardcore” versions of well-known pop songs | A characteristically honest post about fertility by Lena Dunham | The Rockerfeller Christmas tree being the interpretive dance of 2020 | Elena Ferrante's 40 favourite books by female authors. Between us, we've read 5 – have you done better?!
The HEX Science team
🧬Jean Splicer | ☢ Marie Fury | 🧠 Rorschach Tess | 🔬 Rosalind Frankly