Victorian Feminism

Feminist in the way that if you’re a male you realize your propensity to get up and go first, to take the barbarian role assigned. Victorian in the way that you’re a gentleman and can step aside. Harvard President Lawrence Summers fell into a quagmire regarding feminist thought this week.

Everyone seems to be talking about it. Summers has said to a variety of news sources and recounts of his speech include his preface that he was attempting to “provoke” the audience with his statement. Innate inability of women in science rather than a socialization that precludes them from careers in science was the postulation that most who took offence found most objectionable. His proposition is antithetical to much of the work that has been done to prove women are equal to men in many ways. The Globe reports on comments made to them that this theory of genetic bias is often dismissed by the end of the first day of any class in gender studies. Feminism has attempted to critique gender inequalities in society by examining power relations, sexuality, and social basis for inequality, generally excluding any biological explanations. Summers explained that he based his theory on academic research that had been conducted that genetics are much more important in determining lifetime performance than environmental variables. This was supplemented with a point that discrimination plays a large role in the ability to achieve. Women face more discrimination than men, especially in science fields. Several women attending Summers presentation at a working lunch walked out after he made his initial statement about genetics playing a large role in women’s achievements in science. Bostonist is going to wait until the end of the talk to see how this scandal unfolds. Remember, Summers is the one who made Cornel West take a job at Princeton.