Invisible Women

Invisible Women

Adult nonfiction
"Most of recorded human history is one big data gap. Starting
with the theory of Man the Hunter, the chronicles of the past have
left little space for women's role in the evolution of humanity,
whether cultural or biological. Instead, the lives of men have been
taken to taken to represent those of humans overall. When it comes to
the lives of the other half of humanity, there is nothing but silence."
If you're a woman (or gender fluid like me) you really need to
read Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World
Designed For Men. Its theme is both basic and pervasive. Males, who
almost always run things, take their gender to be normative and
anything else a trivial distraction in anything from policy writing to
product design. Perez shows us the many ways in which this happens.
Going to the doctor? You may be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Medical devices are designed for men's larger bodies. Many medicines
that have the potential to make a life or death difference are tested
only on males. Even the lab animals are males. Women regularly die
of or suffer for years from doctors deciding that their very real
illnesses are psychomatic. (That chapter was so scary I had to skip a
bunch of paragraphs).
Let's head on to work where the myth of meritocracy rears its
ugly head. Let the guys running the show believe they got there on
their own superiority, and there's no need to correct for gender bias
in hiring or promotions. Women are expected to do more of the stuff
like brewing coffee and taking minutes. Genius bias (whereby people
picture males as such) has a toxic effect on women's evaluations.
Can even snow plowing patterns be sexist? You bet!!! Read the
book and see how.
Those are only a few examples from Invisible Women. From home to
houses of Congress and Parliament our concerns are being totally
ignored. Something has to be done, so more of us need to be woke.
On a purrrsonal note, this has been quite a week so far. Monday I was
a peacekeeper for the first time. College Republicans put some very
aggravating stuff in regard to indiginous peoples on the Internet.
Monday there was a peaceful, educational protest by indigenous people
and allies. Reading Dawnland Voices really got me ready for that!
Peacekeepers were called for because there was reason to fear
disruption. Luckily it didn't happen. Wednesday my daughter, Amber,
and her friends protested a speaker brought in by guess who who had
posted the okayness of rape. (Hey, College Republicans, are you
trying to see how many marginalized groups you can aggravate?)
On Halloween I got to work in costume. I was the fairy who cares for
unicorns with sparkly blue wings and a long, curly wig and a unicorn
shirt. People just LOVED my costume. And I got lots of candy trick
or treating at the Union. At home I watched a Halloween movie, Hocus
Pocus, with Eugene before bed.
Today I woke up to what sounded like a train barreling through. It
turned out to be wicked high winds which are still going on. UMaine
is closed. Only essential personnel need to come in. Luckily I'm not
scheduled to work. If I was I'd be out in that mess. Anna sent out a
call for help but I'm leaving that to people who live on campus or
drive.
Great big shout outs go out to the indigenous students who shared
their knowledge so gracefully and generously, Amber and her feminist
friends, and all who celebrated Halloween up to UMaine. Also to the
best little cat in the world who I missed terribly my first Halloween
without him.
jules hathaway



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