I can hardly believe this but the science museum are working with gendered intelligence

[ageingrunner]

genderedintelligence.co.uk/arts-projects/past

Can this be true?

I'm really disappointed that the SCIENCE museum would present something with such uncritical commentary.

"Some scientists think gender is innate" - I would love to know exactly who these scientists are and the extent of their studies. My understanding is that the overwhelming consensus is that there is no such thing as brain gender, in the same way that there is no such thing as kidney gender, or lung gender.

What's next? Flat earth exhibitions? Archaeological exhibitions that mention that some people believe that dinosaur bones were buried by God to test our faith?

Sporadicus just wanted to say thanks for a very clear explanation! I have sort of followed some of the trans issues that come up in threads all around MN but they quickly dissolve into fights before I can figure out what's going on!

I'm still hoping I'll wake up one day and discover this Orwellian nightmare actually was just a bad dream.

What dodos said

Lorelei - yes, it does look like just what some people think, not a scientific study - but a lot of the population really wont be able to make that distinction (esp the museums main audience, kids) . What the heck does the Science Museum think its playing at here? Is there some way to register concern?

TBH, I've not been to the Science Museum for a few years but, well, it seemed a bit meh compared with the Natural History museum next door. Too arty and trendy maybe instead of more simply and powerfully conveying science and technology. DD ( who is a techie type) seemed underwhelmed too, maybe we've been spoilt by the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

Lorelei sorry I misread your tone

Bisquick glad I could help! It's very easy for those of us who've read reams and reams of these threads, blogs etc to assume everyone else knows the extent to which this stuff has taken hold. I hope other mumsnetters feel able to ask

Errol indeed there is - [email protected]

I'm very worried about every organisation jumping on the "let's do something about trans, it will make us look cool and inclusive" and then handing over the reins to a trans activist organisation like Gendered Intelligence without any critical thinking. It's utterly shocking for the science museum to do this.

Yes MrsJamin, it appears that's exactly what's happened. They're a science museum FFS, they have a duty to engage in critical thinking and a social responsibility to all.

The Director of the Science Museum is called Ian Blatchford, might be good to direct concerns to him.

So it turns out that the institute formerly known as the Science museum has got a great child friendly quiz called "What sex is your brain" with a handy sex-o-meter.

This has gone from being a misguided exhibition to being out and out offensive. How on earth can they align that with scientific principles and particularly with the drive to get more women and girls into STEM?

OMFG and WTAF at the ladybrainometer!!

Bloody hell! if I lived anywhere near London, DD and I would be off there to point and make loud comments. Though actually she's too busy, doing A levels in double maths and physics.

She hasn't got 'boy brain' - she's just grown up being herself, though with less stereotype threat and peer pressure than many (I'm a scientist who's good at maths, her primary school had excellent female science and maths specialists, girls secondary where the science/maths/tech activities are clearly for girls...). To be clear, I'd be just as happy if she was into stereotypically 'female' subjects, its her life, her personality.

Incidentally, using Google scholar 'Your search - "brain sex" "pictures of fruit" - did not match any articles.' . Now there's a suprise.

Dodo, I hope you don't mind but I've just tweeted your picture, tagging the Science Museum, the Women's Engineering Society & the WISE campaign for getting more women into STEM.

FFS.

The "test" that Dodo posted a picture of, is available on the BBC Science & Nature page:

www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/interactives/personality/brain_sex/brainquiz.shtml

Absolutely awful.

I would think the Chairman of the Trustees of the Science Museum would be the person to write to as well - it's Mary Archer.

No problem at all Empress - I really need to figure out Twitter at some point so glad someone's doing it. I'm absolutely appalled that it's on the BBC website as well - it's bad enough when you get those dreadful BuzzFeed quizzes, but to see it from sources that are supposed to know better is really upsetting.

It's so pitiful but the BBC has bought the trans narrative hook, line and sinker.

Thanks Countess, I've tweeted Mary Archer too.

I agree with you all - organisations tripping over themselves to be inclusive (which is no bad thing in itself) - but in doing so, throwing science out the window.

And an awful lot of people too scared to object, for fear of being called transphobic or a bigot.

Throwing science and throwing feminism out of the window...

Naming changing 'cos there's enough autobiographical detail in here to be possibly outing.

I'm a research physicist. I have spent my life fighting against gender stereotyping to get where I am - from the in-your-face stuff (careers advisors saying "don't do science") to the more subtle stuff (my girls' school making biology compulsory, meaning if you were interested in physical sciences you ended up with such a wildly unbalanced set of O levels that your application to Oxbridge would look really unappealling). I've also been privileged to know some wonderful women - from meeting Jocelyn Bell Burnell as a schoolgirl (her stories about fighting through stereotypes are funny and sad) to Katheryn Sullivan (one of the first women astronauts on the space shuttle programme - a contemporary of Sally Ride). I work in a world-renowned institution - with lots of women physicists and mathematicians (nowhere near 50-50, but we're still doing a damn sight better than most places). One of my female colleagues has the most widely cited paper ever in our field.

And now the Science Museum, THE FUCKING SCIENCE MUSEUM FOR GOD'S SAKE, wants to tell little girls that if they're good at spatial reasoning and rotating shapes in their heads that means they have boy's brains!

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!

Perhaps they should put the SAGE test there for the parents to try out.

And now the Science Museum, THE FUCKING SCIENCE MUSEUM FOR GOD'S SAKE, wants to tell little girls that if they're good at spatial reasoning and rotating shapes in their heads that means they have boy's brains!

God I know. I just want to cry. I've been on thread about girls and boys toys too, and I just want to cry.

YY, Countess. Just how many decades has this set feminism, and the deconstruction of gender barriers, back? (I'm thinking ten.)