Language, Gender, and STEM
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Description
Success in STEM-based fields provides a path to highly regarded and powerful positions in society. Hegemonic structures of society have excluded women and other non-hegemonic groups from these fields and from recognition in these fields. Between 1903 and 2018 the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded 113 times to 212 individuals. Marie Curie was awarded the prize in 1903; Marie Goeppert-Mayer in 1963; and Donna Strickland in 2018. Three women out of 212 award winners reflects continued exclusion of women from STEM-related fields. This study focuses on the language used in the newspaper announcements for these three Nobel Prize winners. Newspapers use specific language and linguistic strategies to maintain society’s hegemonic values and goals. By winning the Nobel Prize for physics these three women challenged the hegemonic values of society that commonly exclude women from STEM-based fields. The newspaper announcements for these three Nobel Prize winners used language and strategies to resolve this challenge while describing these women and their achievements. This analysis provides an examination of the announcements to identify how language is used to portray these women to the general public. The announcements were analyzed to understand the use of linguistic strategies such as Topic Control, Hidden Power, and Interpretive Control, and the intended outcomes. The analysis revealed specific strategies used to portray each of these three women. The linguistic strategies shifted over time and each of these women were portrayed differently from their male counterparts and from each other. The announcements were consistent in portraying the male counterparts with admiration and respect for their accomplishments in physics. The 1903 newspaper announcements for Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize for physics erased or minimized Marie Curie’s achievements through linguistic silencing strategies. Subsequently, in 1911, when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry, the announcements were more respectful in acknowledging Curie’s accomplishments. However, she was presented through traditional social constructs that applied to women. This included the use of compliments, euphemisms and evaluative comments that focused on her appearance and her social roles of wife, widow, mother, and her household duties rather than accomplishments. The 1963 newspaper announcements celebrated Maria Goeppert-Mayer’s achievement of being awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. However, the announcements foregrounded Dr. Goeppert-Mayer’s social roles of wife, mother, and employee. Dr. Goeppert-Mayer was often referred to as Mrs. Goeppert-Mayer rather than using her professional title. In contrast, the 2018 announcements for Donna Strickland presented her in a similar fashion as her male colleagues. She was applauded for her achievement and acknowledged as a leading contributor to the research for which the Nobel Prize was awarded. Strickland was not held to any social roles, identified by her marital or family status, or any other traditional social constructs. The announcements focused on her scientific achievements and her career. Each of the announcements for Dr. Strickland foregrounded, or at least acknowledged, the lack of women in the field of physics, but recognized and denounced the bias against women. Across all the Nobel Prize announcements the use of language was intentional and effective in portraying each of these prize winners. The linguistic strategies shifted over the timeframe of 115 years to finally achieve a more well-balanced presentation of a woman being awarded a Nobel Prize for physics.