I started drafting this to you on Galentine’s Day, an adorable pre-Valentine’s day pop-holiday created by the fictional character Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) of the television show Parks and Recreation. Leslie has created this holiday, which lands the day before Valentine’s day, to celebrate the love she feels for her female friends.
As I exchanged Galentine Greetings online and in-person with my dearest female friends (no we did not share a glorious breakfast, but maybe next year), I of course began to think about the young gifted girls in my life.
Last week, I was sitting with a five-year-old girl as she worked through some problems on Khan Academy, a wonderful free educational resource. Khan Academy is one of her self-proclaimed “favorite things in the world”. After getting a few problems correct, she looked up at me and confidently proclaimed, “I’m good at math.”
“Clearly!” I responded with a full heart and a huge smile on my face.
Then, as I revelled in the glory of learning, I felt a little shadow creep into my heart. That shadow had a voice. It said,
“How are you going to encourage this love of math in the face of overwhelming and undermining messaging that girls are not good at math?”
While amplified intensity, sensitivity, and drive are a few of the well-known characteristics of gifted children, this amplification is generally acknowledged in gifted boys as a “call to action” and in gifted girls as a “cause for worry”.
Girls are judged differently than boys. The expectations placed on them are different as well. There is a societal expectation that girls remain in a supportive, empathetic role. Young ladies who step outside of that role when they declare themselves “good at math” are at risk of being seen as “bossy” and “arrogant”. Boys who make the same declaration are considered “enthusiastic” and as a “go-getter”.
The pay-off for a gifted girl driven to defy expectations comes at the end of a long, winding, partially-paved road. At this point in my life, I still find myself running alongside these ladies. Other times I get to be the one who stands on the side of the road and cheers while handing out paper cups of water.
A lack of healthy messaging for gifted girls makes for a lonely time out on that road. At my most solitary, it’s the gifted women of culture, literature, and movies that have given me guidance. For this reason, I’m always on the look-out for positive images of gifted women in the world that I can share and celebrate.
We need to show gifted girls what’s possible. Show them examples of women who have lived fulfilled lives as leaders. Show them girls that are making quirky, passionate, and sensitive work. Show them how it can be good to be gifted.
Who are your favorite famous gifted women? Share them with me in the comments, so we can get a good list going for our girls!
And in the meantime, sit tight until next month for part two in my “What About Gifted Girls?” series. I’ll be sharing with you my favorite gifted ladies, and yes, Leslie Knope is on the list.
What an honorable mission; this is awesome! I very much look forward to this series, Jade. And here are a few of my favorite gifted women: Ada Lovelace, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, and Frida Kahlo. <3
Nice list! Thank you. 🙂
Oh, Jade. Gifted girls have been on my mind recently, too. I already see the giftedness playing out differently in my daughter versus her brothers, and it worries me that she will hide it as our society often pushes her to do.
I will be looking forward to this list. As for my favorite gifted girl? I would pick Anne (with an e!) of Green Gables. I wore those books out as a child. I admired her drive, her imagination, and her spirit. She was actually one of my 75 gazillion imaginary friends when I was little. Man, I miss her 🙂
Thanks for this!
I think awareness is more than half the battle, so you’re doing great! You know, you could bring Anne back… I’d love to know who’s on her list.
Looking forward to your thoughts on gifted girls. One sentence springs to mind
“Gifted girls learn teacher-pleasing behaviors far more quickly than boys.” (Linda Silverman in Reclaiming lost giftedness in girls. Understanding our Gifted. November, 5, 17-18). As a teacher, I keep that sentence in my mind when I meet those eager, lovely first grade girls who so eagerly want to assist us 🙂
As to my favourit gifted female? At the moment it must be “The incredible queen of neuroscience” who recently won a Nobel prize, May Britt Moser:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/may-britt-moser_n_6701146.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
Isn’t she fascinating!? I had not seen that article yet, thank you.
I’m glad you’re in the classroom looking out for our gifted girls. Thank you for that, as well.
Thank you, Jade, for continuing to address this issue. Changing society is a long road to walk, but the journey is well worth it! Famous females inspire us for the gifts they make apparent in their work. Society has recognized them for pursuing their gift in a traditional way. I would like to honor those not-so-famous, but nonetheless, gifted. Perhaps we can lift them up, for that is where true belief in oneself begins to emerge. It is the evidence seen in one’s experience that changes one’s mind and gives her the courage to be herself. Even if that means she consciously chooses to not use her gift in the traditional way, but to utilize it in a more non-conventional way. Imagine the gifted thinking displayed in such a choice, as well as other gifts that now have a stage! Imagine a society that embraces her right to choose without any stigma or typical ideas of where to apply the gift. I’m sure you were making this point, but it sounds like we are still stuck in our traditional view of how gifts should be exercised. If a girl chooses to pursue a career outside of her gift, we assume she has been influenced to suppress it in school. Perhaps giving one the courage to show her gift begins with each of us learning and teaching the many ways such a gift can be applied. Email me for examples of gifted use of the voice, inspired by my students. Keep the articles coming!
Thank you for taking the time to comment. What you wrote about the importance of each person seeing evidence of one’s gifts through their experiences is not only true but powerful. Reflection and contemplation of accomplishments is key for their perpetuation.
In terms of gifted women of eminence, I don’t know that it’s correct to assume that they are using their gifts in a traditional way. I think it’s traditional to encourage gifted women to be teachers, nurses, etc. and to aspire to marriage. For a gifted woman to aspire to anything beyond that has been seen, historically as quite non-traditional. Moreover, I don’t assume to know a person’s experience well enough from the outside to determine if they are using their gifts in a traditional or non-traditional way.
As an aside, I want to make very clear that I support teachers ( I mean, I *am* one), nurses as well as women who aspire to marriage. And it’s important to me that those not be the only options to meet the universal need for choice.
When women first entered spheres traditionally considered masculine, like business or politics, many seem to have felt pressure to conform, to some extent, to masculine norms. It seems like it was hard for some of the women early into some professions to marry, or they chose not to have kids.
To the extent that giftedness has been assumed to be a male trait, and demonstrated through paid employment and/or public recognition, it wasn’t (generally) available to women. Clearly gifted women have always existed, but they often haven’t been recognized. I think Tracey’s comment (and I hope s/he jumps in if I’m wrong), is about hoping that women can be recognized as gifted without necessarily showing it in the way that men have usually had to. Having the opportunity to pursue paths that were all but closed to women is good, but I wouldn’t want women to feel like they can’t identify with the gifted label if they don’t have PhDs or impressive employment to show for it.
My guess is Jane Goodall. One of my favorite ladies!
Excellent choice!
Rachel Carson, Hedy Lamarr, Marie Curie, Twyla Tharp,
The Hedy Lamarr story makes my head spin every time I think about it, thank you!
I remember how hard it was to have a gifted pre-school / early elementary aged girl. Her creative ideas were always seen as being imposed on other kids – I have never come across a young boy that was labeled socially controlling, overbearing or demanding of his peers. It was just ‘boys being boys.’ The families of E’s friends and her pre-school teachers were always asking us to reel her in, directly and indirectly. Her giftedness as a leader and innovator as a young child was a constant source of frustration because her creative medium was other kids! In order to execute her creative visions (usually very elaborate epic shows or contests) she needed peers, and when they didn’t have the attention span or commitment to follow through she lost all self-control. I’d love to hear a discussion/blog entry on the social challenges gifted girls face at different stages in their lives.
I think one of my favourite gifted women would have to be Sophie Germain, the french mathematician from the 1800s. She inspires me.
Such an important topic. A gifted woman my own gifted girls look up to is Mayem Bialik.
As mom to a gifted girl this speaks to my heart. My daughter self-identifies as a geek and a nerd but she’s just entering those tween years where so much can change.
My favorites growing up were Eleanor Roosevelt, Sally Ride and Queen Elizabeth I. I think she must’ve been one smart/tough cookie!
Oh. Girl.
My girl, is such, a girl. In every way, a girl. I want to love that, and let her love that (but sometimes, the pink! ) I want her to be beautiful, because she IS, but not spend so much TIME being beautiful, because, she is, so much more. She is brilliant, but cannot fail, so cannot try. She Sees, and cares and loves with a woman’s full kind heart, but is held back by fear of being judged. It seems to me that being a gifted girl, such a wonderfully gifted girl, is a very difficult road to walk at seven years old.
My favourite fictional gifted girl of the moment is ‘Alice-Miranda’ of Jacqueline Harvey’s series of books for primary school children. Real gifted girls I admire are: my mum, Miraca U.M. Gross, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway.
I’ve always been a big fan of Eleanor Roosevelt and the more I learn of Hedy Lemar the more she fascinates me but I’d have to say the best modern day examples I can think of is Mayim Bialik-neuroscientist, Ashley Judd-who has a master’s in public administration.
We’re big on Jane Goodall, Barbara McClintock, Rachel Carson and Elizabeth Blackwell. My daughter wants to be a cellular biologist so we talk a lot about women scientist.
These days, I’m all about Alison Bechdel and Nancy Huston (her way to use french language and reflect about it as a non-native speaker is absolutely dazzling) ; I’ve also read a great comic about Annie Sullivan’s life (she’s as stunning as Helen Keller, and fight as much adversity in my opinion) by Sidonie Van den Dries. Also the french writer Colette is one of my faves.
Sorry I messed up the name of the author for Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller : Joseph Lambert (the other name is the translator !)
Two more name of important gifted women, then : Hanna Harendt and Niki de Saint Phalle !
I am actually busy writing a series of short stories, targeted specifically at gifted girls in the tween stages of life. The inspiration is of course my own daughter, and I’m hoping it will help guide her through this very fragile stage. Maybe I can get them published one day:)
After the first story, I could already see a change in her confidence and she is no longer willing to simply hide to blend in anymore! As for my personal female inspiration, it’s going to sound silly, but yes, Pippy Longstocking! A fictional character who simply was not willing to compromise just to fit in. Someone who owned her “weirdness” and used her talents to forge ahead bravely. Certainly helped me become a financial director, and I was never ashamed to be great at anything boys could do “better than girls” in the traditional sense. We definitely need to overcome that archaic type of thinking for our girls to flourish.
Grace Hopper!!