Dear C,
Have you seen the Disney film, Ice Princess yet? It occurs to me that the movie’s plot provides the obvious answer to Lawrence Summers’ soul-searching as to why there aren’t more women in science. In case you haven’t seen it, the story revolves about a high school physics geek, played by Michelle Trachtenberg (the new Scarlett Johannsen), who throws away a chance at a scholarship to Harvard in order to take her chances in the cutthroat world of competitive ice-skating. The reason she does this, of course, may not be clear to the current dean of Harvard, but it is obvious to anyone in possession of a couple of X chromosones: adorable outfits and cute white boots. I am convinced that if girls got to twirl around the lab in tight-fitting, butt-grazing spangly pink costumes, many more of them might be inclined to discover the REAL cure for cellulite, and other burning issues of our time. (Come to think of it, more boys might be inclined to pursue such a career, as well). As a matter of fact, why not extend this principle to everything from combat (giving the term ‘women in uniform’ a whole new meaning) to writing op-ed pieces for The Washington Post (apparently, they are mostly men, although I have my doubts about Charles Krauthammer). Think pink, and pretty soon we will rule the world!
Faithfully,
P.
