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How Do You Describe This Blog?
Recently I was asked for a short description of this blog. I offer it here in case you are wanting to tell someone else about Thus Spake Zuska and are looking for just the right words to do so. Here are just the right words:
Goddess of Science and Empress of Engineering should be self-evident titles. I am what I am. And I have the degrees to back it up. :) But Avenging Angel of Angry Women - well, let me tell you, guys, if you didn't already suspect it, there are a LOT of angry women out there. Even if they are keeping their anger tamped down. Even if they aren't entirely aware of their anger themselves. Even if they haven't told you about it. And there are more women who ought to be angrier than they are, in my opinion. Because, let's face it, here we are in 2005 arguing the same damn things that women have been arguing since Christine de Pizan in the freakin' 14th century. But perhaps you will say, along with civil engineer Elsie Eaves, "In this day, to go on record by stating what women can or cannot do is to invite demonstrated contradiction. There is no sex to engineering..." Or you would agree with M. D. Martha Tracy, that "The open door is on every hand..." Of course, Eaves was speaking in 1920, and Tracy in 1904. In 1903, Ethel Ricker became the first woman elected to Tau Beta Pi, engineering's honor society. What did the national executive board see fit to do? Why, to overturn her election and amend the constitution to explicitly exclude women, so that similar mistakes couldn't occur in the future. Now that's some honor! It wasn't till 1969 that the constitution was amended to re-allow women, 1973 that sexist language was removed from the constitution and by-laws. It makes me ANGRY that things like this happened and it makes me ANGRY that this part of history is covered up, hidden. As if the excruciatingly slow progress of women in engineering and science somehow just "happened". There weren't any stumbling blocks erected along the way by the men in charge, were there? Oh, no - they built some damn castles with moats and put out signs: "Women Not Wanted". So when organizations - be they departments, universities, companies, what have you - go around trumpeting proudly that they have just hired or installed their first woman whatever - department head, dean, vice-president, of engineering, physics, chemistry, you name it - my response is not "how great!" but "Jesu Christi, you are just getting around to it NOW?" You - meaning you folks in charge of whatever organizational structures are responsible for this - you ought to be ashamed that it has taken you this long to recognize the female talent right under your noses. And so, yes - Avenging Angel of Angry Women. Because sisters, if you can't let yourself say it out loud because of the spot you are in, if you are out of touch with it because you've been surpressing it so long in order to get along - well, just sit right down with Zuska for awhile and get in touch with your Inner Pissed Off Woman. Because I, like my heroine Debra Rolison, feel that A Millenium of Affirmative Action for White Men is Sufficient.
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