Defying the odds
The femenist standpoint theory has two principles. The first one is, “all knowledge is situated, interpreted, and thus local.” According to Harding, there can never be objective science because backgrounds and scientists day to day lifestyle will influence the way science is conducted. Science is conducted to reveal the truth, but that’s easier said than done. The second principle claims, “people in marginalized groups are situated in the way that allows said people to see more than those not in the group.”(Halpern) Misrepresented people often can give a different perspective to the same problem and possibly a better insight than someone on the dominant side of the spectrum.
Radioactive, by Lauren Redniss, is a personal and emotional rollercoaster of a book. The abstract art and amazing use of colors really help resonate what the author is trying to make the reader feel. Radioactive is an artistic book about the life experiences of Marie Curie. Marie was born in Warsaw on November 7th, 1867. Marie had a very rough childhood, losing her oldest sister to Typhus and her mother to tuberculosis when she was only eleven years old. This relates to the feminist standpoint theory because Marie had such a different background growing up. She knew she was destined for greatness, which pushed her to do better in her future. When she turned sixteen, she joined the Flying University, which was a thousand women who secretly met to defy the Russian grips on education.
In 1891, at the age of twenty-four, Marie enrolled at the Faculte des Sciences, where she was only one of the twenty three women from the eighteen hundred students enrolled. In 1893, Marie completed degrees in mathematics and physics and was quickly hired to work for the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry. This is where Marie met Pierre Curie, a famous scientist that she fell in love with. Pierre employed Marie to work in his lab, in which he shared his ideas and passion for science. In 1895, they got married and two years later they welcomed a baby girl named Irene into the world. Despite the lack of gender representation in the scientific field, Marie Curie defied the odds and returned to the lab. She was a mother, a wife, and an extraordinary scientist who founded radium and plutonium by radioactivity. This relates to the feminist standpoint theory because it shows her misrepresentation as a women in this field of work. Her gender did not stop or discourage her from continuing on in her greatness. She later lost her husband in an accident, remarried and was honored to win her second nobel prize and became the first woman professor at that university. Her winnings are another great example of the feminist standpoint theory, because even after her tragedy of losing her husband, she still continued to succeed.
Marie Curie was a female scientist in the late eighteenth century who defied the odds being a woman. She won two nobel prizes for her discoveries, while nursing her child and caring for her husband at the same time. Female scientists today are considered to have what is called “a second shift”. This is when they get off of work and begin their “second job” taking care of their family. Female stereotypes have portrayed women staying at home and taking care of children. The typical stereotype for a scientist is not a woman. My claim is that women are able to have successful careers as well. They should not have to be stereotyped into being housewives and stay at home moms. It is empowering for women to have successful careers and also have a loving family to go home to at night. Stories like Marie Curie’s are inspiring not only for women, but to the whole world. Her story is a perfect example of my claim. If she could do it in the eighteenth century, a much more unequal time for women, it could definitely be done today. This gives rise to the Feminist movements because it truly does show that women are capable of anything they set their mind to.
Work cited:
Halpern, M. (2019). Feminist standpoint theory and science communication. Journal of Science Communication, 18(4), C02.
Redniss, L. (2015). Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, a tale of love & fallout. London: Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
