1) This thread has nothing to do with gifted education.
2) I'm hoping beyond reasonable hope that someday, women will cease parading around on stage to be judged as pieces of meat, and that threads like this will no longer exist, because we will care more about what women can think and do, rather than what they look like in swimsuits and evening gowns.
Your point is well-taken. Please consider this context...
Past discussions on gifted forums have included coverage of articles such as:
Google, Tell Me. Is My Son a Genius?by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
January 19, 2014
New York Times
MORE than a decade into the 21st century, we would like to think that American parents have similar standards and similar dreams for their sons and daughters. But my study of anonymous, aggregate data from Google searches suggests that contemporary American parents are far more likely to want their boys smart and their girls skinny.
It’s not that parents don’t want their daughters to be bright or their sons to be in shape, but they are much more focused on the braininess of their sons and the waistlines of their daughters.
Start with intelligence. It’s hardly surprising that parents of young children are often excited at the thought that their child may be gifted. In fact, of all Google searches starting “Is my 2-year-old,” the most common next word is “gifted.” But this question is not asked equally about young boys and young girls. Parents are two and a half times more likely to ask “Is my son gifted?” than “Is my daughter gifted?”
This article was also the subject of a
post on the Gifted Exchange blogspot, funded by Davidson.
Here is a woman with the parent-sought qualities, and this new Miss USA is utilizing her 15 minutes of fame to encourage girls' interest in STEM fields. She may well reach a broad audience.
This is germane to gifted education because gifted kids (possibly more often girls) may hide their intellect in order to fit in socially at school.
