Ada Lovelace was a very fashionable scientist, and I’m sure she’d have appreciated the geeky clothing of #scishirt week.
For those of you following along at home, there’s been a big kerfuffle on the internet about #ThatShirt (or #ShirtGate, #ShirtStorm). Lots of really smart folks have posted great commentary on the situation, and so I’m not going to do that here. What I will say, is that I understand what Matt Taylor was trying to do (though not how he did it!). I get the urge to portray scientists as hip, cool, fun, and creative.
So in that spirit, I started #scishirt. This is the opportunity to do what Taylor was trying to do, but in an inclusive way. All week long, folks are tweeting pictures of themselves wearing their favorite fun, creative, geeky, or even everyday, non-sexist outfits. I see this as an opportunity to help start a conversation about diversity in science, and public representations of scientists. It’s also an opportunity to have a little fun after what has been, for many of us, an extremely harrowing weekend. So, dig out those galaxy tights, your shark socks, your nerdy T-shirts, and your fossil ties, and have a great week!
Categories: Good Causes Women in Science Outreach
The Contemplative Mammoth 
Reblogged this on jessoretimes.
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I love this idea!
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I think your comment on this whole mess has been refreshing and mature. Many of the comments were supportive and looked at some very real reasons why Matt’s shirt was such a very wrong choice. But I agree that he was not intending the outrage and overwhelming attention it received. Scientists by virtue of their intensity can be quirky and unique. As I have a son who will soon be embarking on post-secondary education in the sciences and who has a somewhat quirky nature, I applaud your challenge! A post with pictures of some of the week’s fashion choices would be quite enjoyable!
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Reblogged this on CauseScience and commented:
Awesome!!!!!!!
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Such a fantastic idea Jacquelyn. Thanks for launching a positive way for people to respond and move forward!
PS – Have you seen our “Half of all T.rexes were girls” shirt, for kids and adults? 🙂
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Not trying to be a pedant, but I am unfamiliar with the ‘urge to pick scientists as..’ portray?
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Yes, thanks! Sorry, this was posted from my phone on the fly (I’m giving a talk at Smith College today) and I missed a few autocorrects and typos!
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I figured it was something like that! :). Good luck with your talk at Smith!
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