Page 127 - ALCHEMY 2018-19

INTERNALIZING ROBERTA GIBB

STEREOTYPES The inspiration of my life is Roberta Gibb as she

winner.
The career aspirations of young men and has broken the stereotypes and has come out a
women are shaped by society. Stereotypes that Roberta Gibb was born in Cambridge,
men are better than women at Mathematics Massachusetts, United States on 2 November
impair women’s performance in this domain 1942. In 1966, Roberta Gibb applied to participate
and undermines their interest in Mathematics. in the Boston Marathon. She received a reply from
However, popular beliefs about ability associate the race director who told her that women were
not only specific cognitive processes with a not physiologically capable of running a marathon.
particular gender but also the overall amount of This made Gibb all the more determined to take
cognitive ability. It is commonly assumed that high part.
level cognitive ability is present more often in men On the day of the Boston marathon Gibb hid in
than in women. This brilliant male stereotypes has bushes near the starting point. When the gun
been invoked to explain the gender gaps in many went off, she jumped into the crowd of runners,
prestigious occupations. However little is known disguised in a sweatshirt and men’s Bermuda
about the acquisition of this stereotype. The shorts to hide her identity. Eventually, the
earlier children acquire the notion that brilliance surrounding male competition discovered she
is a male quality, the stronger its influence may be was a woman and were extremely supportive
on their aspirations. and encouraged Gibb to take off her sweatshirt,
The four studies reported here show that by the revealing to the crowd that she was a woman.
age of six, girls are less likely than boys to believe A cheer ran through the crowd and by the time
that members of their genders are really smart. Gibb reached Wellesley College, an all-women
Also at age six , girls in these studies begin to shine institution, the students were waiting for her,
away from novel activities set to be for children cheering and crying. Roberta Gibb finished the
who are really smart. marathon ahead of two-third of the participants.
After that day the Boston Marathon of 1966 was
These studies speak early acquisition of cultural known as “A Run That Broke Stereotypes”
ideas about brilliance and gender, as well as to the
immediate affect that these stereotyped notions That year, Roberta Gibb changed men’s as well as
have on children’s interest. women’s minds on false beliefs.

Naina Pradeep, VIII A Prapti Singhal, VIII-B

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