Hi all,
I have been enjoying following this conversation as a lurker - thanks!
I think one of the problems is that books like you describe above (about
excellent artists of both genders) do happen (there are many books that
survey contemporary art and include women artists just as "artists", for
example), but that in many fields and particularly in technical fields,
the writers of these books are still (despite feminism) blind to their
own biases that have been produced by a society in which men hold the
reins of power.
I'm not positing an "all males are evil" or "it's all a conspiracy" kind
of feminism - only that we need books like Judy's with an exclusive
focus on women in order to highlight stories about technology and art
that might not otherwise get told. These stories contribute to shaping
our reality and our possibilities. So, for example, Isabel, your mother
had probably never heard stories of a girl taking the technical classes.
Thus, it was simply not even in her realm of possible futures that she
was thinking of for you.
It's been interesting and inspiring for me as a female programmer, for
example, to meet other female programmers. A female math teacher I had
in college (a professor in the all-male faculty) was a huge inspiration
for me. There is less possibility and less excuse for dropping out
("Well, if they can do it, then so can I..."!)
People change the world through political action, violence, rebellion,
etc. One of the very most powerful means of change is to simply tell the
stories that describe the world you want to live in.
best,
kanarinka