Einstein, but a girl?
October 1, 2020 6:11 AM Subscribe
What are some older women characters or personae (fictional OR real-life) who combine (a) a nerdy academic vibe, (b) enthusiasm about ideas or specialized content, and (c) an air of strength and confident authority?
In my experience, many people on the academic nerd end of things, particularly in the sciences and in history, tend to present with a natural element of youthful delight or playfulness.
This works fine for actual young people of both genders, and in males of a certain age it carries over well into the absentminded professor character, who's quirky and excitable but also consistently wins respect from others by virtue of his knowledge. That trajectory seems more complicated in a female character, because enthusiasm and quirkiness naturally tend to read "girlish" (hence, sexualized), and girlishness is not normally associated with authority or competence.
I know of plenty of examples of brilliant older women who inhabit authority as part of a Very Serious Person persona (polished, calm, steely), or who succeed by also having the emotional intelligence to cultivate a more maternal mentor/wise-woman presentation (I know a lot about this, let me initiate you!). But I'm interested in whether a feminine equivalent exists to the straight-up Nutty Professor character who's mostly concerned with the subject itself. Ruth Goodman (English historian and TV presenter) might be an OK starting example, but she's a bit of a thing unto herself. Can anyone think of other fictional or real character examples?
In my experience, many people on the academic nerd end of things, particularly in the sciences and in history, tend to present with a natural element of youthful delight or playfulness.
This works fine for actual young people of both genders, and in males of a certain age it carries over well into the absentminded professor character, who's quirky and excitable but also consistently wins respect from others by virtue of his knowledge. That trajectory seems more complicated in a female character, because enthusiasm and quirkiness naturally tend to read "girlish" (hence, sexualized), and girlishness is not normally associated with authority or competence.
I know of plenty of examples of brilliant older women who inhabit authority as part of a Very Serious Person persona (polished, calm, steely), or who succeed by also having the emotional intelligence to cultivate a more maternal mentor/wise-woman presentation (I know a lot about this, let me initiate you!). But I'm interested in whether a feminine equivalent exists to the straight-up Nutty Professor character who's mostly concerned with the subject itself. Ruth Goodman (English historian and TV presenter) might be an OK starting example, but she's a bit of a thing unto herself. Can anyone think of other fictional or real character examples?
She's not as well known outside Canada as she should be, but Ursula Franklin owned that. She could silence a room just by the possibility of speaking. She also had a delightful sense of the absurd, and would poke gentle fun and laugh freely.
posted by scruss at 6:39 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by scruss at 6:39 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
My hero, the classicist Mary Beard!
posted by guessthis at 6:49 AM on October 1, 2020 [19 favorites]
posted by guessthis at 6:49 AM on October 1, 2020 [19 favorites]
fictional, but: Samantha Carter from Stargate.
posted by jabah at 6:52 AM on October 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by jabah at 6:52 AM on October 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
My Irish friend is screaming "Marie Curie!" at you all the way from County Cork. (Curie is her idol.)
I don't know enough about her to know how she would do on the "friendly" scale, but Curie was kick-ass in the research department - she was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the first person and only woman to have ever won the Nobel twice, and the only person to have won the Nobel in two different scientific fields. Initially she teamed up with her husband in her work with discovering new elements, including radium, but he was killed in a car crash shortly after their first award and she kept going, earning the second Nobel on her own. She also did a shit-ton of work trying to set up mobile hospitals during World War I (developing x-ray units, figuring out a way to use radon to sterilize tissue), and lived another 20 years after World War I; she developed cancer from the lifelong exposure to radiation.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:00 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't know enough about her to know how she would do on the "friendly" scale, but Curie was kick-ass in the research department - she was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the first person and only woman to have ever won the Nobel twice, and the only person to have won the Nobel in two different scientific fields. Initially she teamed up with her husband in her work with discovering new elements, including radium, but he was killed in a car crash shortly after their first award and she kept going, earning the second Nobel on her own. She also did a shit-ton of work trying to set up mobile hospitals during World War I (developing x-ray units, figuring out a way to use radon to sterilize tissue), and lived another 20 years after World War I; she developed cancer from the lifelong exposure to radiation.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:00 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Kate McKinnon in her Ghostbusters role.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:04 AM on October 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:04 AM on October 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
Sister Wendy, not in STEM, but art. I really enjoy learning from her videos. (wikipedia)
posted by turkeybrain at 7:10 AM on October 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by turkeybrain at 7:10 AM on October 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
Dame Susan Black, the Scottish forensic anthropologist.
posted by Grunyon at 7:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Grunyon at 7:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Edna Mode from The Incredibles
(Thank you for asking this question; this is something I've been thinking about for a while.)
posted by trig at 7:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
(Thank you for asking this question; this is something I've been thinking about for a while.)
posted by trig at 7:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Florence Zimmerman and Myra Eels from the John Bellairs series.
posted by Brain Sturgeon at 7:15 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by Brain Sturgeon at 7:15 AM on October 1, 2020
There are surely a few in the Foglios' comic book Girl Genius. If you don't care if they're good people, there's Lucrezia Mongfish, and if you relax the age requirement, Agatha Heterodyne. Queen Albia and Countess Marie for sure.
Also while we're on the subject of mad scientists in comics, Helen Narbon.
posted by jackbishop at 7:42 AM on October 1, 2020
Also while we're on the subject of mad scientists in comics, Helen Narbon.
posted by jackbishop at 7:42 AM on October 1, 2020
Also, hazy on the age range you'd consider "older", but I feel like Limor "Ladyada" Fried qualifies (she's certainly a grown woman, but not middle-aged) on the grounds of being a respected authority but also lively and zany. While we're at it, her namesake the Honorable Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace (better known as simply Lady Ada Lovelace) kinda works too.
posted by jackbishop at 7:49 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jackbishop at 7:49 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Miss Frizzle from the Magic Schoolbus
posted by ananci at 7:50 AM on October 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by ananci at 7:50 AM on October 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
while we're on the subject of mad scientists in comics, Helen Narbon.
Yes! Or if Helen Narbon is too young, then the mother she's a clone of.
posted by trig at 7:52 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes! Or if Helen Narbon is too young, then the mother she's a clone of.
posted by trig at 7:52 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
in males of a certain age it carries over well into the absentminded professor character, who's quirky and excitable but also consistently wins respect from others by virtue of his knowledge. That trajectory seems more complicated in a female character, because enthusiasm and quirkiness naturally tend to read "girlish" (hence, sexualized), and girlishness is not normally associated with authority or competence.
This really, really seems like a difference on the viewer side rather than the character side (and I don't think there's any "naturally" about it).
In addition to many fictional characters, I would have said that many of the older female professors I've worked with (sciences) would easily meet all three criteria, but if someone automatically reads enthusiasm as childish/incompetent when it's a woman, that makes it impossible to meet all three criteria, by definition.
posted by randomnity at 7:57 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
This really, really seems like a difference on the viewer side rather than the character side (and I don't think there's any "naturally" about it).
In addition to many fictional characters, I would have said that many of the older female professors I've worked with (sciences) would easily meet all three criteria, but if someone automatically reads enthusiasm as childish/incompetent when it's a woman, that makes it impossible to meet all three criteria, by definition.
posted by randomnity at 7:57 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I really love this question, I've thought about this a lot, too. I feel like Elizabeth Warren fits, if we're allowed to broaden outside the sciences.
posted by backwards compatible at 7:59 AM on October 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by backwards compatible at 7:59 AM on October 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
Two of my favorite fictional characters:
Dr Ellie Sattler - Jurassic Park, movie version only
Dr Ellie Arroway - Contact, book version more than movie version
The fact that both are named Ellie has not escaped me. Coincidence? Who can say.
Sattler:
a) paleobotanist, pays close attention to plants at park, scolds idiots
b) almost literally throws herself into triceratops poop to solve a sick dino mystery, loves learning new stuff
c) tells useless men to stop being sexist so she can go turn the power back on and save everyone's dumb ass
Arroway:
a) radio astronomer, we learn her background and how her academic pursuits have set her apart
b) always has a sense of wonder about the universe, gets romantic about the vastness of space
c) holds one of the most important scientific and political positions worldwide when the message comes, never backs down from her mission of scientific discovery
posted by phunniemee at 8:15 AM on October 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
Dr Ellie Sattler - Jurassic Park, movie version only
Dr Ellie Arroway - Contact, book version more than movie version
The fact that both are named Ellie has not escaped me. Coincidence? Who can say.
Sattler:
a) paleobotanist, pays close attention to plants at park, scolds idiots
b) almost literally throws herself into triceratops poop to solve a sick dino mystery, loves learning new stuff
c) tells useless men to stop being sexist so she can go turn the power back on and save everyone's dumb ass
Arroway:
a) radio astronomer, we learn her background and how her academic pursuits have set her apart
b) always has a sense of wonder about the universe, gets romantic about the vastness of space
c) holds one of the most important scientific and political positions worldwide when the message comes, never backs down from her mission of scientific discovery
posted by phunniemee at 8:15 AM on October 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
Dr. Mary Malone in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (first appearing in The Subtle Knife, the second book in the series).
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:23 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:23 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Dorothy L. Sayers put good female academics in Gaudy Night, a Peter Whimsy novel. Sayers herself may well fill the bill, too.
Hannah Fry, British mathematician, is perhaps younger than you are thinking of, but she will fit the description eventually.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:23 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hannah Fry, British mathematician, is perhaps younger than you are thinking of, but she will fit the description eventually.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:23 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Came to say Rosalind Franklin as well!
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:27 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:27 AM on October 1, 2020
Strong, confident woman with a nerdy vibe?
Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager (Star Trek: Voyager)
posted by Roger Pittman at 9:00 AM on October 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager (Star Trek: Voyager)
posted by Roger Pittman at 9:00 AM on October 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Mileva Maric-Einstein, Jane Goodall, Mildred Mathais, Hippatia
posted by effluvia at 9:08 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 9:08 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Jane Goodall!
Also polar explorer Ann Bancroft is just wonderful. First woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by sled!
posted by castlebravo at 9:31 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Also polar explorer Ann Bancroft is just wonderful. First woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by sled!
posted by castlebravo at 9:31 AM on October 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Marilyn vos Savant is an American magazine columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright. She was listed as having the highest recorded intelligence quotient (IQ) in the Guinness Book of Records.
posted by Obscure Reference at 9:42 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by Obscure Reference at 9:42 AM on October 1, 2020
In the most recent Travelers TV series there's the character Grace Day, played by Jennifer Spence, who plays a nerdy elite computer engineer.
posted by XMLicious at 10:15 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by XMLicious at 10:15 AM on October 1, 2020
Okay, slightly weird example that may not be quite what you want, but I think (I haven't done a serious survey - this is just chronologically the first I'm aware of) the first female mad scientist on film is Malita from The Devil Doll (1936) and she's fantastic and I love her.
posted by darchildre at 10:19 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by darchildre at 10:19 AM on October 1, 2020
Dana Scully from X-Files
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:27 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:27 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Sophie Wilson, who was a major designer of the ARM processor architecture. (This is the family of processors now used in substantially all smartphones and tablets, many other devices, and soon to be most Apple computers.)
Here's an interview where she has this vibe.
posted by vogon_poet at 10:34 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here's an interview where she has this vibe.
posted by vogon_poet at 10:34 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dr. Louise Banks from Arrival
Dr. Iris Hineman from Minority Report
Dr. Halsey from the Halo series
Doc Ock from Into the Spider-verse
posted by Rhaomi at 11:10 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dr. Iris Hineman from Minority Report
Dr. Halsey from the Halo series
Doc Ock from Into the Spider-verse
posted by Rhaomi at 11:10 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is quite delightfully nerdy and also delightfully girly (youtube interview.) Please note A-plus reference to The Clangers. She has co-presented BBC's The Sky at Night since 2014. (The Sky at Night must be one of the beeb's longest running and prestigious programmes in a low key kind of way.)
Here's another interview with her, and here she is talking about her dyslexia.
And just because it is Black History Month here is a listicle of Black British Scientists some of whom are women and some of whom may turn out to be nerdy and enthusiastic on further investigation.
posted by glasseyes at 11:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here's another interview with her, and here she is talking about her dyslexia.
And just because it is Black History Month here is a listicle of Black British Scientists some of whom are women and some of whom may turn out to be nerdy and enthusiastic on further investigation.
posted by glasseyes at 11:13 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Marie Curie was already mentioned and I'd just like to add that it's a mark of how much she kicks ass that her husband is the rare world class scientist who is most readily identified as the husband of someone else.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:35 AM on October 1, 2020
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:35 AM on October 1, 2020
Mary Lou Jepsen was a big name for a while in the e-reader "community" - she started a company to develop computer screens and other displays that could switch between being backlit and reflective (i.e., screens that could look like LCDs or like paper). She would do these demo videos that were pretty exciting and she always seemed more tech-y than business-y (which might have to do with why the project ultimately failed). She's worked on a bunch of other big projects too.
I don't know how I feel about her given some of the (tech) company she's kept and given the way Pixel Qi fizzled out, but her persona was definitely 'nerdy and enjoying it'.
posted by trig at 11:36 AM on October 1, 2020
I don't know how I feel about her given some of the (tech) company she's kept and given the way Pixel Qi fizzled out, but her persona was definitely 'nerdy and enjoying it'.
posted by trig at 11:36 AM on October 1, 2020
Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries. They're set in the 1880s and forward; Amelia Peabody is an Egyptologist and suffragette who also happens to be independently wealthy and highly curious. She's 32 in the first book, but ages at a chronological rate throughout the series and is at least in her late 60s by the final book. I think her personality fits the bill well.
Disclaimer: a lot of the books take place in the Middle East, and it's been a while since I've read them, so I'm not able to comment on colonialist aspects. The first one was published in 1975 so I expect I'll wince a bit at some things when I go back and reread them, which I am now inspired to do.
posted by Bryant at 11:42 AM on October 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
Disclaimer: a lot of the books take place in the Middle East, and it's been a while since I've read them, so I'm not able to comment on colonialist aspects. The first one was published in 1975 so I expect I'll wince a bit at some things when I go back and reread them, which I am now inspired to do.
posted by Bryant at 11:42 AM on October 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
Jessica Mitford, Eleanor Roosevelt.
posted by effluvia at 11:55 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 11:55 AM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dr. Ruth.
posted by effluvia at 11:56 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by effluvia at 11:56 AM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Forensic scientists Sue Black and Dr. G (she has her own autopsy show called Dr. G)
posted by effluvia at 4:02 PM on October 1, 2020
posted by effluvia at 4:02 PM on October 1, 2020
Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit
posted by babelfish at 4:16 PM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 4:16 PM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Lucy Worsley and Hanna Fry are my fave British documentarians.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 5:09 PM on October 1, 2020
posted by HiroProtagonist at 5:09 PM on October 1, 2020
Kaylee Frye from Firefly
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:32 PM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:32 PM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
You will like Hope Jahren's book Lab Girl.
posted by potrzebie at 5:39 PM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 5:39 PM on October 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Dr. Carol Queen
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:19 PM on October 1, 2020
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:19 PM on October 1, 2020
Nonfiction: Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan. Both feature in Hidden Figures.
Fiction: The Bletchley Circle, "a television mystery drama miniseries, set in 1952–53, about four women who worked as codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Dissatisfied with the officials' failure to investigate complex crimes, the women join to investigate for themselves."
posted by JackBurden at 6:56 PM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Fiction: The Bletchley Circle, "a television mystery drama miniseries, set in 1952–53, about four women who worked as codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Dissatisfied with the officials' failure to investigate complex crimes, the women join to investigate for themselves."
posted by JackBurden at 6:56 PM on October 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hope Jahren, whose memoir is Lab Girl
posted by childofTethys at 7:56 PM on October 1, 2020
posted by childofTethys at 7:56 PM on October 1, 2020
Talithia Williams I saw more recently as a PBS Nova host, but her Ted Talk has such great data geek personality
posted by childofTethys at 8:01 PM on October 1, 2020
posted by childofTethys at 8:01 PM on October 1, 2020
Cohl Furey mathematician (I still have no idea what an octonion is tho') and mma fighter.
Alien tube / Sherri Davidoff, cybersecurity from people and buildings to systems. Her book covers this topic in a very interesting way - well-worth reading IMO.
I've a friend in the alien mold - cybersecurity / weapons / interesting approach to body language and able to (apparently) just materialize, she did it with me one time, totally freaky experience even when you do know what's going on..
posted by unearthed at 2:32 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Alien tube / Sherri Davidoff, cybersecurity from people and buildings to systems. Her book covers this topic in a very interesting way - well-worth reading IMO.
I've a friend in the alien mold - cybersecurity / weapons / interesting approach to body language and able to (apparently) just materialize, she did it with me one time, totally freaky experience even when you do know what's going on..
posted by unearthed at 2:32 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Minerva McGonagall (from Harry Potter)
posted by moons in june at 1:10 PM on October 3, 2020
posted by moons in june at 1:10 PM on October 3, 2020
The Best of Gadget Hackwrench - Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers
posted by zengargoyle at 4:24 PM on October 3, 2020
posted by zengargoyle at 4:24 PM on October 3, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mskyle at 6:22 AM on October 1, 2020 [11 favorites]