Thursday, June 15, 2017



UK: Now saying genius or brilliant 'can alienate female students'

Cambridge academics are discouraged from using phrases with 'assumptions of gender inequality'

Cambridge academics are being discouraged from using terms such as genius, brilliant or flair in feedback for fear of alienating female students.

It is one of a series of moves lecturers say will help women – including changing exams and even removing portraits of men from the library.

Dr Lucy Delap, lecturer in modern British history, said ‘vague talk of genius, brilliance [and] flair carries assumptions of gender inequality’. She said some women ‘don’t find it very easy to project themselves into those categories’.

Some female students suffered ‘imposter syndrome’ – where they feel they don’t belong – in a ‘male-dominated’ environment, said the academic. Dr Delap revealed exams were being overhauled in a bid to tackle a ‘gender differential’ which sees women outshone.

The academic said they also tried to avoid words such as ‘flair’ in feedback as ‘students don’t understand what flair means’.

But Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said: ‘It seems to me wrong to look at this from the point of gender – imagine the outrage if we were adjusting things for the sake of men. ‘It’s patronising and wrong to think they have difficulty with terms such as genius.’

SOURCE


7 comments:

Stan B said...

Professor Smithers is absolutely right. We don't "dumb down" language or change generic terminology because some people have "imposter syndrome." Imposter syndrome is common among men AND women - and it's one of the things you have to learn to deal with in the "grown up" world. So to anyone who thinks differently - GROW UP.

Bird of Paradise said...

Lets start by sending liberal snowflakes to have their heads examened and have their loose screws tigheted

Anonymous said...

Oh dear - BoP didn't get in first this time!

Bird of Paradise said...

Anon 2:19 Make me

Anonymous said...

BoP,

"Make me?"

Really?

Make you "get in first this time?"

How ridiculously stupid can a comment be as yours is?

Not only do you have spelling and grammar issues, you have reading and comprehension issues as well.

Anonymous said...

Lol - make me...
I actually laughed at that one.
Maybe 'bite me' would have been a better option this time Bird.

Swifty the Spacebird said...

Their doves have all flown away and their turkeys are roosting