Neurina

Neurina is a personal –and- a communal blog, dominantly about issues relating to neuroscience, and to women, and about how those issues interplay. The blog is a place for me to document the complex ideas that arise when science and feminism mix, as well as other ideas about relevant issues which are important to me (mental health, more technical neurobiological developments, ect). More importantly, it will become a resource for young women who are interested in science. In the side bar, I have set up a “resource” page, where I will continue to accumulate web resources and scholarship information for women in science. I have also set up an “articles & books” page, where I am posting articles and books that I think are worthwhile; most of these will be technical. As I continue to become more comfortable with the blog, and accumulate more resources and followers, I will eventually approach the principal of my high school and ask him to disseminate the link to his students. I hope to have students become guest posters and contribute to the blog.

Looking back, and taking into account everything that we’ve studied this semester, I’ve realized that my gender has made it quite difficult for me to become what I am today, a neurobiology and media student. I hope to use this blog to instill confidence in prospective female scientists, perhaps making their paths a bit smoother than mine was.

Lastly, I’m using the blog to counter absurd science-related ideas, such as that women are intellectually inferior to men. I will also counter absurd science-related ideas that are presented by feminists themselves (there seem to be far too many), to try to heighten feminists’ credibility in the scientific community.

Me at the SFN (Society for Neuroscience) conference in New Orleans in October 2012.

Sources:

An article about sexist Facebook comments made by a neuroscientist during the annual Society for Neuroscience conference:

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32913/title/Biologist-Ruffles-Feathers-on-Facebook/

Synopsis of Naomi Wolf’s new book, Vagina:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061989169

Article about Naomi Wolf’s new book, Vagina:

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/sci-tech/2012/09/naomi-wolfs-brain

Miss Representation trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6gkIiV6konY

Articles about Ann Northrop:

http://vq.vassar.edu/issues/2009/01/features/ann-northrop.html

http://simply-showbiz.com/blog/archives/3901

Also for Ann Northrop post:
Phil Donahue Show. 1990. Episode featuring ACT UP.
Bell Hooks. Making Movie Magic.

Ridiculous video by European Commission to encourage girls to study science:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g032MPrSjFA

Precious trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rx-3jYJkUWQ

Movie about Malala:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SbSO2akmKtM
Diary of a Pakistani schoolgirl:
http://pkdiary.com/diary-of-a-pakistani-schoolgirl/
Petition for Malala:
http://www.change.org/petitions/take-a-stand-for-the-girl-who-stood-up-nominate-malala-for-the-nobel-peace-prize

Documentary called Silverlake Life, about two gay men dying from AIDS:
http://www.ovguide.com/silverlake-life-the-view-from-here-9202a8c04000641f80000000080486d8#

Michio Kaku on women in science:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YqCUK20vt00

Image from Feminists United group on Facebook about female senators post-election:
http://testneur.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-12-03T21:54:00-05:00&max-results=7

For the “Looking” post, sources from class:
Berger, John. "Ways Of Seeing Chapters 2&3." Ways Of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting  Corporation, 1972. 36-63.
Douglas, Susan. “Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media.” Three Rivers Press, 1995. 3-20. 

Hooks, bell. "The Oppositional Gaze." Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992. 115-31.
Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract The More You Add Cutting Girls Down To Size." Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. Touchstone, 1999. 128-54.

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. NY: Oxford UP, 1999. 833-844.

Video time-lapse of 460+ versions of a research article being prepared for publication:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hNENiG7LAnc

A video posted by a female engineer who is trying to make engineering toys for girls:
http://www.upworthy.com/move-over-barbie-8212-youre-obsolete

On the Resources Page: [all websites]

Scholarships for Women

Association for Women in Neuroscience

Society for Women Engineers

Women and Girls Page of NYT
Women in Science Radio

Women in Science at Rockefeller 

Women News Network

Under the Microscope

"Feminists United" Group on Facebook

Braincake

Notable Female Scientists

OWSD [Organization for Women in Science in the Developing World]

JFEW [Jewish Foundation for Education of Women]
Pubmed
Journal of Neuroscience
SFN [Society for Neuroscience]

On the Articles & Books Page:

The Trouble With Testosterone -Robert Sapolsky [An article about a how nature and nurture actually work together scientifically. One of many essays in a book with the same title.]

"Bias Persists for Women in Science" [A New York Times article about biases in science.]

Intro to Brainbow [An introduction to a cool fluorescent technique.]