#fandomseminars

She’s sarcastic, snarky, fun, and absolutely brilliant. It’s Pidge. When it comes to the green paladin, there’s one thing that is constantly overlooked regarding how much of an inspiration our favorite techie is:

Science.

“But wait! Overlooked? Pidge is super smart!”

“Everyone know’s she’s a mad genius. Why is this something we’re all missing?”

“I don’t get it! Isn’t this the one thing EVERYONE knows about Pidge?”

Yes, yes, and yes. 

But let me explain! 

First, for those who don’t know, the original 1984 cartoon Voltron: Defenders of the Universe didn’t have the Pidge we’re familiar with today. In fact, they didn’t even have Katie Holt. Instead, they had a teenage boy named Darrell “Pidge” Stroker as the Green Paladin, and it had been like that ever since. 32 years later, Dreamworks had decided to release a reboot of this classic show titled Voltron: Legendary Defenders. Though nearly everyone in the main cast had some major changes to their character design, the most notable as well as revolutionary was Pidge: by making him a girl!

“They made Pidge a girl! Okay… So what?”

So what?! Making Pidge a girl in the the 2016 Voltron reboot means EVERYTHING! After all, none of this wouldn’t be revolutionary if they still kept her as Darrell Stroker! 

Time for science!

When we think of contributors to science, we often think of people like Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton. Rarely ever women! On top of all that, there’s the stereotypical “mad genius” trope with the lab coat and crazy hair (Rick Sanchez and Doc Brown, anyone?). That’s because women aren’t typically associated with scientific fields. Due to stereotypical gender roles, men are typically found in the physical sciences such as chemistry, engineering, and technology because of the stereotype that they are better at math and science than their female counterparts.

Women are often found in the life sciences as well as social sciences. Why? Because the gender roles throughout society have groomed women to be caretakers for as long as societies have been around. It wasn’t until the past century that women began to break stereotypes and enter these male dominated fields. Needless to say, women are still primarily entering the life sciences such as biology and the medical field as well as the social sciences. Why? Because women are stereotypically more caring and compassionate than men. Occupations in those fields are popular because they cater to those stereotypes.

Of course, those are all stereotypes, the barriers in fields of study between men and women. We’re gradually seeing more and more men in the life sciences (medical field, biology, etc) but women still tend to stick to professions that allow them to work with other people constantly.

Let’s look at the evidence.

This graph displays the percentages of men and women and various science fields from 2004-2014. What’s looking a little rough here is the lack of female involvement in STEM. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. I’m pretty sure we all know where Pidge lies in all of this. The percentage of women in these fields isn’t all that surprising due to the stereotypes and traditional gender roles:

Mathematics- 42%

Physical Sciences- 39%

Earth, Atmospheric, and Ocean Sciences-38%

Engineering- 19%

Computer Sciences- 18%

18% OF COMPUTER SCIENTISTS ARE WOMEN!!!

These figures are only two years before Voltron: Legendary Defenders premiered in 2016. If a lightbulb hasn’t gone off before, hopefully it has now! This is PIDGE we’re talking about here- a girl who hacked the Galaxy Garrison, builds robots and computers for fun as well as her own research, and can rewire robots made from a technology she has never seen before on the spot! I mean, it isn’t exactly common that you see a 15 year old girl just building computers and rewiring robots…. Not to mention that when our favorite techie was stranded on a trash planet, she created her own satellite from scratch to contact everyone powered only by her lion! And on top of that, Pidge isn’t afraid to kick butt and use her bayard on the front lines. Talk about girl power! 

“So…. Aside from being in the 18%, why is Pidge such an inspiration?”

As we know, Pidge’s family delves deep into the science world! After all, her brother Matt as well as their father Commander Samuel Holt would most likely fall in the Earth and Space sciences. Pretty cool if you ask me. People love them, and no one thinks twice. Why? because they’re male.

Pidge, on the other hand, is a young female finding her way into the world and just as deep into science as the rest of her family. However, this leads to constant teasing and bullying from her peers in school. Every time she gives valuable input to add to the class, a male student immediately shoots her down and calls her a nerd in the most derogatory way- resulting in the entire class laughing at her and a hurt Katie Holt.

Though it may not be from ridicule, there is reason after reason why young girls don’t pursue the physical sciences! 

“I’m not good at math/science.”

“I used to like math/science, but [insert person here] ruined it for me.”

“It’s too hard.”

“My friends will think I’m a nerd.”

“I don’t want my friends to know how smart I really am.”

And so on. The excuses go on and on! Regardless of the ridicule at school every single day, Pidge still persisted and pursued her passion. In fact, watching her brother, her role model, get into the Galaxy Garrison only makes Pidge that much more determined to prove everyone wrong!

“What are you doing?”

“Studying! So I can get into the Garrison like you and dad!”

“If you’re too worried about what can go wrong, you’ll miss your chance to do something great.”- Commander Samuel Holt

THIS is the reason why Pidge is such an inspiration and role model to young girls and teenagers everywhere- to pursue your passions, even if what you love isn’t exactly the norm. She proves that it’s cool for girls to smash the stereotypes, dive into the physical sciences despite the challenges along the way, and how cool it really is! 

To all of you girls out there, especially those in middle and high school, please don’t give up. If you used to adore science but someone ruined it for you, explore. Remember why you used to love it and use that for a platform of discovery. If you enjoy math and science but aren’t good at it, get help. Ask your teachers, friends, anyone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling. If this is something you enjoy, practice will only help you get better. Don’t scratch your passion simply because you’re not good at it. To all of you thinking it’s not cool or that it’s embarrassing to show how smart you are, look at Pidge! She was so passionate about the physical sciences that she refused to let her peers keep her down. 

Stay curious, stay true to yourself, stay bold. Let’s turn the tables and get more women into the physical sciences. 

If you are willing to share your story, whether it be how you persisted, why you gave up, or anything in between, use the hashtag to encourage others to hang in there and pursue their passions.

#dosomethinggreat