Women in the Bible

There are two types of sexism: hostile and benevolent. Hostile sexism aims to punish women for breaking the mold while benevolent rewards them for being all things good, subservient, submissive, nurturing, beautiful, and so on. Although benevolent sexism may appear chivalrous, its purpose is to keep women in their traditional roles, which we know to be limiting, underpaid, and even harmful. Benevolent sexism, easily overlooked, is uniquely positioned to wield power over subconscious attitudes. Nowhere did I feel this more prominently in my own life than within my faith communities. I began to wonder if the Christian fundamental text, the Bible itself, reflected these justifications for power structures. Thus, I decided to read the Bible through this lens for myself, using class training to recognize these sexisms.

To limit bias, I systematically sampled every 20 pages, dividing my scans between the Old and New Testaments. I then read these 75 pages, highlighting when women were mentioned. If it was a neutral or positive reference I used blue, hostile examples became red, and benevolent statements were yellow. I manipulated blending modes to overlay pages and provided a few supporting details. Visualizing the Bible this way, I was able to generate four conclusions. First, the Old Testament appears to have more sexism than the New Testament. Second, there was more hostile than benevolent sexism. Third, men are still vastly overrepresented; the black text overwhelms all color. Fourth, the Old Testament is far larger than the New. I hope viewers may interpret my piece freely and develop their own views about how the Bible supports women from the data.

NeuroSexism

Male has been seen as the default sex throughout time and place. This privilege manifests itself in many ways, with my project focusing on that of male-oriented medicine. More often than not, at all steps of the drug development process, there appears a bias towards the male. At the earliest stages of neuroscientific research, rat models are used. These rats are typically, and unnecessarily, male. At the level of human clinical testing, there is also an overrepresentation of men, but this issue is not always resolved with detailed analyses. Thus, even when women are present, as now required by the NIH, results may still be averaged across sex.

When drugs are developed using male-typical neural pathways, this methodology can overlook the side effects female subjects experience. The outcome is a growing number of news articles reporting women getting the wrong dose, adverse effects, and so on: I created my art piece to raise awareness to this phenomenon. Neurosexism isn’t benign. Working to correct this issue isn’t a petty step on the march to equality, it has very real health consequences. To do this, I created a metaphor using the male-patterned key and male-symbol only keyholes to show that amid other combinations, only they have the ability to open all doors to the research and medicine that lies behind. My goal has always been to make art on complex topics that is accessible to the non-scientific community.

“I will forever be grateful”

This week I’ve been reflecting on the role of music in my life. At the end of my high school experience I wrote, “Much of my character I owe to music, which began as a fun hobby and grew to encompass more than instruments, notes, and rhythms. The band program has provided me with countless opportunities that have shaped my life from lifelong friendships to extra performance and community service events. I will forever be grateful.”

This sentiment has held true as I still have the friendships forged in countless hours of rehearsal, sweating under the sun, sleeping on a bus, and am as grateful as ever for it. Music taught me grit and perseverance. In preparing music for competitions I learned to break down a goal into smaller subsections, be patient in playing the same line over and over, self-monitor as I practiced for an event three months into the future, and control over performance anxiety as I stepped onto stage in front of an audience and judges. Sometimes the emotional expression that comes with pouring your heart into a piece was reward itself.

However, music was certainly not all work and no play. I smile thinking of goofy games in the bleachers, throwing soap suds at a fundraising car wash, or running around Disney & Universal on a performance trip. In my time at OSU I joined the Collegiate Winds and Buckeye Flutes. Even though I did not choose to pursue music as a career, I hope to keep playing on the side, whether that be in a community band or at religious services.

OSU Office of International Affairs Photography Competition 

“My first night on the boarder of France ended in a night walk on the beach. Out of the haze loomed these peculiarly scraggly trees, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, offset by the distant lighthouse. Captivated by the ambiance, I took this shot. Purely of personal sentiment, this picture shifted photography from simply a passion to a serious academic pursuit in my life as I began entering it in art shows.”

I was on a bus with a group of fellow scholars students on our way to tour the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center when I received an email saying, “Congrats! Your photo has been accepted…” I was so shocked all I could say was, “you guys…” and they cheered for me right there on the bus. I was so humbled to attend the exhibition opening reception where the photos were to be displayed in the Ohio Union. I try to use my art to connect with others, so hearing that a piece was successful in conveying a feeling or captivating the mind is very rewarding. I have not been able to travel outside of the country since this trip, but I hope to do so again soon (after the COVID-19 Pandemic clears of course).