Quote of James Watson about women scientists

[Francoise]

I was a bit angry to read about the quote of James Watson concerning women on the main page of LabLit.com presently. Does he really believe about women scientists that we all have autism or these personality problems? It is a little bit strange because I do not know where it is he is receiving these impressions. If anything he is the one who is a little bit strange and not interacting well with women.

[John from Florida]

Jim Watson is like a cultural institution. You just gotta take him with a grain of salt. He's too old to change his ways, he's never gonna understand women, he's locked in a time warp. I wouldn't take it personally. There has been enough documentation now for us to know that Rosalin Franklin wasn't as weird as JW says, and we all know that female scientists are just normal folks and not typically plagued with Asperger's syndrome. My advice? Just let is pass, don't get pissed. Some of my older relatives are locked in the past too, all riddled with racism and what have you. This is the nature of being old. Someday we'll probably be speaking nonsense too.

[Daughter of Darwin]

You're right, John, but on the other hand, Watson is a cultural icon. Millions of people probably take him seriously. Not everyone knows he's full of sh*t : if the discoverer of DNA thinks female scientists tend to have personality disorders, this is going to carry some weight with some people. I think it's a disgrace that he's allowed to say whatever he wants and no-one dare contradict him or criticise him! I'm with Francoise - let's let ourselves be a bit miffed.

[Paul T]

I've always been fascinated by JW's verbal faux pas. I honestly think he doesn't mean to insult people. I think he doesn't think before he speaks. In that same article when he was trashing women scientists, he also trashed himself, said something like RF could have solved the structure herself if she'd had a five minute chat with Francis Crick, and the men's first model was crap. His entire manner is enough to give a PR person a heart attack. He just blurts things out...which does point at a lack of social graces himself. Touch of Aspergers perhaps??

[Beatrice]

Definitely don't take watson's opinion on women seriously! He's just an out of touch old-timer still locked in the past when you could pretend that women weren't actually a competent as men because there were hardly any examples! And all the progress that's come since has failed to overwrite th prejudices of his golden days.

[Freddie]

I have a theory that JW is so sort of personally offensive that women tend to react badly to him and this feeds back so he thinks the women he meets are unsociable. I saw him in action once at one of those famous 'wine and cheese' parties they used to hold at Cold Spring Harbor (when he lived there and they'd trot him out for conference socials) and this is the impression I got. So sort of a self fulfilling prophesy.

[Cat person]

Or maybe it's that it takes a certain sort of confidence and aggression to make it big in science and Watson is reading this as 'unwomanly' and therefore negative. I don't think it's true any more that women have to be extremely aggressive to reach the top in academic science, but certainly in the past, in Watson's time, this must have been true. By definition any woman he met in the lab was probably fairly driven. These qualities then could have become misinterpreted in his mind, then settled down into a 'rule', which in turn could be imposed on every new female he met until the prejudice was set in concrete. He maybe wanted his women 'girly' (flirtatious, deferential to himself, giggly) and when these qualities were not met, he put a different spin on them.

[Daughter of Darwin]

Interesting theories both, the last two posts. But JW had been an active scientist for decades after women stopped conforming to his feminine ideal (both in and out of science) so I find it difficult to believe he couldn't change his ways. In other words, I don't think you can blame it entirely on old-fashioned-ness. I do like the idea of JW as a person who 'brings out the worst' in a woman. I know if I met him I'd have problems containing my aggression!

[Francoise]

He would definitely be bringing out the worst in me if I meet him! Thanks for all the very interesting ideas from everyone about why Watson could be behaving in such a bad way. I still don't approve of this but as you all have said, there are probably good explanations.