Why are women such terrible drivers? It's an age-old question, and Megan Amram has the answer: It boils down to our failure to understand basic scientific principles.
'We've all been there,' she commiserates in her new book, 'Science . . . for Her!'' '[Y]ou're in your cute little car, singing along to 'Firework' by Katy Perry, and suddenly you've mowed down six pedestrians and a family of geese. . . . Here's the thing: It's not your fault! Due to your inherently poor grasp of physics, there is no reason that you should be able to drive.'
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But Amram also has the solution: a crash course in the fundamentals of science we should have mastered in school, but didn't because we were daydreaming about shoes.
In an exuberantly scathing takedown of the sexism lurking within the fun, flirty pages of women's magazines, Amram combines a faux-science textbook with her own satirical lady mag, replete with tongue-in-cheek recipes, quizzes, and DIY projects (i.e., how to build a biological clock out of a potato).
Taking on the persona of a science-challenged narrator who was recently fired by NASA - where she was responsible for 'many, if not all, previous space shuttle crashes' - and dumped by a boyfriend who grew disgusted with her ignorance, Amram sets out to educate herself. The knowledge she shares with her fellow women fills a crucial void, as she can attest.
Author:Megan AmramPublisher:ScribnerNumber of pages:197 pp., illustratedBook price:$25.99
'Science is hard for most people, let alone women,' she explains. 'It has been demonstrated repeatedly throughout history: female brains aren't biologically constructed to understand scientific concepts, and tiny female hands aren't constructed to turn most textbooks' large, heavy covers.'
Her teachings, rooted in similarly irrefutable laws of science, are organized by field - biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, pharmacology, astronomy - but structured more or less like the pages of Cosmo to make it easier for ladies to follow along.
Across the branches of science, she maintains the consistent voice of a Valley girl on steroids - or more likely, meth. Covering biology, she delves into the taxonomic hierarchy, describing air animals ('My favorite air animals are birds!!!'), land animals ('Um, ever heard of lions? Deer, much?'), and swimming animals ('Fishies, whale-ies, sharkypoos! Also, tadpoles! OMG!').
A lesson on evolution touches on the intersection between religion and science, which leads to a helpful chart labeled: 'What religion is right for your body type?' Pear-shaped women, we learn, should choose Catholicism to draw attention away from our full hips. 'It's totally 'in' to wear huge crucifixes around your neck, which will highlight your pretty clavicles as well,' Amram writes. 'Plus, what draws more attention to arms and hands than a cute case of stigmata?'
Amram doesn't pull any punches, and she doesn't shy away from controversial topics. In one section, she outlines the biological processes behind former Congressman Todd Akin's 2012 claim that '[pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.' As Amram illustrates with a helpful graphic, the female body reacts to rape by coating the uterus with acid and tying the fallopian tube into a bow. It's science!
Interwoven with these lessons are updates on the narrator's personal life: her efforts to win back her ex, her depression because of their break-up, her depression-induced weight gain, and her approach to weight loss, the scientific way: a combination of 'diet, exercise, and meth.'
'Science . . . for Her!'' is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, although the joke gets tired at points. Like the women's magazine it purports to be, it's probably best set out on a coffee table and leafed through at intervals. But it's also unapologetically raunchy, so don't leave it out where kids can find it, lest you be forced to explain what Amram means by 'battering the parsnip at the state fair.'
However, if you do have to explain the facts of parsnip-battering, especially if you have a lady's natural ineptitude for science, then turn to Amram for help. Hint: The explanation can be found under 'Reproduction,' just before the chart listing 'This Summer's Top 7 Birth Control Methods.'
More coverage:
* The Story Behind the Book: Amram's 'Science . . . For Girls!', laughs for everyone
Jennifer Latson is writing a narrative nonfiction book about Williams syndrome. Follow her on Twitter @JennieLatson.
Entities 0 Name: Amram Count: 9 1 Name: Megan Amram Count: 2 2 Name: Cosmo Count: 1 3 Name: Todd Akin Count: 1 4 Name: Katy Perry Count: 1 5 Name: Birth Control Methods Count: 1 6 Name: Jennifer Latson Count: 1 7 Name: NASA Count: 1 8 Name: Williams Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1uHA5iF Title: Why It's Crucial to Get More Women Into Science Description: The number of women in scientific research continues to lag behind the number of men, even though women make up half the nation's workforce. The question is, What difference does it make?
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