A week ago I noticed this article which profiled the All-Girls National Chess Championships. On the one hand the author seems to want to break down the stereotypes,1 but then you get this:
…the hallways were filled with boys roughhousing, and that “when they find out you’re on the opposing team, they’re nasty.”
“This is calmer,” Alex said. “It’s like, ‘O.K., we played a game. O.K., you lost, I won. Want to go get some ice cream?’ “”
Today, I stumbled on to this: ARE GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HIGH ACHIEVEMENT DISAPPEARING? A TEST IN ONE INTELLECTUAL DOMAIN (that domain being chess). The authors conclude that there has been little convergence in the sex ratio at the higher ends, Judit Polgar aside.
Chess isn’t something that was present in any hypothetical EEA, though the usual suspects predominate, so I won’t speculate on what the biological, psychological and social variables are that result in success in that field. But, it seems any attempt to simply assert that nebulous “social pressure” is the cause of the imbalance has to control for geekitude. If those who feel that sexual equalitarianism in fields like chess and the physical sciences are among the great pressing concerns in a world where burquas and beatings are common place, I really want them to outline their model of “Geek Reducation Camps” where young XX minds are cleansed of their excessive focus on interpersonal skills, bodily hygiene and less than monomanical enthusiasm for esoteric cognitive domains.
It seems that the proponents of sexual equalitarnism in outcomes play a bait and switch: on the one hand they will admit that both biology and sociology play a role, but we should attempt to level the playing field and see where chips may fall. The problem occurs when the chips don’t fall the way they want them to fall. Instead of “let’s remove barriers to female entry,” there is a shift toward “let’s make this more ‘female friendly,’2” and if that isn’t possible, “let’s give women a ‘space of their own.'” The ball keeps getting kicked around in their attempt to enforce parity until you realize that the aim here is basically social reengineering and manipulation of groups, not the opening up of opportunities for individuals.
1 – I await the “All-Gentiles National Chess Championships.”
2 – The idea that something needs to be ‘female friendly’ makes one wonder if a) females have average biases which need to be considered or b) there is a wider scale program at work of not just equalizing males and females, but reworking the norms of society as a whole.
Posted by razib at 07:29 PM