6
 

Imagine

By: Elaine Baker (School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Eng.)
Competition Year: 2017
Votes (6) | Comments (0)
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Imagine a mechanical engineer, I bet the image of a man in oil stained overalls will appear.

Is it fair for our lives to be controlled by our phenotype?
Walking down a shop isle you will succumb to a stereotype.
Shelves stacked with pink for girls and blue for boys,
interests already being forged by gender specific toys.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not asking for pity.
Most girls had a doll house; I had my own lego city.
Just understand we work just as hard as you,
to be sitting in that chair attending that same job interview.

We are not in this industry as a goal for you to attain,
so if you want to appease me, compliment my brain.
Look beyond these expectations of manicured nails and elegance,
because who’s to say beneath beauty there cannot be intelligence?

Now I ask you again: imagine a mechanical engineer. I hope the same image will no longer appear.
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