Dear Nigerian Donna,
I love me some Black Panther. You do too. And this is not just because of the action packed, muscled T’challa scenes we were served or the black Wakanda resplendence that radiated all through the movie; it's also because of the active badass roles females played in the movie. Should we talk of the fiery, bald Okoye, head of the Dora Milaje warriors or Nakia, T’challa’s love interest, who is nothing short of an Amazon?
The one lady, however, that actually gets a truckload of my attention (and yours too, I suppose) is the beautiful, dark, mystic Shuri; T'challa's progenic sister who bears an ambience oozing with vibranium and melanin all at once. With her eyes set on the future, her hands crafting out wonders from the gift of vibranium, her lips popping out salient battlefield strategies like candy would pop out of machines, Shuri makes the strength of T’challa and Killmonger feel altogether like an exaggerated farce.
Every time she appears in that white, majestic gown, she leaves me drooling. Her mere presence exudes a fragile, soothing confidence that bespokes the transcendence of the feminine being; how our sultry, slight frame can churn out strands and strands of wisdom and strength. But more than that, it is her words and deeds, heavy and scientifically imbued, that mirrors the vastness and infinite possibilities that arises when femininity and science is fused together in mitochondrial synergy. Shuri is a representation of girl power; she reminds me that good things do not just lie in between the legs of females; but also in the partings steeped within their brains.
I get the feeling I am not the only one that drooled over Shuri the whole time. Every woman with a heart of gold and hands of clay will probably have felt like a Shuri on the inside just as soon as you took in her performance.
But truth be told, there isn't a lot of Shuris in the world these days. There never has been, actually. Not many women can boast of wanting to take a plunge into the world of science, or hold on to its slippery tentacles. And this is not a deluded guess, it's a fact.
Wikipedia by Unknown CC BY SA 3.0 - Bettye Washington Greene (way back)
This general conception that women rarely have any business with science and its affiliates is no doubt reflected on the blockchain in respect to Steemit particularly. Owing to gender sensitivity, I would rather have pointed out that the credits of most scientific and technological innovations drafted out and perfected go to males. Being an @originalworks writer, I am constantly exposed to a line up of young team members thinking about and working on such great projects that align with the purpose of the blockchain, which in all respect is the second revolution after the internet.
And honestly, it beats my imagination when I find that females are rarely the spearheads of these visioneering projects. Where they occur, you will find they are basically featured as sales or marketing professionals, ad managers and campaign promoters. And to think that even in professions or matters that are considered feminist inclined (culinary business, arts, entertainment, acrobats, sales and marketing etc.), men share quite a large chunk of success.
There isn't any need making any fuss about it, really because that would mean I would be infusing this letter with a lot of aggressive gender bias. And if there is anything I have learnt so far, it is that gender and its many complexities is not a matter to be genially debated. No matter is ever that simple, especially the gender diatribe.
But really, wouldn't it be rather beautiful to find a balance of creativity and ingenuity in the STEM world? A balance of muscles, nerves, thick heads intertwined with beauty and brains. For one, if there were enough women in the technological world, then there will be an influx of male sex dolls just like we have a proliferation of female sex dolls, and female scientists would discover better ways of getting a baby out of a woman other than cutting the stomach open (this is me just kidding). But on a serious note, the STEM world does need a whole lot of females that are just as manned as the men themselves.
Let me drive this discussion home. If there is one platform that I affix so much respect to, it it's STEEMSTEM. Realizing the importance of science to the world, this platform has created a leeway for scientific researches, discoveries, discussions, orientations or re-orientations to thrive within the vast, decentralised community of Steemit. And not just, by whichever God-given way, they have been able to provide a reasonable incentivisation model for just about anyone willing to render a small quota to the actively charged discussions about STEM in the community. Indeed, by affiliating with a whole lot of other Steemit driven networks, Steemstem stands tall as a formidable family within a larger community that embraces value, novelty, engagement, togetherness and… money 🤑.
But although steemstem presents itself as an open community willing to absorb not just science oriented people but also sheer enthusiasts, talkatives and ‘gossipsters’, curious about the art of science, it is surprising to find that there is a sea of males on the community, while the females are mere trickles. No kidding, but the ratio of males to females is like the distance from Berger to Ajah (if you know, you know). This is especially true in respect to STEMNG, the decentralised Steemstem Nigerian community that serves as a melting pot, a ghetto broth, a hood for all Nigerians who are steemstem authors or prospective steemstem authors. And really, it never ceases to amaze me that in a community where attention is paid on your every single post, there should be a dearth of females, because given the nature of females, we love attention (we practically are swooned by guys that pay us attention by a tad more).
Any which way, I do understand that to thrive on Steemit, it is important to discover one's niche because it is only by playing your cards right that you can ace your game. And for most beautiful steemian ladies, we easily take our auger to the fields of art, entertainment and conversational rhetorics (the likes of @jeaniepearl, @zizymena, @rebeccafl have condensed this field with quality grace) to dig a nice, tidy pool of Sbds and steems, pipe a beautiful tune and attract many to fill up the pool. I admire the grit and sheer creativity it takes to pull this stunt, which does go a long way to prove that girls don't come to play; even when we are doling out coos and courtesies, we always mean serious business.
But then, we should realize that science, technology and the many other sweet encumbrances that come with it is not some phenomenon one discovers, it is something we live by each passing day. Even from the beginning, no one discovered science, not the Egyptian physicians, not Galileo Galileo, not Isaac Newton, not Albert Einstein, not Thomas Edison, not nobody; it was science that discovered us. Science, it was only always there, living in the greens of nature, eating in the shards of decay, filth and lucre; drinking from the cascades of waterfalls, oases and cloud vapours. We only, by means of taxonomy and nomenclature write a thank you note to science for coming to us of its own accord and thus, do justice to the gift freely bestowed on us.
Really, when we do realise this, it immediately becomes glaring that every each person, male or female, should be actively involved in propagating the truth of the one thing that makes life less of a drudgery; the four peas that activates life itself - STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Having laid bare a salient matter that is tied to the core of my heart, I am taking the time out to personally invite every Nigerian female in the building to STEMNG. And by stemng, I do not just mean its Discord channel where we all chill and share just about anything that drops into our mind (although this is equally a quintessence), I am inviting you to the life, the thrills and throes of being a steemstem author. So you be saying in your mind that you do not have the flair for writing science posts or you've tried on your hands on one, but damn, it was hard and time consuming. Well, that's about a mincemeat of an excuse compared to the gains that come with being a STEMNG member.
Besides on STEMNG, there are mentors who are ever ready to set you on the right path when it comes to writing a stem post. I also got off on a wrong start with my initial stem posts, but @gentleshaid (our STEMNG FATHER) and @samminator (Big brother) righted my wrongs and got me going good. Even till now, they have proven very responsive in addressing issues that benumb my mind. With the likes of @greenrun (grandfather), @kingabesh (serious dude), @rharphelle (engagement papa), @pangoli (the grooty peek and go kinda dude), @real2josh (the guitarist who has no qualms showing off his fine voice), @rareghost (the only living ghost that needs to eat), @agbona (lover boy) and so many more, it's hard to ever miss one's path. And mind you, if you feel comfortable talking to the girls themselves, you will find a momma in @steep2308, a friend in @amazonesh, a sweetheart in @florae and a partner in me. Right about now, @funmiakinpelu and everyone else on stemng is inviting you to come for the money and stay for the community.
To get yourself started on a precisely dope foot, whey not join us for our STEMNG meetup coming up on the 11th of July 2018, that is next week Wednesday at Lekki Conservative Centre, Lagos. It promises to be an instructive, informative and fun filled get-together. At the meet up, you can ask questions to your heart’s content, fill yourself up with knowledge on how to be a successful Steemstem author, and of course, you can take in the sight of all the fine boys.
First things first, let us get to know you before Wednesday. Join our Discord channel here. And yes, there is one pager form you need to fill to certify that you will joining us Wednesday. The form is just right here.
Having done that, get yourself prepared for a journey of life changing self discovery that will make you see yourself and the world differently. With you digging your hands into science oriented topics, the art in you gets refined and polished, and you will discover subtle insanities that will make you love the whole idea of you more. So, dear Nigerian Donna, wouldn't you rather STEM with us?