Are you a scientist ?

'Scientist' is a scary word.

I struggle with a lot of things but recently SHOCK HORROR I have been thinking of my future and thinking of what I would want to do. I know that I want to go back to Ghana after my PhD and hopefully work in research, however I cannot think of a single black female scientist! That is scary. When I think of a scientist I think of the old school white, male, lab coat wearing, skinny, Einstein looking scientist in a fancy lab who has no life outside of work and has no family. That ain’t me!  

Okay so I googled scientist and the first 20 images…. Let’s break them down. Well there’s 28 people in the foreground of these images. 3/28 are NOT in lab coats, 12/28 are female, 1/28 is black, 19/20 images are in a fancy lab. How exciting. My Masters degree year (as well as blogs I follow) has made me realize that okay some scientist may fit my perception, but many don’t. They can do normal things and have fun hobbies; they can be found in the middle of the jungle hunting insects, or even collecting rocks. They are normal people who do normal things away from their jobs. And guess what there are scientists out there who look like me!

I read somewhere that 81% of the American public can’t name a scientist that is alive today. That may sound awful but until recently I wouldn’t be able to name one. The reason? Because I wasn't sure who I could call a scientist. Where is that line?

What makes someone a scientist?

Are people working in the NHS labs scientists?

Are science teachers scientists?

Are the undergraduate students in the lab scientists?

Does being a subscriber to Nature make you a scientist?

It is confusing labelling someone but on the other hand it is uncomfortable calling yourself a scientist. According to the Oxford Dictionary the term scientist means “a person who is studying or has expert knowledge in one or more of the natural or physical sciences.” So, if you are a kid in primary school studying any of the sciences you are a scientist! But on the other hand 'expert knowledge'!? That's terrifying. As a primary school student my teacher had expert knowledge. Now my supervisor has expert knowledge. Who has expert knowledge according to my supervisor?

The two blog/website I want to introduce you to are Levers in Heels that gives a voice to African women in STEM and LooksLikeScience a great Tumblr blog that celebrates everyone that labels themselves a scientist (but has not been updated for years). Check them out and see how diverse it is and how awful up my (old) perception of a scientist is.  

So, what have I learnt from these blogs?

-There are scientists who are alive.
-'Expert knowledge' means different things to different people.

-Scientists are normal people who have normal lives.

-There are black women scientists out there! 

You can submit to both blog/website as well! Challenge the perception that all scientists wear lab coats, work in a fancy university laboratory and are male. Wear your scientist badge loud and proud! F*** our poor representation of scientists and change the perception of what a scientist is because we all are in our own unique way.

PS. I will publish a blog post on the 1^st October about a BAME woman in science whom I admire. Please join me in this (can be a post on facebook, twitter, tumblr or just telling your friends). Join me with this link: https://goo.gl/forms/R0MjG46v0BEgNyAV2