Effortless perfection is a term that a Duke student came up with to describe what women at this school are supposed to epitomize. A classic example of this is the girl on the elliptical machine at the gym who is simultaneously highlighting her copy of Alberts (Molecular Biology of the Cell :).
“They strive to be “that girl” who naturally makes straight A’s in the classroom, has plenty of friends,stays up on the latest fashion trends, plays on a varsity sports team, is active in multiple civic and social organizations,and in her spare time, volunteers at a local charity. This paradoxical lifestyle of working hard to create the appearance that one is hardly working has come to be identified on college campuses as ‘effortless
perfection’.” – Rae Krucoff
I’ve thought about this a great deal while going to different medical school interviews. Anyway, do you guys feel the pressures of effortless perfection as scientists? I’m curious.
I hate “that girl”! Collecting ticks in boxes like some careerist robot! Yeeeuch!
(I am, of course, mad envious…?)
I hate “that girl” too.
In lab, there is always a subtle competition for who comes in earliest and stays latest. We judge each other by how many gels/experiments we can run in one day, by how many hours we spend in the lab. The thing is, a person can only keep that up for so long. After a week of staying in lab till 1AM I decided to screw it and to live my life, while working in lab a modest 10-12 hours a day. Comparing oneself to the achievements and exertions of others is exhausting and ultimately fruitless. Be happy with what you do, and people will see you as “that girl”!
D’yer think people will see me as “that girl”? My, have I been confused a long time.
You are possibly one of the least geeky (read: well-adjusted) scientists I have ever met, Lee. You are “that girl” to someone, I am willing to bet on it! Or “that boy,” if you want to get technical about it.
Feh. There is no need to aspire to all that. Do what you want and need to do. Forget about being somebody else’s ideal “that girl”. Gak.
“That girl” will most likely die of a heart attack by age 30, or end up in therapy, or a substance abuse clinic.
There’s no such thing as perfection, anyway, at least among humans :)
“That girl” will most likely die of a heart attack by age 30
More likely she will be a highly sought-after medical school applicant, succeed in her medical education, and become a fine and caring physician. A few might even go into primary care, or practice medicine in underserved areas, just as they outlined in their application essays. Medical schools are full of “those girls” and their male counterparts. They come from positions of privilege, and it’s unfair, IMO, to resent a person for an accident of birth – what matters is that the person uses their privilege for good, and to help others.
Numerous studies in primates, including humans, indicate that the stress of being low on the socioeconomic totem pole – a position which “that girl” has never experienced – is a major factor that causes cardiovascular disease and poor health at an early age. Stresses for “that girl” in college are of a different magnitude that those experienced by and equally intelligent student who has to clean fly bottles, or wait tables, or perform basic patient care at the hospital, in order to pay college expenses. Though in the face of a personal or academic setback, the latter student is likely to have better coping skills.
Trisha – I’ve never really felt that kind of pressure as a scientist. Granted, as an astronomer, I haven’t been a part of a big lab where there may be multiple people working in the same area (as Anna commented on). I’m lucky if someone is working on something even related to me in the department! Haha! But, I do know the feeling of wanting people to think of my work/life/etc. as effortless – like I can do anything, you know? So, I guess it’s always there, but more of a social thing, not because I’m a scientist in particular.
Kriti, you make great points. Not all women who are “that girl” act like the snobby, ungrateful, spoiled brats.
(and by “Kriti” I meant, of course, “Kristi” – sorry! Is it bed time yet?)
Imperfect effort is better than effortless perfection. IMHO.
I was momentarily very confused that I’m apparently posting on a Friday, when I’m currently still at work on Thursday. I’ve been away from NN and its strange time zone for too long!
I was probably “that girl” in undergrad, so I’m a bit uncomfortable commenting. Heh.
But extracurricular activities were completely irrelevant in grad school, where only research mattered. The “that girls” don’t necessarily do well in a lab setting where you have to stay until the end of the experiment, not until your volunteer committee meeting…
It’s useful now that I’m applying for jobs outside of research, though, so I’m glad I pursued other things on the side while it was expected of me to be in the lab all waking hours.
Heh.
‘Effortless’? No. Respect in the research lab goes to those who are seen to be working hard, regardless of results.
@Kristi: My comment was not meant to denigrate either sex, or even an age group, but rather to point out that it’s physically impossible to “do it all” for an extended period of time without burning out. Especially if you’re compelled to live up to a certain image of perfection, which is usually dictated by what others think of you.
Diff’rent strokes, I guess.
@ Ken: I guess part of my point, which perhaps I should have made more clearly, is that socioeconomic privilege allows some to be “that girl”. Without the privilege, effortless perfection, in the context described by Trisha, is nearly impossible. If a student has to work 20-40 hours per week to pay university expenses, then all those additional effortless perfection activities will certainly have a price in burn-out, and, more likely, will be out of the realm of possibility. For example, a student who must work for $$$ during university holidays can’t also take part in an “alternative spring break” volunteer service project with an out-of-town venue. “That girl” and “must earn college expenses girl” can’t be compared by any simple formula, and most medical school admissions committees would not attempt to do so.
True enough; there are some socioeconomically privileged individuals who appear to pull it off. What I question, though, is whether anyone can truly claim to have achieved perfection (in a broader context than medical school).