Names Make a Difference
Steve (et al.) have spoken extensively on the roles of women and how dress makes the lady. Well, apparently names also make the lady.
Despite the overt spin of the story, there are some good nuggets. Girls who are given less feminine names are more likely to pursue math and science after adolescence. However the girls with more feminine names
were [not] any less capable. When the Isabellas, Annas and Elizabeths took on their tougher-named peers in science, they performed just as well.
Also of note was that children with more traditional names (with traditional spellings) scored higher than others.
... the exam marks of those with 'lower-status' names - often spelled in an unusual way or including punctuation - were on average 3 to 5 percentage points lower than siblings with more traditional names.
The name of the child, and its spelling, has an impact on the child's self-image AND upon the expectations of those around the child.
'Parents who make up bizarre names for their children are ignorant, arrogant or just foolish.'
Moral of the story: Give your girl a girl's name, and she will be treated as such. Dress your girl like a girl, and she will be treated as such.
5 comments:
That is very interesting. A Scripture scholar once explained to me the Old Testament significance of conferring a name. It implies authority over the named. So Adam named the creatures of the earth, revealing his stewardship, and he also named Eve, revealing his headship over her. Divine symbolism is rarely random. I guess we shouldn't be surprised if the abstract reality of authority has a corresponding ontological effect.
Also, that we call the Second Person of the Trinity the Word implies that words have a powerful effect over "being" (in the Thomistic sense of the term).
My Old Testament professor in college said the same thing about the significance of naming.
It also seems that the name itself has an impact on the one to whom it belongs.
I'm not sure I buy it. How do the "social scientists" define the femininity rating of a name? Why is Grace unfeminine?
And there is nothing wrong with a girl studying math or science. We need math and science teachers don't we? Prolife nurses and doctors?
Yes Raindear. To name something is to express authority over it. That is why, I have been told, we should not "name" our guardian angel.
As the man of the house, I generally name our pets :-)
Julian, that's an interesting point about guardian angels. You've given me something to ponder.
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