Scientists have discovered that stem cells are released in menstrual blood, and recent science is attempting to use these cells in place of stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cords, or placentas. Menstrual blood is constantly available, a better specimen than cells from bone marrow, and is without the ethical issues of embryonic cells. Already specimens collected from women have successfully grown into cardiac, neural, and bone and cartilage cells. The hope is these stems cells will one day cure diseases like diabetes and Parkinson's.
One of the links tweeted on the Steminist Organization's twitter page--which has over 4.7 thousand followers and features one-liners like "That moment when you're the only woman in the room and a man comments on your skirt"-- takes you to a USAToday article on the new scholarship opportunity Cards Against Humanities has created for female students in STEM.
STEM is the newfound American fad, pushed by high school guidance counselors and endorsed by pop culture like Big Bang Theory. Careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are growing in pay and demand, and feminists and the Steminist Organization are making sure women are given equal opportunity and recognition in these formerly male-dominated fields—a goal apparently shared with the creators of Cards Against Humanity.
It’s called the Cards Against Humanity Science Ambassador Scholarship, and it awards women (or, on an interesting note, anyone identifying as a woman in a “significant” way) full four-year undergraduate tuition in a STEM field. The scholarship is funded by the proceeds collected from the card game’s new Science Pack, a collection of cards with phrases like “In line with our predictions, we find a robust correlation between ______ and ______,” to be completed with “Driving into a tornado to learn about tornadoes,” “Giving a dolphin a hand job for science,” or simply “Uranus.”
Scholarship applications start the fall of 2016, and a panel of 40 STEM women judges has already been determined to evaluate the applicants. Board member Veronica Berns issued a statement explaining how women are told in multiple ways not to get involved with science or math careers strictly because they are female, and this scholarship is a way of saying, "Yes! What you are doing and dreaming is really great, and here's some help to get you where you want to go." A woman's value in STEM fields goes past the stem cells she bleeds.
