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Watson And Franklin Gender Roles

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female scientists in the 1950s restricted the relationship between Watson, Crick and Franklin, and especially the relationship between Wilkins and Franklin. Crick says in numerous interviews that “Wilkins had initiated and most single-handedly carried the DNA problem “he had “done numerous extensive, accurate and painstaking studies”. Crick also states “However the data that really helped us to obtained the structure was mainly obtained by Rosalind Franklin.” He also comments on the pace that Maurice worked at pointing out that he was “rather slow” and that “It should also be remembered that for a whole yearJim [James] and I tried to get Maurice to solve the structure by our approach, without success”, questioning his scientific ability and how easy it was to work with Wilkins, “nevertheless, for the last eight years Maurice has done all the hard work on the problem and that should be recognised”. The relationship between Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, put a test on the race to discover the double helix. If …show more content…

Crick believed that they used Franklin’s evidence appropriately, but also admitted that “their patronizing attitude towards her reflected contemporary conventions of gender in science” meaning that the gender stereotypes and the way women were treated in the science community was the reason why they disregarded her achievements. In James Watson’s book The Double Helix (1968) he often refers to her as ‘Rosy’, Rosalind Franklin never used this nickname, reflecting the patronising attitude Watson had towards women. In an excerpt from Watson’s book he says” Though her features were strong, she was not unattractive, and might have been quite stunning had she taken even a mild interest in clothes. This she did not.” This reflects the out-dated ideals that Watson held, reflecting his immature inability to work with female

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