Images of chemistry kits: male dominance in representations of science

Abstract

This article shows how images relating to chemistry sets express the predominance of the male gender in toys that simulate technical, gestural, and laboratory-related aspects of science, creating patterns of conduct towards the professional vocation of being a scientist. Priority is given to documents produced by the companies Gilbert (1920) and Chemcraft (1922) that are kept in the archives of the Chemical Heritage Foundation in the USA. What Joan Scott calls the social organization of sexual difference is discussed and the illustrations are analyzed, demonstrating a predominance of male figures showing how to “be a child,” playing at being a scientist.