Mother Nature, Father Science: Difference between revisions

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Note that which approach is portrayed as better varies widely; see [[Romanticism Versus Enlightenment]]. In many works that come down on the side of Enlightenment, you'll see women portrayed as [[Hysterical Woman|hysterically]] [[Strawman Emotional|irrational]] and [[Weak-Willed|easily manipulated]], while their male counterparts' hard-nosed, [[Street Smart|pragmatic]] rationalism proves to be [[Science Hero|the key to saving the day]]. More Romanticist works, on the other hand, often portray men as [[The Stoic|cold]], [[Insufferable Genius|arrogant]], [[Lack of Empathy|heartless]], and [[Measuring the Marigolds|unable to appreciate beauty or emotional realities]], while the women are [[Closer to Earth|more balanced]], [[The Heart|compassionate]], and [[Nature Hero|in tune with nature]]. In some works, it will be suggested that [[The Kirk|both approaches are necessary]] and [[Emotions Versus Stoicism|have to balance each other]]. (Note that this doesn't entirely get rid of the [[Unfortunate Implications]] if it's still implied that your gender determines which approach you have to take.) Nowadays, due to widespread awareness of this trope and its [[Unfortunate Implications]], it's increasingly common to see [[Inverted Trope|inversions]], with [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy|a sensitive, emotional man and a cold, logical woman]]. Again, which one is portrayed as right will still vary, although works like this are perhaps slightly more likely to go with the "both sides are necessary for balance" approach.

This is [[Older Than Feudalism]]: [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] thinkers believed that men were blessed with rationality and self-control, allowing them to handle tasks like philosophy and politics, while women lacked rationality and were controlled by their emotions and physical passions much like animals were. Unlike modern writers, though, [[No ~~Womans~~ Land|the Greeks had no doubt which one was better]].

This is [[Older Than Feudalism]]: [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] thinkers believed that men were blessed with rationality and self-control, allowing them to handle tasks like philosophy and politics, while women lacked rationality and were controlled by their emotions and physical passions much like animals were. Unlike modern writers, though, [[No Woman's Land|the Greeks had no doubt which one was better]].

Compare [[Clarke's Law for Girls Toys]], [[Men Buy From Mars, Women Buy From Venus]] and [[Mars and Venus Gender Contrast]]. See also [[The Chick]], [[The Smurfette Principle]], [[Straw Vulcan]] and [[Strawman Emotional]]. Contrast [[Wrench Wench]] and [[Motherly Scientist]] (usually female, but not always).

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** Which is actually similar to the criticisms of "patriarchal" paradigms of science by some feminist philosophers.

* Diane Duane's [[Young Wizards]] series follows this. Nita's magic relates to nature and living things. Her male partner Kit tends to do better with technology and inanimate objects like rocks. However, later on Nita's sister subverts the whole thing by being a computer wiz with a magical affinity for technology and silicon-based lifeforms, and both Nita and Kit eventually grow out of their original specialties into others, which is apparently common for wizards. It's left open whether their initial foci came from awareness of the trope, but newcomers to magic in the books do tend to get it in a form which behaves as much the way they expect it to as is practical (without breaking [[Magic A Is Magic A]]).

* In the ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novel ''Lungbarrow'', which explains the mythology of Gallifrey; the three scientists (Rassilon, Omega and the Other) are male and good. The Pythia (bad) is a witch and a woman.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novel ''Lungbarrow'', which explains the mythology of Gallifrey; the three scientists (Rassilon, Omega and the Other) are male and good. The Pythia (bad) is a witch and a woman.

* In the novel ''Enduring Love'', Clarissia is "mother nature" to Joe's "father science".

* A notable early aversion of this trope is [[ETA Hoffmann (Creator)|ETA Hoffmann]]'s 1816 story "The Sandman" ([[The Sandman|no relation]]), about the superstitious, (over)sensitive proto-[[Emo Teen]] Nathanael and his hardheaded rationalist girlfriend Clara.

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'':

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'':

** The Doctor's first two human companions: Ian taught Science while Barbara taught History.

** The Rani is meant to be a genius, and is usually shown doing evil science of some kind, but still falls partially within this trope in that her field seems to be biogenetics, as opposed to the engineering favoured by both the Doctor and the Master. Romana, who is canonically meant to be cleverer than the Doctor, is an inversion, especially when she makes her own (superior) sonic screwdriver that the Doctor tries to steal.

** In "[[Doctor Who ~~(TV)~~/Recap/S10 E5 The Green Death|The Green Death]]" we get an interesting play on it. We get Mother Nature (the hippie commune) and Father Science (Global Chemicals) BUT the commune is made up of research scientists trying, among other things, to breed high protein fungus to act as a meat replacement.

** In "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S10 E5 The Green Death|The Green Death]]" we get an interesting play on it. We get Mother Nature (the hippie commune) and Father Science (Global Chemicals) BUT the commune is made up of research scientists trying, among other things, to breed high protein fungus to act as a meat replacement.

* In ''Dona Barbara'', the title character (a wealthy landlady) represents the brutish nature while Santos Luzardo (a lawyer from the big city) is the civilization.

* ''[[I Carly]]'': Expect Carly and Sam to solve problems in the natural (or the brawn) way and Freddie to resort to geeky gadgets and tech stuff.

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* ''[[The Secret Saturdays]]'' lives this trope. Doc Saturday is a scientist through and through, while his wife Drew is more a believer in the paranormal. Faced with any problem Doc will always seek a logical solution while Drew will explore more mystical alternatives. They're still [[Happily Married]] though so that's cool.

* The parents of [[Kim Possible]] are both [[This ~~Aint~~ Rocket Surgery|highly qualified scientists]] -- but her father is a rocket scientist and her mother a brain surgeon.

* The parents of [[Kim Possible]] are both [[This Ain't Rocket Surgery|highly qualified scientists]] -- but her father is a rocket scientist and her mother a brain surgeon.

* In ''[[Captain Planet]]'', the Planeteers are led by Gaia, the spirit of the Earth. The main villains are almost all male, [[Averted Trope|except for one ]]--Dr. Babs Blight, a rare ''female'' [[Mad Scientist]]. The male villains tend to be in business, though Duke Nukem used to be a scientist as well.

== Other ==

* Paleolithic sites of Europe and the Middle East are filled with figures and drawings of either obese or pregnant women that are generally assumed to be fertility goddesses. From the Neolithic on, these goddesses are joined by increasing depictions of bulls or horned male figures that are rendered as personifications of agriculture.

* In [[Myers Briggs]], the "Thinking" function is seen as masculine and the "Feeling" function is seen as feminine. It may or may not be a coincidence that there are more male Thinkers and female Feelers in [[Real Life]].

* In [[Myers-Briggs]], the "Thinking" function is seen as masculine and the "Feeling" function is seen as feminine. It may or may not be a coincidence that there are more male Thinkers and female Feelers in [[Real Life]].

=== Inversions ===

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[[Category:Double Standard]]

[[Category:Mother Nature Father Science]]

[[Category:Trope]]