Sexual Stereotypes: False Preconceptions and False Conclusions in Blaming TechnologyIn an excerpt titled "The Feminist Face of Antitechnology" from his 1981 book Blaming Technology, Samuel C. Florman explains why he thinks that so few educated women in modern society are engineers. The song was written shortly after she visited an all-female liberal arts school, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, to convince some young women to become engineers. His mission failed and his essay clarifies why he had so much trouble. Florman has more than one idea about why young, educated women shun engineering as a career option. First, he notes that America inherited much of its culture from England, where engineering was not considered a high-level occupation. Apparently this is due to the fact that engineering completely separated from craftsmanship only towards the middle of the 19th century. Florman says most young male engineers come from lower-middle-class families. It also states that most young women educated in math and science come from middle- and upper-class families. For this reason, Florman explains that educated women generally view engineering as beneath their social class, and therefore do not pursue it as an option. He supports his position with the story of how Herbert Hoover, after a long conversation, told a woman that he was an engineer and how she replied, "Why, I thought you were a gentleman!"1 Florman then turns to the feminists and asks why not they took the initiative to change this situation. Florman's main argument against the feminist movement is that it is fueled by greed for power. It suggests that women, especially feminists, are attracted to perceptible power, or power that is obvious to the cultural eye. They want to become doctors, lawyers and politicians. According to Florman, the desire for power is also intimately connected to social class. According to him, this is one of the main reasons why so few women choose engineering: they see it as a disempowering career. Florman sees women as "much more interested in privilege than responsibilities." According to him, "the ultimate feminist dream can never be realized as long as women prefer to oversee the world rather than help build it." Until women make an effort to understand the technology around them and help create it, they will always suffer.