This gender divide surrounding interest in STEM and humanities fields is not uncommon. Enrollment statistics obtained from the Gunn administration show a continual trend of gender disparities in various subjects. A prominent example of this phenomenon is the gender makeup of Gunn’s computer science electives (Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, Functional Object-Oriented Programming, AP Computer Science Advanced and Computer Science Capstone): This year, 30% of students are female, and 70% are male.

Senior Alina Lari first noticed the gender divide in computer science in her Functional Object-Oriented Programming class, which had around 10 girls and 20 boys. “I would see all the guys huddled together, and it would seem like they’d be having so much fun, a little community,” Lari said. “Then I’d see the girls, who were just divided in general.”

The other side of the coin, where the gender composition is flipped, shows a less-pronounced but often-overlooked imbalance. In this year’s AP English Literature and Composition classes, 58% of students are female while 42% are male. In the college-preparatory 11th- and 12-grade World Literature English class, 65% of students are male and 35% are female — a split that strongly resembles the imbalance in computer science classes.

According to English teacher Kate Weymouth, many male students opt not to explore more rigorous humanities classes, even though most novels in the Gunn curriculum are written from male perspectives or by male authors. “Historically, we’ve had a very dead white male-dominated curriculum, which we’re trying to change in many ways,” she said. “But then that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s more boys (in the class).”

A similar trend exists in advanced art classes. Counting all students in AP-level art courses this year, 64% of students are female, while 36% are male.

This imbalance has been a recurring experience for senior Harry Peng, who has pursued art since elementary school. “It’s pretty awkward to be in a space where literally every single one of your classmates are girls,” he said. “You don’t really have anyone to talk with at first.”

While the defining feature of electives is that students are able to choose classes that interest them and aren’t forced to take classes they don’t enjoy, societal pressure often influences these choices. Daunted by the negative connotations surrounding pursuing art, both because of his gender and Silicon Valley surroundings, Peng struggled to fully commit to it. “I hesitated a lot during sophomore year (about) whether or not to pursue computer science, like what … society wanted me to do, or pursuing (the) arts, which I felt more comfortable (doing),” he said.

The causes

A 2023 study by the University of Houston led by Assistant Professor of Psychology Allison Master found that girls in first through third grade are equally open to learning coding and computer science as boys. Their interest and confidence, however, start to decrease around third grade, when they are exposed to STEM gender stereotypes through books, shows and social media. According to the study, the media often portrays computer scientists as white and Asian men, with limited representation for women and other people of color.

Engineering teacher Kristina Granlund-Moyer pointed out an example of this occurrence in the engineering workbook for Digital Electronics, which portrays two white men on the first page. “There’s no (explicit) message there that says you can’t be a good engineer unless you’re a white guy,” she said. “But it’s just a little subtle message: ‘This is what we think engineers look like.’ There’s a lot of subtle stuff all over the place. I don’t think we’re aware of it.”

The Houston study also found that adults and schools can pass these stereotypes on to younger children by subconsciously communicating and acting on prejudiced beliefs. “I think (these stereotypes) steer people one way or the other, whether they know it or not,” Granlund-Moyer said. “It’s our society that’s got these biases, but it’s also ingrained in all kinds of people.”

At the middle and high school level, students often care strongly about their social image and are particularly vulnerable to pressure to conform to societal stereotypes, according to Granlund-Moyer. “Young women get a lot of messages,” she said. “Teenagers are at a pretty impressionable age, and also at an age where they’re striving to fit in.”

These messages add up: Paley has noticed that many girls are reluctant to take computer science classes or even come up to the computer science table at elective fairs, a problem boys don’t have. In Lari’s experience, these choices then influence girls’ career pathways. “By the time they reach high school, many girls have made their decision not to pursue degrees in computer science, because they feel like they don’t belong,” she said.

Due to flipped societal stereotypes and family influences, boys may hesitate in studying the humanities. Gunn’s STEM-centered environment exacerbates the trend: Stories of technology pioneers such as Steve Jobs or science geniuses like Robert Oppenheimer can cause male students to see STEM- related fields as the clearest career path.

Peng, who has experienced these societal pressures, noted that the most harmful interactions are under the radar — implied biases or subtle cues given off by body language or tone. “I’ve heard people getting judged because they’re a boy pursuing art in their life,” he said. “People are just thinking it’s weird, because not a lot of boys like art.” For him and other students breaking gender norms, these microaggressions only add to the perception that a student isn’t where they belong or doing what they should be.

Art teacher Anita Su explained that the expected profitability of STEM versus humanities careers adds to the problem. “(Artists) probably (don’t) make as much money as (people) working in STEM,” she said. “So perhaps, if we talk about the typical expectations of men being the breadwinner, (that stereotype is) something that’s passed down through generations.”

Looking forward

The gender-based academic divide can cause students to experience biased treatment and miss out on valuable learning and career opportunities.

In colleges and the workplace, a much higher percentage of women leave the engineering field over time than men, a dynamic that a 2018 Harvard Business Review study attributes to differential and exclusive treatment in work environments. In AP Physics C: Mechanics and E&M, where 23% of students are female, senior Ruth Jaquette faced this bias. “(My groupmate) was questioning my algebra, a basic part of physics that you wouldn’t blink twice at, purely on the basis that he thought I couldn’t do algebra, which was really infuriating to me,” Jaquette said. “He wasn’t listening to me through the rest of the project we were working on. … I had to prove my intelligence before he respected my opinion.”

These experiences can discourage students from taking advantage of useful opportunities. Lari believes girls should learn about computer science, even if they don’t pursue it as a career, because applications of computer science are ubiquitous. “It’s super important to have more girls become involved before, hypothetically, it’s too late,” she said.

The cost of these biases — lost opportunities and confidence — necessitates efforts for change. Thankfully, students have found ways to combat the gender gap. For example, tech-related clubs for girls can provide supportive environments and encourage more girls to pursue STEM. “When I joined AI for Girls, I really liked having a community of girls that were in computer science,” Lari said. “I felt like I wasn’t judged.”

Another, indirect form of encouragement is having role models. According to Granlund-Moyer, female role models in STEM have an important influence on girls’ interests and career decisions. “Maybe I would have turned out a very different person had my mother not actively gone back to college and worked on her Ph.D. when I was growing up,” she said.

For students who do not have these role models in their lives, teachers have also worked toward closing the gender gap in their classrooms. “Something that I’d like to focus on this year is transitioning towards sharing more contemporary artists that are diverse, of different ethnicities and different genders, so that the students don’t feel so limited,” Su said.

For Granlund-Moyer, another important step is pointing out microaggressions and biases to reduce prejudice. “I think calling it out is really important,” she said. “Because once you name it, then people can think, ‘Do I want to follow that bias or not?’”

These and other efforts throughout the years have contributed to a distinct increase in the number of girls interested in computer science: 36.9% of seniors enrolled in an AP-level computer science course this year are female, compared to the 22.5% in Gunn’s graduating class of 2015. In the humanities, the divide is also nearing an even split from the 30.2% of male AP English Literature and Composition students in the graduating class of 2016.

Granlund-Moyer hopes that the changing mindsets in younger generations will trickle down to create a greater balance in academic fields and careers. “There’s some hope that younger people have a different point of view,” she said. “When they themselves move up into positions of power, maybe slowly things will be changing.”

Technology has come a long way since the rise in popularity of dating websites twenty years ago. Today, mobile dating apps have entered and changed the hookup landscape. Across the nation and at Gunn, these apps have taken the ageless practice of casual hookups to a new level, leaving lasting impacts on their users. 15.64 percent of students who responded to The Oracle’s survey agreed that dating apps have increased the amount of hooking up at Gunn.

Over half of the 358 student respondents to The Oracle’s survey about Gunn hookup culture reported having hooked up at least once in the past year. The trend is national: in a 2012 study by the Review of General Psychology investigating sexual hookup culture, 60 percent to 80 percent of North American college students reported having a casual sexual experience in their life. One of the most popular dating apps is Tinder, where users can swipe left and right on a rotating carousel of profiles to indicate interest. With the recent surge of young people using these apps, many have felt their effects.

The digital age

The introduction of screens into flirting has altered the process of building a relationship—sometimes for the better. Alumna Edut Birger had been a Tinder user before meeting her current boyfriend on the app. “The amazing thing about dating apps [is] that they are so low stakes,” Birger said. “You can meet up with someone you have never met and then never have to talk to them again.”

Before apps, casual hookups with strangers were reserved for adults at bars and clubs. Now, the possibility of a quick meet-up with a near-stranger extends to an even younger audience. While most of Tinder’s users are adults, 7 percent of users are minors between the ages of 13 to 17. At Gunn, 14.3 percent of students use dating apps, according to The Oracle’s survey results.

The positive effects of dating apps are different for everyone, with responses such as, “I don’t feel ashamed of myself for having sex or being sexually active,” and, “I feel more comfortable being intimate,” accounting for nearly 20 percent of students surveyed. Although she prefers dating to casual hookups, senior Lindsay Maggioncalda thinks that hooking up and dating apps can have beneficial results on students who use them. “I think they can be confidence-builders for a lot of people, because it allows them to explore their sexuality and experiment without making a commitment,” she said.

Social stigma and gender roles

According to a Pew Research survey published in February 2016 that compared online dating three years ago to that in 2016, the use of dating apps by young people has tripled since 2013.

A number of Pew Research survey takers nonetheless expressed negative opinions about dating apps, with 23 percent claiming that dating app users are desperate.“I think people don’t like to admit that they are having trouble in their romantic life,” Eli Finkel, a social psychology professor at Northwestern University, said in a 2012 “The Washington Post” article regarding the negative stigma around dating app users. “That concern is misplaced. It is totally normal to figure out who is compatible for you.”

Senior TJ Sears believes that the pressure to hook up often stems from the influence of friends. “If all your friends are hooking up with a lot of people, you’re going to feel pressured to do that,” he said. “If you’ve never hooked up with a girl before, other guys might be like, ‘Wow, you’re lame.’”

Even when it comes to hooking up, traces of gender roles defined by traditional and historic values linger. According to Sears, guys are often expected to initiate a relationship. “Some people might say that it’s supposed to be the guys who want it more,” he said. “Girls are not supposed to seek it out as much. It’s how society is right now.” Sears also noted that guys did not experience the same attitude girls do. “Slut-shaming for guys is virtually non-existent.”

In the “slut shaming” phenomenon, girls are often labeled “hoes” or called “easy” if their peers think that they hook up too often. “I think that when girls hook up, it gets spread more easily,” junior Jane Davis, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said. “First to their friends, and then people find out over social media.” She thought that reactions to girls hooking up are often more negative, while males get positive ones.

Senior Lina Osofsky disagreed that boys and girls received different reactions, but did find gossip to be a universal problem. “I don’t think there is a stigma surrounding hooking up for each gender at Gunn specifically, but definitely if rumors start to spread, that can affect how a person is perceived,” Osofsky said.

Issues with safety

While dating apps can be attractive to many students, they also pose threats. A National Crime Survey published in February 2016 showed that the number of people who reported being raped by someone they met on a dating app increased by six-fold in the last five years.

Birger, too, understands the potential danger that using these apps poses. “Dating apps make it much easier to be deceived and meet creeps,” she said. “The first message I got from one guy on Tinder was: ‘It’s 2015, is anal on the table?’” To ensure protection, Birger always made sure she and her match met in a public place where she felt she was safe. Davis also met with a Tinder match and only felt safe enough to meet him after becoming acquainted through texting and Snapchatting. “I was still afraid that he might be a dangerous guy, even though I felt like I knew he was a real person,” she said.

While the risks seem to dominate the dating app conversation, apps like Tinder are often not taken as seriously by many users. In fact, in a research study published in April 2015 looking into dating app demographics by Globalwebindex, only 42 percent of Tinder users were actually single. “I only know one person who uses a dating app and they just use it for fun,” Osofsky said. “They don’t actually meet up with anyone from the app.”

Future implications

Dating apps have also had a dramatic effect on long-term relationships for young people. According to a compilation of data from Child Trends, the number of students in eighth through twelfth grades who date frequently declined by more than 16 percent from 1975 to 2013. Mirroring this decline, 17.65 percent of Gunn students stated that hookup culture and dating apps have made it harder to find someone who wants to date, as opposed to casually hooking up. To many students, therein lies the appeal of hooking up; with no need to commit, quick flings or hookup buddies are an attractive alternative to the teenager with a fast-paced and busy lifestyle. “[With dating apps,] I don’t have to try to keep a relationship,” said one survey taker.

Nowadays, students are accepting hookups, as opposed to deeper relationships, as an innate part of teenage culture. “Casual sex and hookups are pretty common and normal now,” Moore said.

Despite the reputation of apps like Tinder for promoting the casual sex culture and their ever-evolving role in forming relationships between people, how one approaches these developments defines the experience. “I think it depends on how you use it,” Birger said. “For me, I’ve had Tinder dates where I never hooked up and dates where the first date was completely platonic.”

This was the first time I felt uncomfortable in my broken-down Nike Free Runs. As I cruised around the faded red track, the slap of cold air that normally felt refreshing was surprisingly different. The smell of turf that normally wafted through the air was gone. Instead, all I could focus on was the pitter patter of shoes repeatedly striking the track and the laughter that echoed in the background. As the rhythmic scuffling grew louder and closer, the laughter died down. I continued my warm-up jog, but I was not focused on the path ahead. Side whispers and shifty eyes lasered in on me. It was difficult resisting the urge to be self-conscious, when I was amongst 30 female cheerleaders and seven female dancers. This was my introduction as the first male member on the dance team.

After my warm-up lap, I walked into the dance room to greet my new coach and the members of both the cheer and dance team. When the coach introduced me as the newest addition to the dance team, confused and amused eyes darted towards me in judgment. I wanted to act as if I were a normal member of the team, but I didn’t know what that meant. How was the typical member of the dance team supposed to act?

When the stretching commenced, things became slightly awkward. Since cheer and dance practice in the same cramped room at the same time, my sub par form was exposed to both teams. Aside from the fact that I am the hunchback of Notre Dame and cannot touch my toes, I had no idea as to where I was supposed to look. Everywhere around me, girls were stretching and focusing in on themselves on the large mirrored wall, but every so often a girl would catch me awkwardly looking up at the ceiling. I did not feel comfortable with the overexposure of (unnamed) female body parts. Not only that, but if someone mistakenly thought I was checking out a girl, tension in the room would rise.

I thought the stretching was awkward, until I had to learn the choreography of three sideline routines and one full half time routine dance. They were more complicated than any basketball play I had ever learned. Despite the fact that the sidelines were relatively short, 30 seconds at most, they took a lot of effort. They were fast-paced and the dance team picked it up almost instantaneously. While they gracefully spinned, I was recklessly trying not to hit those next to me with my uncoordinated, lengthy arms.

The 90-second halftime dance, on the other hand, took more effort to memorize. While the dancers swiftly maneuvered around me, I lagged behind, trying to mimic their flamboyant poses. I felt out of place beyond belief. In addition to (trying to) memorize the choreography, I learned that one must also maintain good posture, eye contact and a pleasant smile throughout a dance, all of which I did not have.

Although I may have hindered the team, I still tried to keep up with the diverse array of dance moves. I gyrated my hips and perfected my body rolls along with the others.

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The Gender Imbalances

Even though my induction to the team seemed comical at first, the gender imbalances began to dawn on me once I discussed my presence on the team with the Titanettes. On the surface it was funny watching a six-foot-tall boy try to gingerly navigate the dance floor surrounded by seven miniature backup dancers, but I learned there is much more behind the scenes to school dance, club dance and professional dance that many of us fail to see.

To my surprise, male dancers are put on a pedestal when it comes to dance competitions and team roles. According to co-captain junior Miranda Lin, boys are judged less critically  than girl dancers are judged.  “The value placed on guys is really high because there are so few [male dancers],” Lin said. “Seeing a guy do the same thing as a girl is a big deal but seeing a girl do it is just good because the standards for guys are lower.”

There is a large number of girls who put in countless hours of work to reach their personal goals, yet do not receive as much attention as males who may reach the same milestone. According to Co-captain senior Alex Kim this disparity in response is baffling. “Guys get more attention– for example it’s so impressive when a guy can do the splits. But there are a bunch of naturally inflexible girls who have to work just as hard as guys do to become more flexible.” Kim said. “Why aren’t they getting as much praise?”

Regardless of the disparity between the praise for guys and girls, the question still remains: why are there no male dancers on the Gunn dance team?

There is a boy on cheer, and the cheer team is currently in the process of opening more spots to boys. During one practice the cheer coach discussed holding an additional tryout exclusive to boys. It was eventually opened to both boys and girls, as there is a current desire from non-members of all genders to compete at nationals for the cheer team.

As the cheer team discussed the potential of having more than one boy compete for the cheer team during nationals, one issue remained unaddressed: the topic of boys joining the dance team. Freshman dancer Naya Lee explains the reasoning behind the absence of discussion. “Having a guy on a dance team is different than having a guy on cheer,” Lee said. “[In dance] you’re not going to be trying for the crazy tricks.” For example, many of the stunts in cheer could benefit from a base of strong guys who can lift and support the fliers, but this is not necessary in dance.

Yet in dance clubs outside of Gunn, such as Dance Connection in Palo Alto, a lot of value is placed on boy dancers. “For club dance teams a guy is more needed than at a dance team at school,” Lee said. According to the Titanettes, all of whom compete outside of school, there is noticeable bias when judges declare the winner. According to Kim, boys tend to receive the upper hand. “Some judges try to keep boys in dance by letting them win,” Kim said.

On the other hand, the Titanettes have never had a male dancer on their team. This may be due to the radiant girl power vibe emitted by the dance team, or the clash of styles prefered by the Titanettes and male dancers. “Hip hop is dominated by guys,” Kim said, whereas, Jazz and Lyrical is what is typically  showcased in the Titanettes’ competitions and performances.

There is a common concern that guys do not take the dance try-outs seriously. “When we make try-out events on Facebook, you always see guys posting, ‘Oh I’ll be there’ and it’s a joke” Lin said. This occurs often, despite the fact that there could be a plausible pool of applicants. “There are qualified guys to dance on the dance team,” Kim said. “But no guys ask to try out.”

It is possible male dancers may not try out because many do not know that the dance team is in fact coed. Despite the fact that the group of seven girls goes by the name of Titanettes, does not publicize the tryout to males and has been an all-girls team since its creation, it is still branded as coed. “Technically we’re a coed team but we’ve never been a coed team,” Kim said.

I was rather shocked when I found this out, because it has never been publicized. While the cheer team is reaching out and offering another tryout for guys and girls to join the competition team, the dance team has stayed quiet.

The very essence of the name, Titanettes, is female. “Our vibe is very girl power,” Kim said. In the night rally, they danced to “Salute” by Little Mix. The lyrics say, “Representing all the women, salute,” which is an empowering theme that carries a strong message. However, this female empowering song, along with the others the team dances to, tends to suggest the Titanettes, is an all-girls team, which in fact it is not. I am a male feminist, who agrees female empowerment is a positive, uplifting means to bridge the gender gap; however, it does seem to promote a female-only environment that may intimidate members of the opposite gender.

According to Lee, the dynamics of the dance team would be disrupted if a male dancer joined. “We would feel less comfortable,” Lee said. An all-girls team has many perks that a co-ed team does not offer. “I think we would all definitely get used to it, but we wouldn’t be as close to each other,” she said.

Regardless of the implications of gender roles on the dance team, one cannot neglect the dynamics of other co-ed teams at Gunn. The wrestling team, in particular, has a motley crew of athletes consisting of both genders of different heights, weight classes and body types. According to varsity captain senior Tanner Kerrins, around five to 10 girls tried wrestling at the beginning of the year—five of whom stayed the duration of the season.

One can argue wrestling is a male-dominated sport, just as dance is seen as female-dominated. However it has been shown that females can thrive and succeed on the wrestling team despite the stereotypes against their gender. Alumna Cadence Lee, for example, won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League boys’ championships 2014. Some might say she is an outlier, but there were and still are active female wrestlers, who continue to prove that gender roles can be dissolved, even in a contact sport like wrestling.  

Solutions to this problem as suggested by the dance team include the formation of a hip hop dance team, one that could officially compete and represent Gunn at formal competitions. The turnout of guys to the Titanettes tryouts may remain low, but for a hip hop team the numbers may rise significantly. According to freshman Christiane Helmer of the Titanettes, the dance team will be more outspoken in future recruiting processes. “I think it should be publicized more, but I feel guys wouldn’t join because they wouldn’t want to be the only guy,” Helmer said. She hopes raising awareness of the team’s coed status will encourage male dancers to join.

The overall experience

Throughout the progression of my dancing career with the Titanettes, the disparity in gender roles initially seemed to hinder the fluidity of practice. However, once I developed a rapport with the dancers, the fear of shedding my hard exterior subsided. I never knew I had the gumption to assume such a position, as the first guy ever on the team, but it wasn’t bad at all. After shamelessly persisting through the stretching and fiercely practicing the fundamentals, I can look back on my performance with pride knowing I ventured far beyond the borders of my comfort zone. Although I have yet to master the aerial, the splits, and  most challenging of them all, the touching of the toes, I learned a lot from the group of talented dancers.

As an honorary Titanette, I may not have brought much skill into the room, but I contributed a willingness to learn and grow. Once I vanquished the restrictive awkwardness, dancing was less of a chore and more of a means to connect with my new team.

Looking back on the experience, Kim, too, realizes why she and the others joined the team. Although gender plays a pivotal role in dance, its barriers begin to dissolve once the focus shifts from who one is dancing with to why one is dancing. “As long as we all work together and remain a team, then it doesn’t matter what gender our teammate is,” she said. “We joined the team to dance.”