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WOMEN IN THE SCIENTIFIC ELITE
If we agree with the above, we can inspect whether the exceptions (female
academicians) lead to the reinforcement of traditional assessments and norms,
or, on the contrary, whether they have led to the beginning of a transforma¬
tion of the previously closed, male dominated system in Hungary. Can the
tension of the duality between the differences among women and their iden¬
tification with the female demographic also be observed within the scope of
female academicians? How do the members of a seemingly homogenous col¬
lective of women differ from each other relative to the guestion of women,
and how can different types be separated??? How necessary or important is
it for them that the female perspective appears in science? (This is “the par¬
ticular epistemological viewpoint”.)?*3 According to the description of this
specific viewpoint by Harding, the social perspective and experience of wom¬
en does not only provide a unique opportunity to unveil the male preposses¬
sion, it can also serve to question traditional statements regarding natural and
social life. Harding states that neither men nor women are able of fully com¬
prehending and explaining the world, or of exploring the true scope of their
possibilities, as long as the sciences keep up their tendency of primarily de¬
scribing and interpreting the world from the aspect of dominant groups only.**4
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, FURTHER RESEARCH
The difficulties of the theoretical conceptualisation of women
The subjective female identity is among the most crucial issues of current
feminism. While the category of women plays a pivotal role in every feminist
discourse, feminists have continual difficulties in specifically defining the
concept of woman, as it is interwoven with the constructs of patriarchal
culture: the male-centric logic of patriarchal society has always been present
232 The majority of the women participating in this survey have been raised in white-collar
families, and the large family model was not specific to any of them. The early years and the
typical traits of family background could be interpreted in the same (or at least similar)
historical context as well. A general tendency could be manifested despite the heavy shift in
the political-ideological system. This means that a scientific career, the academic path, is
fundamentally a result of their origin, and is significantly affected by cultural capital and the
social status of the parents. However, a white-collar background was not a criterion when it
comes to starting a career or enrolling in a university.
Cf. Harding, S.: Whose Science? Whose Knowledge?, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press,
1991.
Ibidem, 59. And she adds, emphasising the above, that she also views the world through her
own cultural “filter”, thinking with the assistance of the hypotheses of said culture.
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