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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 transformation of the previously closed, male dominated system in Hungary. Can the tension of the duality between the differences among women and their identification with the female demographic also be observed within the scope of female academicians? How do the members of a seemingly homogenous collective 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 particular epistemological viewpoint”.)?*3 According to the description of this specific viewpoint by Harding, the social perspective and experience of women does not only provide a unique opportunity to unveil the male prepossession, it can also serve to question traditional statements regarding natural and social life. Harding states that neither men nor women are able of fully comprehending and explaining the world, or of exploring the true scope of their possibilities, as long as the sciences keep up their tendency of primarily describing 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. 23: © 23 = + 77
