Lisa says she has "turned herself into a different kind of person" in order to perform, and Robin says she has learned to "fake it." Although both women are able to get good grades in their programming course, they represent casualties of this war.
I'm an English major, so I write poems like Lisa in this example. Two of my best friends are comp sci majors, both women. Women don't struggle in STEM fields because they want to write pretty poetry or play piano instead. Not all women like those things. Women aren't incapable of logic oriented language. That's what coding is. Logic puzzles. The thrill of a code running perfectly, these friends have told me, is the thrill of knowing you're smart. Knowing that you used the tool masterfully. It is a tool. It's exceptionally validating to those that can use it. Coding language doesn't need to arbitrarily change to suit poets. And remember, this is coming from a poet. I think people like Lisa and I should hold ourselves to the higher standard of being able to sit down and do the work rather than expect the work to be done for us. And it is hard for me, sure. It's hard for everyone. But I'm not going to expect an entire field to change to suit me. That's ridiculously entitled. And saying this is the reason women have trouble in these fields is ridiculously closed minded. Lisa and Robin just have other things they like to do more than code. It doesn't mean all women don't like it. Rampant sexism in STEM fields is a way bigger deterrent than "women just want to write poetry."