Today, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their innovative work that led to the life-saving mRNA COVID vaccines. Ms. Karikó, a Hungarian-American biochemist and researcher at Penn Medicine is one of (now) 61 women who have received this award, while Dr. Weissman, a physician and researcher also at Penn Medicine, is one of over 890 male laureates. This wonderful announcement stirred my feminist passion and also reminded me of my lifelong interest in science. Maybe I could have been a scientist. If I was born 20 years later, could things have turned out differently?
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women’s issues
How I Became a Feminist
Like becoming a goddess, it didn’t happen all at once. It was a process. Thinking back, I realize I had many early signs that continued as a constant thread with growing awareness and frustration at the social inequities. The world just didn’t seem fair. At first, I wondered why. Then, in succession, I grumbled, got angry, and eventually depressed. And, if you can believe it, my AHA! moment, what I consider the birth of my feminism, came with the issue of a very mainstream magazine.
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In Praise of Title IX
The U.S. Women’s Soccer team, winners of the 2015 World Cup, are ranked #1 in the world and were recently honored at a White House celebration. 
These women, like many top female athletes, are an inspiration for girls who participate in sports at any level, from playing kickball in the streets to competing in school tournaments. But for women like me, who grew up without Title IX to guarantee fair access to athletic opportunities, their accomplishments resonate at a much deeper level.
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accidental goddess 