The insufficient word in Physics Today’s first issue
DOI: 10.1063/PT.3.5352
When Physics Today debuted in May 1948, its first editor, David Katcher, wrote the following in an editorial introducing the magazine.
“Physics Today is for the physicist, to inform him in comfortable, everyday language, of what goes on and why and who goes where. But it is also for the chemist, the biologist, and the engineer, to tell them of the science towards which they are driven by so many of their investigations; it is for the student, the teacher, the lawyer, the doctor, and all who are curious about physics; it is for administrative officials who deal with research; it is for editors and writers whose profession puts them midway between what is done and how it should be reported; it is for you, whatever reason brought you to this page.”
In his engaging article “Physics Today turns 75 ,” (Physics Today, May 2023, page 42) current editor-in-chief Richard Fitzgerald comments on that editorial, saying, “One part of Katcher’s description above is notably out of date, though. Physics Today has evolved into more than a magazine and can be found well beyond the printed page. We have a website, email newsletters, social media, and webinars, and we’ll continue to seek out and engage with our audiences wherever they may be.”
I feel that Fitzgerald’s feature missed an important opportunity to discuss an even glaringly more out-of-date part of Katcher’s description, in the first sentence: the use of the pronoun “him”—which makes the introduction to both the magazine, and thus Fitzgerald’s article, explicitly gendered.
Given, as Fitzgerald puts it, that Physics Today strives “to be a reminder of our commonalities as scientists,” the magazine’s 75th anniversary presents an opportunity to reflect on the contributions that women have made during the lifetime of the publication and in the discipline it covers.
Perhaps a starting point could be to observe that the only mentions of “women” or “girls” in the article are literally in small print in two of the figures: the 1992 ad for Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowships and the word clouds.
More about the Authors
Andrew G. White. (andrew.white@uq.edu.au) University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
