How many times have you heard the argument that men are more rational than emotional, whilst women are more emotional than rational? The idea that women are genetically less capable than men of rational thinking has no scientific basis, and yet it is entrenched in our culture. And to make matters worse, this old idea keeps rearing its ugly head in the sciences as an excuse for why there aren’t more women in the field (e.g., Larry Summers). So, where does this idea come from in the first place? Well, the answer to that question was illuminated when we recently stumbled across a paper written by law professor Dan Burk, entitled “Feminism and Dualism in Intellectual Property,” in which he applies feminist theory to the study of intellectual property laws. If you haven’t read many academic law papers before, it is worth mentioning that Plato, Socrates and/or Aristotle are frequently referenced since, as EVERYBODY knows, our legal system is heavily based upon Greek philosophy (as is our government, and much, much more). In his paper, Burk summarizes the core argument found in Aristotle’s Politics: “Aristotle justifies the practice of slavery by arguing that: just as the mind or spirit is superior and should rule the body; just as men as a gender are by nature rational and therefore superior, and should properly rule over women; just as humans are by nature rational and therefore superior to animals, and should rule over them, by the same logic, some classes or races who are more rational should properly rule over other races, who should properly be slaves.” Wow- this is both sexist and racist! Aristotle has been hailed as one of the most influential minds in all of history. We would definitely agree that Aristotle’s ideas have had tremendous staying power, including the sexist ones. Sigh. Now we feminist chemists can no longer romanticize those old Greek philosophers because if we had been alive during those times, we would not have been allowed to study science- or rather the “natural philosophy” of that day and age. In fact, Aristotle is still thwarting women’s ability to study science 2,300 years later. That, my friends, is what they call a sexist legacy.