Lab Girl Study Guide

Manicure Monday. In November 2013, Jahren made a bold statement about women in science simply by posting a photo of her hands on Twitter. Seventeen Magazine posted a hashtag, #manicuremonday, requesting that young women post images of their manicured hands; Jahren posted a photo of her hands—clean but not manicured—holding a beaker in her lab. She used Seventeen’s hashtag, of course, but added that her goal was to “contrast real #Science hands against what @seventeenmag says our hands should look like. All nails welcome.” Her rebellion against this traditional image of femininity prompted many other women to post images of them working with their hands, manicured or not.

More Than Just a Lab Girl. In addition to writing a bestselling novel, Hope Jahren is one of the most respected scientists in the United States. She is one of only four people—and the only woman—to receive two Young Scientist Awards from the Geological Society of America. She has received three Fulbright fellowships for her research, and in 2016, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.