Women
Gender, specifically women, has been a theme in my scholarly work since I was an elementary school student. When I look back on assignments for which I had choice, I seem to have chosen to study women. In fifth grade, I did a diorama (shadow box) called “Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse.” In eleventh grade I made a sculpture of Madame DaFarge in the Tale of Two Cities, knitting. In my first master’s degree I studied Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Villette. For my doctoral dissertation, I studied female teachers in Ohio who trained in the female seminary movement. It was called The Female Teacher: The Beginnings of Teaching as a “Women’s Profession.” I organized conferences for women artists and taught as an adjunct professor in the Women’s Studies program at Bowling Green State University. I trained teachers for the U.S. Department of Education in Title IX after it was passed in the 1970s. My Piirto Pyramid of Talent Development seems to be the only theoretical model in the education of the gifted and talented which has gender as environmental factor in talent development.
1. Eminence in Talented Women by Domain Utilizing the Piirto Pyramid as a Framework
Abstract
Utilizing the Piirto Pyramid of Talent Development as a theoretical framework, this chapter discusses female talent in six domains—visual arts, creative writing, science, acting, music, and dance. Biographical sketches of visual artist Judy Chicago (1939-); poet Anne Sexton (1928-1974); scientist/astronaut Judith Resnik (1951-2012); actor Angela Lansbury (1925-); composer Marilyn Shrude (1946- ) and dancer Suzanne Farrell (1945-) are presented. Themes in their lives mention genetics, personality attributes, cognitive ability, talent in the domain, the Sun of Home, Sun of School, Sun of Community and Culture, Sun of Chance, and Sun of Gender. The “Thorn,” or the intrinsic motivation to create will also be discussed. The Piirto model is the only current model of talent development that includes the environmental influence of gender. Four of these eminent women had children and two did not and the “double bind” of having children and becoming eminent is discussed. Key words: Judy Chicago; Judith Resnik; Anne Sexton; Angela Lansbury; Marilyn Shrude; Suzanne Farrell; Piirto Pyramid of Talent Development; gifted women; talented women; biographies of talented women.
Cite as:
Piirto, J. (2019). Eminence in talented women by domain: Issues, similarities and differences utilizing the Piirto Pyramid of Talent Development as a theoretical framework. In B. Wallace, D. A. Sisk, and J. Senior (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Gifted and Talented Education (pp. 117-128). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Full text available here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330221859_Eminence_in_Talented_Women_by_Domain_Utilizing_the_Piirto_Pyramid_as_a_Framework
2. Themes in the lives of successful contemporary U.S. women creative writers
Abstract
The present study looked at the lifespan development of 80 women who are contemporary U.S. creative writers. Themes from surveys, autobiographical and biographical essays, published interviews, and reference books were analyzed. Themes in the women writers’ lives were characterized by Developmental Events: (1) unconventional families and family traumas; (2) nurturing of talents by both male and female teachers and mentors; (3) extensive early reading and writing sometimes resulting in early publication; (4) viewing words as special ‐keeping journals, writing to make sense of things, using writing as communication and auto‐therapy; (5) residence in New York City at some point, especially among the most prominent; (6) attendance at prestigious colleges, majoring in English literature; (7) continued high achievement, many publications, many writing awards; Professional situations: (8) being in an occupation different from their parents; (9) conflict combining motherhood and careers in writing; (10)history of divorce; and Personality/personal attributes: (11) certain core personality attributes; (12) incidence of depression and/or self‐destructive acts; (13) feeling of being an outsider, of marginalization and a resulting need to have their group’s story told (e.g. minorities, lesbians, regional writers, writers from lower socioeconomic class, writers of different immigration groups); (14) possession of tacit knowledge; (15) a personal and ritualized creative process often with spiritual overtones; and (16) societal expectations of femininity incongruent with their essential personalities.
Cite as:
- Piirto, J. (I998.) Themes in the lives of contemporary U.S. women creative writers at midlife. Roeper Review, 21 (1), 60-70. DOI: 1080/02783199809553933
Full text available here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247528291_Themes_in_the_lives_of_successful_contemporary_US_women_creative_writers
3. Why are there so few? (Creative women: Visual artists, mathematicians, musicians)
Abstract
The author rethinks a position she and Higham took in 1984 in an article in Journal For The Education of the Gifted, where she and Higham called for “differential equality” in the education of gifted girls. Looking again at well‐known psychometric, psychological, and biographical research into creative visual artists, mathematicians, and musicians, she examines these studies in terms of gender differences, and relates those findings to the developmental research now being done on girls.
Cite as:
- Piirto, J. (1991). Why are there so few? (creative women: visual artists, mathematicians, musicians). Roeper Review, 13(3), 142-147. DOI: 1080/02783199109553340
Full text available here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237934630_Why_are_there_so_few_Creative_women_Visual_artists_mathematicians_musicians
4. Mary Meeker
Cite as: Piirto, J., & Keller-Mathers, S. (2014). Mary M. Meeker: A deep commitment to individual differences (1921-2003). In A. Robinson and J. Jolly (Eds.), Illuminating lives: A century of contributions to gifted education (pp. 277-288). New York, NY: Routledge.
First Two Paragraphs
Born in Clarksville, Texas, in 1921, Mary Meeker was the oldest of three children of half Acadian, one-fourth Lebanese and one-fourth German descent (M. N. Meeker, unpublished survey, March 28, 2003). Mary’s father, who reluctantly had to quit school in the fourth grade to run his father’s general store, told his young daughter Mary that he was going to make sure she went to college as she was very smart. That year was 1925 and offered a glimpse of a bright, independent-minded girl who grew up to be a passionate advocate for the development of diverse intellectual abilities.
A series of early professional experiences laid the foundation for her interest in intellectual diversity while her doctoral studies provided the pivotal experience that paved the way for her scholarly work in the development of the intellect. As a mother, teacher, and psychologist, she immediately saw the possibility of applying J. P. Guilford’s Structure of Intellect (SI) theory of human intelligence to school children (Guilford, 1967, 1977).
Full text available here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272416346_Piirto_J_Keller-Mathers_S_2014_Mary_Meeker_A_Deep_Commitment_to_Recognizing_Individual_Differences_In_A_Robinson_and_J_Jolly_Eds_Illuminating_lives_A_century_of_contributions_to_gifted_education_pp_27