While The X-Files still portrayed sexual tension and, later, a relationship between the main protagonists, Scully never compromised her intelligence for romance. RELATED: Law & Order Exists in the Same Universe as.
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The evidence is compelling, suggesting that Scully was profoundly influential for more women entering STEM. Scully also influenced medium/heavy women viewers of The X-Files to consider working in STEM fields (43 percent), study STEM fields (27 percent) and work in STEM fields (24 percent). Out of 2,021 participants, 63 percent of women familiar with Scully said she increased their belief in STEM importance, while 50 percent of those same women credited Scully with increasing their interest in STEM. The Geena Davis Insitute on Gender in Media, founded by Thelma & Louise actor Geena Davis, confirmed the Scully Effect. However, it has since been proven through scientific research. For almost two decades, the Scully Effect was anecdotal, something women expressed to actor Gillian Anderson at Comic-Con. This phenomenon involved a substantial increase of women becoming interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and/or joining STEM fields because of Scully's influence. RELATED: The X-Files' 7 Most Disturbing EpisodesĪs such, her presence on television gave birth to the Scully Effect. She also frequently corrected men who were quick to call her "Miss" rather than "Agent" or "Doctor." Despite this sexism, Scully remained confident in a field that - at the time - was predominantly a boys club. Throughout The X-Files, especially in its first nine seasons, Scully was often confused for Mulder's wife, even when investigating crime scenes. However, her character was still confronted with stigma. In '90s television, where scientists were primarily portrayed as white men, Scully broke the mold. She used her skills frequently, acting as a forensic pathologist on the vast majority of cases.
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As such, the fictional FBI agent spurred a real-life scientific movement, which has since been dubbed the "Scully Effect."Īlong with being an FBI agent, Scully's background was in medicine and physics. In other words, there wasn't much Dana Scully couldn't do - and women took notice.
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She remained on equal footing with her male partner, wasn't afraid to voice her scientific opinion and managed to avoid over-sexualization thanks to creator Chris Carter. Among X-Files fans, Scully quickly became a feminist icon. In 1993, The X-Files introduced Dana Scully ( Gillian Anderson), the skeptical, no-nonsense counterpart to the alien-hunting Fox Mulder (David Duchovny).