Just read a wonderful article posted by Emily Willingham, a science writer and biologist, to her blog about being a woman who writes about science. Her conclusions? Being female is simply a fact — she was born that way. Being a scientist and a writer is a choice that carries with it years of hard work and learning. Responding to, worrying about, or letting herself be influenced by idiots who focused on her gender and ignored everything else about her would simply have led her down a false path and away from what she wanted to do. Instead, she focused on science and writing.
Two thumbs up on this article. She figured it out. :-)