Mayim Bialik Of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Reveals How She’s Celebrating The New Year
Mayim Bialik is one of the brains behind the website Grok Nation, a place where the Big Bang Theory star explores everything from science to geek culture to feminism. One ongoing feature is “Feminism 101,” where contributors offer various insights and diverse opinions on the often-controversial topic. This week, Feminism 101 asked different women how feminists spend New Year’s Eve. Of course, there’s no one answer; they ranged from making flower arrangements for a lesbian wedding and popping champagne to going to Harry Potter World. Bialik’s answer seemed a little tongue-in-cheek, with some kernels of possible truth.
“A feminist celebrates the New Year plotting the revolution with men and women of all colors, all religious and sexual preferences and all socioeconomic backgrounds, toasting to the women who have made history by not behaving the way we are told to.”
Bialik also maintains a regular presence on her YouTube channel, talking about a wide range of topics. She uploaded a video three months ago to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, talking about traditional foods and practices for the season. Last month, she discussed her choice to live a vegan lifestyle, describing some of the economic incentives behind food production that may lead to abuse of animals and human beings working in the industry.
She’s also actively encouraging youth to get involved in science education. In December 2016, she spoke to an event that supported middle schoolers in their efforts to learn computer coding. In an interview with Tech.Co, Bialik revealed she had her interest in science sparked by one of her tutors while she was a child star on the series Blossom. Until meeting that teacher, she thought she was not any good at math or science.
“I really white knuckled my way through all of math and science and I cried through so many word problems.
“I had the worst time ever and when I was working on ‘Blossom’ which was from the time I was 14 to 19. I had separate tutors for all of my subjects and when I was 15 a biology tutor was hired. She was a veteran getting her dental degree at UCLA and she was the first female mentor I had. She was the first person who worked with me one-on-one and not only inspired a love and a passion for science but gave me the skill set and prepared me for how difficult it would be because this did not come naturally to me.”
Eventually Bialik went on to get a Ph.D. in neuroscience. The Big Bang Theory actually referenced her accomplishment during Season 1, in the episode “The Bat Jar Conjecture,” when the guys discuss getting her to join their physics bowl team. Bialik would become a regular cast member a few years later.
Although Bialik may be spending her New Year’s planning the revolution, she will be back with the rest of the Big Bang Theory cast in January. When fans last left the cast, they were celebrating the birth of Howard and Bernadette’s new baby. According to Entertainment Weekly, the show will pick up a few weeks later, where everyone remembers in flashbacks how their holidays went. That will include Howard and Bernadette as new parents. Despite the new addition, the general flow of the show is not expected to change all that much.
New episodes of The Big Bang Theory air Thursday nights on CBS.
[Featured Image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment]
