Author and actress Danica McKellar has a message for girls who are scared of math: Conquering your fear of numbers can lead to a lifetime of empowerment.
"When you have that light bulb go on, you teach yourself that you're capable — it's a gift girls give themselves," McKellar said.
Released on Aug. 3, McKellar's third math tutoring book, "Hot X: Algebra Exposed!" aims to demystify the fundamentals of algebra in a female-friendly format that encourages girls to be smart.
An actress who has held several television roles, including Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years," McKellar said she first became enamored with math while attending UCLA.
"I felt like my brain was getting mushy and I just wanted that sharp brain feeling again," McKellar said, "so I took a math class and realized, 'Wow, I could do this.' It felt so good. I had just finished 'The Wonder Years' and I needed a new identity outside of this character I had played for years that everybody identified me with."
McKellar said she felt empowered by the knowledge that she was gaining and decided to pursue a degree in mathematics.
"I became addicted to the feeling of feeling smart and capable and truly valued for something other than the stuff Hollywood values women for," McKellar said.
"I became a calculus tutor for the math department and, at least within the halls of UCLA, I went from 'that girl on TV' to 'that girl that helped me pass calculus,' and I felt like a rock star."
After earning her degree and co-authoring the Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem, McKellar was invited speak in front of Congress about the importance of women and math. After some research, McKellar said she realized middle school was the time when girls started to believe they couldn't do math.
"It's a time with a lot of emotions and hormones and girls are wondering, 'What are people going to think of me? Am I going to be popular?' " McKellar said. "It's also the time when they become aware of all the negative stereotypes surrounding math — that it's just for nerds, that it's just for boys, etc."
In an effort to debunk the myths, McKellar began answering questions on her website. However, it wasn't until a literary agent contacted McKellar that the idea to write a math book especially for girls came about.
"I remember the agent said, 'Who would you want to gear that type of thing to?' " McKellar said, "and I was like, 'I know exactly — middle school girls.'"
McKellar said she felt strongly that girls needed a voice to not only break down mathematic concepts but to show them that they don't have to act dumb to gain acceptance.
"You can be cute and fun and fashionable, and when you get older you can be sexy, and you can be making really smart life decisions and picking the right guys and all that," McKellar said. "You don't have to choose between being the smart girl and being the ditsy fun girl."
In order to appeal to a younger generation, McKellar said, she did some soul searching to figure out why females felt the way they did about being the smart girl.
"I mean why are girls and women so tempted to dumb themselves down?" McKellar asked. "Do we really think guys want idiot girlfriends? No, they don't. Who has patience for an idiot girlfriend?"
Rather than see girls play the role of clueless, McKellar said she wants to help teens realize that having a brain isn't something to be ashamed of.
"Maybe it's that we want (guys) to feel good about themselves around us," McKellar said, "but, look, we don't have to dumb ourselves down to make them feel smart and capable and like a hero. We can actually just ask them about things they might know more about than us. There must be things, and if there aren't you're with the wrong guy."
A fusion of math and real-life stories addressing issues young girls face, McKellar said she drew heavily from her own experiences with adolescence for "Hot X: Algebra Exposed!"
"I pretended it was me that I was writing for during that time," McKellar said. "What would I have been interested in? What would have made me want to learn this? Both in the examples I used to show math is relevant in their lives and also in those little mnemonic devices and stories."
Through sections like "Danica's Diary," McKellar said she was able to give advice on everything from fashion to friendship.
McKellar also addresses tough topics facing modern teens, like the dangers of seeking romance as it is portrayed in popular books and movies.
"I just remember those days like it was yesterday. I remember all this rushing of hormones and wanting to be whisked away by a knight in shining armor, and it's just hormones, man," McKellar said.
"It's fun, but it's just fiction. Don't get confused. Don't aspire to look for a relationship like the one you see in 'Twilight' because, seriously, you'll end up in a domestic violence situation."
So far, McKellar said she has seen a positive reaction from girls, parents and teachers who are grateful for a book that makes math fun.
"I get tons of e-mails from girls. I love it, it's the cutest thing ever because they're so expressive like, 'OMG you saved my life, 10 exclamation points.' They're so appreciative and sweet," McKellar said.
Although she's expecting her first child soon, McKellar said she would still like to tackle future projects such as writing a geometry book. For more information visit www.danicamckellar.com.