What is feminist science studies?
Although science has been reluctant to acknowledge feminist science, there have been historians of science, philosophers of science, and feminist scholars in the sciences analyzing the theories and practices of science for the past 35-40 years. This field began with works by feminist scientists such as Anne Fausto-Sterling, Evelyn Fox Keller, Ruth Hubbard, and Marion Lowe, and feminist philosophers of science, like Sandra Harding.
Feminist science studies examines gender bias in science. The sciences are both a locus of and a source of gender inequalities: institutions have a long history of excluding women, women and sex & gender minorities are often marginalized as subjects of scientific studies, and conclusions drawn from scientific studies have been used to validate and reinforce social roles and expectations that feminists examine and call into question.
Frequently Asked Questions About Feminist Science Studies. (1999). Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Crasnow, Sharon, Wylie, Alison, Bauchspies, Wenda K. and Potter, Elizabeth, "Feminist Perspectives on Science", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/feminist-science/>.
Feminist science studies examines gender bias in science. The sciences are both a locus of and a source of gender inequalities: institutions have a long history of excluding women, women and sex & gender minorities are often marginalized as subjects of scientific studies, and conclusions drawn from scientific studies have been used to validate and reinforce social roles and expectations that feminists examine and call into question.
Frequently Asked Questions About Feminist Science Studies. (1999). Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Crasnow, Sharon, Wylie, Alison, Bauchspies, Wenda K. and Potter, Elizabeth, "Feminist Perspectives on Science", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/feminist-science/>.
What is feminist biology?
Essentially, feminist biology is (1) a critique of gender bias in theories and methods of biology and (2) creating new methods, new theories, and new research that removes this gender bias.
Diep, F. (2014, April 23). Q&A: What Is Feminist Biology? Retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/article/science/qa-what-feminist-biology
Specifically, my interests lie in sex biology and its relationship with gender studies. As a developmental biologist studying sexual differentiation, I see sex and gender both as spectra. Through my own work, I have seen how social ideas of sex and gender play into scientific practices and language.
" . . . Truths about human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists in particular are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures and economies. At the same time, components of our political, social, and moral struggles become, quite literally, embodied, incorporated into our very physiological being. My intent is to show how these mutually dependent claims work, in part, by addressing such issues as how-- through their daily lives, experiments, and medical practices-- scientists create truths about sexuality; how our bodies incorporate and confirm these truths; and how these truths, sculpted by the social milieu in which biologists practice their trade, in turn refashion our cultural environment." Fausto-Sterling, A. (2008). Sexing the Body (p. 5). New York: Basic Books.
Diep, F. (2014, April 23). Q&A: What Is Feminist Biology? Retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/article/science/qa-what-feminist-biology
Specifically, my interests lie in sex biology and its relationship with gender studies. As a developmental biologist studying sexual differentiation, I see sex and gender both as spectra. Through my own work, I have seen how social ideas of sex and gender play into scientific practices and language.
" . . . Truths about human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists in particular are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures and economies. At the same time, components of our political, social, and moral struggles become, quite literally, embodied, incorporated into our very physiological being. My intent is to show how these mutually dependent claims work, in part, by addressing such issues as how-- through their daily lives, experiments, and medical practices-- scientists create truths about sexuality; how our bodies incorporate and confirm these truths; and how these truths, sculpted by the social milieu in which biologists practice their trade, in turn refashion our cultural environment." Fausto-Sterling, A. (2008). Sexing the Body (p. 5). New York: Basic Books.
Gender is a spectrum [and sex is, too]
Credit: Pitch Interactive and Amanda Montañez. Source: Montañez, A. (2017, September 01). Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination/. Originally published in Montañez, A. (2017, August 29). https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum/
Recommended Readings
Cipolla, C., Gupta, K., Rubin, D. A., & Willey, A. (2018). Queer Feminist Science Studies: A Reader. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Hawkesworth, M., & Disch, L. (2016). Introduction. Feminist theory: Transforming the Known World. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 1-15). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bettcher, T. M. (2016). Intersexuality, Transgender, and Transsexuality. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 407-427). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lloyd, M. (2016). Performativity and Performance. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 572-592). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roy, D. (2016). Science Studies. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 832-851). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vigoya, M. V. (2016). Sex/Gender. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 852-873). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stone, A. (2016). Sexual Difference. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 874-893). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Montañez, A. (2017, September 01). Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination/
Montañez, A. (2017, August 29). https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum/
Henig, R. M., & Johnson, L. (2016, December 19). How Science Is Helping Us Understand Gender. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/how-science-helps-us-understand-gender-identity/
Ainsworth, C. (2015). Sex redefined. Nature, 518(7539), 288-291. doi:10.1038/518288a
Roughgarden, J. (2013). Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Fausto-Sterling, A. (2008). Sexing the Body. New York: Basic Books.
Fujimura, J. (2006). Sex Genes: A Critical Sociomaterial Approach to the Politics and Molecular Genetics of Sex Determination. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 32(1), 49-82. doi:10.1086/505612
Frequently Asked Questions About Feminist Science Studies. (1999). Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Harding, S. G. (1993). The science question in feminism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Martin, E. (1991). The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 16(3), 485-501. doi:10.1086/494680
Longino, H. E., Keller, E. F., Fausto-Sterling, A., & Harding, S. (1988). Science, Objectivity, and Feminist Values. Feminist Studies, 14(3), 561. doi:10.2307/3178065
Keller, E. F., & Scharff‐Goldhaber, G. (1987). Reflections on Gender and Science. American Journal of Physics,55(3), 284-286. doi:10.1119/1.15186
Keller, E. F. (1987). The Gender/Science System: Or, Is Sex To Gender As Nature Is To Science? Hypatia, 2(3), 37-49. doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.1987.tb01340.x
Hawkesworth, M., & Disch, L. (2016). Introduction. Feminist theory: Transforming the Known World. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 1-15). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bettcher, T. M. (2016). Intersexuality, Transgender, and Transsexuality. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 407-427). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lloyd, M. (2016). Performativity and Performance. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 572-592). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roy, D. (2016). Science Studies. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 832-851). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vigoya, M. V. (2016). Sex/Gender. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 852-873). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stone, A. (2016). Sexual Difference. In Disch, L., & Hawkesworth, M. (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory (pp. 874-893). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Montañez, A. (2017, September 01). Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination/
Montañez, A. (2017, August 29). https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum/
Henig, R. M., & Johnson, L. (2016, December 19). How Science Is Helping Us Understand Gender. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/how-science-helps-us-understand-gender-identity/
Ainsworth, C. (2015). Sex redefined. Nature, 518(7539), 288-291. doi:10.1038/518288a
Roughgarden, J. (2013). Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Fausto-Sterling, A. (2008). Sexing the Body. New York: Basic Books.
Fujimura, J. (2006). Sex Genes: A Critical Sociomaterial Approach to the Politics and Molecular Genetics of Sex Determination. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 32(1), 49-82. doi:10.1086/505612
Frequently Asked Questions About Feminist Science Studies. (1999). Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Harding, S. G. (1993). The science question in feminism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Martin, E. (1991). The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 16(3), 485-501. doi:10.1086/494680
Longino, H. E., Keller, E. F., Fausto-Sterling, A., & Harding, S. (1988). Science, Objectivity, and Feminist Values. Feminist Studies, 14(3), 561. doi:10.2307/3178065
Keller, E. F., & Scharff‐Goldhaber, G. (1987). Reflections on Gender and Science. American Journal of Physics,55(3), 284-286. doi:10.1119/1.15186
Keller, E. F. (1987). The Gender/Science System: Or, Is Sex To Gender As Nature Is To Science? Hypatia, 2(3), 37-49. doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.1987.tb01340.x
