scholarly journals Gender Beneath the Skull: Agency, Trauma and Persisting Stereotypes in Neuroepigenetics

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsher Lawson-Boyd ◽  
Maurizio Meloni
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
Biological Pathways ◽  
Methyl Groups ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Feminist Sts

Epigenetics stands in a complex relationship to issues of sex and gender. As a scientific field, it has been heavily criticized for disproportionately targeting the maternal body and reproducing deterministic views of biological sex (Kenney and Müller, 2017; Lappé, 2018; Richardson et al., 2014). And yet, it also represents the culmination of a long tradition of engaging with developmental biology as a feminist cause, because of the dispersal of the supposed ‘master code’ of DNA among wider cellular, organismic and ecological contexts (Keller, 1988). In this paper, we explore a number of tensions at the intersection of sex, gender and trauma that are playing out in the emerging area of neuroepigenetics - a relatively new subfield of epigenetics specifically interested in environment-brain relations through epigenetic modifications in neurons. Using qualitative interviews with leading scientists, we explore how trauma is conceptualized in neuroepigenetics, paying attention to its gendered dimensions. We address a number of concerns raised by feminist STS researchers in regard to epigenetics, and illustrate why we believe close engagement with neuroepigenetic claims, and neuroepigenetic researchers themselves, is a crucial step for social scientists interested in questions of embodiment and trauma. We argue this for three reasons: (1) Neuroepigenetic studies are recognizing the agential capacities of biological materials such as genes, neurotransmitters and methyl groups, and how they influence memory formation; (2) Neuroepigenetic conceptions of trauma are yet to be robustly coupled with social and anthropological theories of violence (Eliot, 2021; Nelson, 2021; Walby, 2013); (3) In spite of the gendered assumptions we find in neuroepigenetics, there are fruitful spaces – through collaboration – to be conceptualizing gender beyond culture-biology and nature-nurture binaries (Lock and Nguyen, 2010). To borrow Gravlee’s (2009: 51) phrase, we find reason for social scientists to consider how gender is not only constructed, but how it may “become biology” via epigenetic and other biological pathways. Ultimately, we argue that a robust epigenetic methodology is one which values the integrity of expertise outside its own field, and can have an open, not empty mind to cross-disciplinary dialogue.

scholarly journals Breaking the Binary

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Mercer-Mapstone ◽  
Sarah Bajan ◽  
Kasia Banas ◽  
Arthur Morphett ◽  
Kristine McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Minority Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Partnership Approach

The need to make higher education curricula gender-inclusive is increasingly pressing as student cohorts diversify. We adopted a student-staff partnership approach to design, integrate, and evaluate a module that taught first-year science students the difference between biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation in the context of genetics concepts at an Australian university. This module aimed to break the binary in misconceptions of both sex and gender, emphasising that both exist on separate spectra. Data triangulation was used to evaluate students’ attitudes towards the module and their learning of module concepts. Students’ attitudes were positive overall, and evaluation of students’ learning indicated that the majority of students understood and retained key concepts, while also identifying common misconceptions. Perhaps the most important finding was that students who identified as belonging to a minority group had significantly more positive attitudes towards the module than non-minority students. This finding supports previous research that has found inclusive curricula have greater benefit for students from minority backgrounds, indicating the importance of making such curriculum enhancements. Our results speak to both the co-creation process and students’ learning outcomes, providing valuable insights for practitioners both within science and beyond.

In Favor of the 2019 Equality Act: A Comment on Burt

2021 ◽  
pp. 155708512199133
Author(s):  
Susan Gluck Mezey
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
And Gender

There are three reason why I disagree with the author’s premise that 2019 Equality Act disadvantages women by blurring the distinction between sex and gender identity. First, it ignores current legal theory and practice that sex discrimination encompasses gender identity discrimination in federal law; second, it has not made a sufficient case that the Act’s interpretation of sex would harm women; third, it incorrectly assumes gender equality in the workplace can be achieved while sex-segregated spaces remain segregated by biological sex. In sum, revising the Equality Act to exempt women’s spaces would sacrifice the principle of gender equality upon which the Act is based.

Subjectivity and Subjectivation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Marie Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Judith Butler ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Angela Davis ◽  
Socialist Feminism ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Foucauldian Theory ◽  
Theoretical Paradigms

A chapter addressing the formation of the subject, and the rejection of the assumption that gender and sex are simply given, in various feminist theory paradigms. The project of advancing gender justice requires close attention to the ways in which categories of biological sex and gender, in intersectional relations with race, ethnicity, nationality, class and so on, are historically constructed and deployed to bring subjects into being, even as these same categories are resisted and re-negotiated at the same time in an always agonistic field of social relations. Special reference is made to three pairs of theoretical paradigms and practitioners: liberal feminism and Nancy J. Hirschmann; antiracist socialist feminism and Angela Davis; Derridean-Foucauldian theory and Judith Butler.

scholarly journals Do gender and puberty influence allergic diseases?

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-125
Author(s):  
Cristine Secco Rosário ◽  
Cristina Alves Cardozo ◽  
Herberto José Chong Neto ◽  
Nelson Augusto Rosário Filho
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Allergic Diseases ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Sexual Hormones ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Female Predominance ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Epigenetic Patterns ◽  
Gender Specific

Differences between biological sex, gender identity, and their impact on health may have significant implications for the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of several diseases, including allergies. Asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), atopic dermatitis (AD), and allergic conjunctivitis (AC) have different prevalences and different risk factors in infancy. Although boys present allergies more often in childhood, it quickly changes during girls’ sexual development, leading to lifelong female predominance of allergic diseases. This can be explained by the influence of sexual hormones, different lifestyles adopted by men and women, microbiota diversity, diet distinctions, professional options, and adherence to treatment, among others. Gender-related aspects should become essential parameters in allergology to diagnostic and therapeutic stratification, associated with molecular, genetic, and epigenetic patterns. Longitudinal studies would be interesting to evaluate possible mechanisms underlying these differences in prevalence. Sex- and gender-specific observations beyond 14 years of age are scarce and further allergic multimorbidity studies in different populations, especially in adults, are necessary.

Reported Masculinity Ratio in Pakistan: A Triumph of Anthropology and Economics over Biology (Invited Lecture)

1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 267-303
Author(s):  
Karol J. Krotki
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Social Scientist ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Corrado Gini ◽  
And Gender

The problem of the sex ratio fascinates social scientists. Some measure it through the masculinity ratio (number of men per woman), others use the feminity ratio (number of women per man). Among the latter is the majority of social scientist on this subcontinent e.g., Gupta [13 ; maps 24,25,26 and 27) and in several countries of continental Europe [66, fn. 33, p. 3] . Corrado Gini, the celebrated creator of various indices, popular in social Sciences, devoted to the topic his very first book [11]. Sex and gender is one of the most important and popular variables, on which a social scientist breaks up his data into Significantly different groups.

Exploring Contemporary Issues in Genetics & Society

2013 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 692-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie C. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Chromosomal Disorders ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interactive Simulations

In this two-part activity, high school biology students examine human karyotyping, sex-chromosome-linked disorders, and the relationship between biological sex and gender. Through interactive simulations and a structured discussion lab, students create a human karyotype and diagnose chromosomal disorders in hypothetical patients, as well as formulate a scientifically based argument distinguishing biological sex from gender. This activity reinforces biology concepts such as DNA structure and function, meiosis, and the inheritance of traits. In their arguments, students integrate prior knowledge with science content. This lesson connects the world of science with issues important in their own lives.

Physical Exposures in Work Commonly Done by Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 639-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Messing
Keyword(s):  
Biological Effects ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Physical Demands ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
The North ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Repetitive Movements ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Physical Exposures

The North American workforce is still highly sex-segregated, with most members of each sex in jobs composed primarily of workers of the same sex. This division is accentuated when jobs involve physical demands. Women have traditionally been assigned to tasks whose physical demands are considered to be light. Nevertheless, these tasks can have biological effects, sometimes serious. Phenomena related to physical demands of women's work can be considered in three categories: (a) musculoskeletal and cardiovascular demands of tasks often assigned to women in factories and service work; (b) sex- and gender-specific effects of toxic substances found in the workplace; and (c) interactions between work and the domestic responsibilities of many women. These phenomena are described, using examples recently gathered from workplaces. Effects of biological sex are distinguished, as far as possible, from effects of gender (social roles). Keywords: ergonomics, gender, occupation, anthropometry, toxicity, repetitive movements, static effort

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