Heredity and Sex Essay

Emily Martin’s reading about the egg and the sperm was interesting due to the fact that many people never notice how gender norms are portrayed in science. Science books are using metaphors within their text that reflect the socially constructed definitions of male and female. Martin points out that science is supporting the gender norm of women being less worthy than men in the way they describe the reproduction process. It is noted that after viewing different scientific texts about the reproductive system, none of them expressed enthusiasm for any female processes. In opposition, the male’s role is very much acknowledged and held to a high regard. Evidence of this difference is shown in the words that are used to describe each

The simple writing style and lightness of the somewhat delicate topic makes this book a fantastic read that can be enjoyed by a range of people. Experts in the subject field of biogenetics and curious high school kids can both appreciate this book for what it is; and insightful, fascinating, fresh look at the world of biogenetics and what it can mean for you personally. I say personally because scientists have com to

Science supposed to be unbiased in disregard of gender. Scientist supposed to back the truth through fair and honest experiments without bias or sexual preference but history had taught us that even in science, women are perpetuated and “used” for their own patriarchal gain. In the paper “The Evolutionary Origins of Patriarchy” by Barbara Smuts, Smuts talks about evolutionary basis of male motivation to control female sexuality. Evolutionary psychology has its roots in Charles Darwin theory of Natural Selection-“Through natural selection, [Darwin] explained, men had become superior to woman in courage, energy, intellect and inventive genius and thus would inevitably excel in art, science and philosophy” (The Female Malady, p.122). Such publications not only gave burst to the male society (patriarchal) but gave them more reasons to perpetuate inequality. This is also corroborated by another journal, in the paper “The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior” by Alice H. Eagly and Wendy Wood, which they conclude by saying that evolutionary

Sexual selection was an idea proposed by Darwin and refers to the process in which males and females attempt to maximize their chances of reproductive success. Within a species there are certain characteristics that make individuals attractive to potential mates. An example of this is in peacocks, female peacocks are attracted to males with long brightly colored tails, even though this makes them easier to be spotted by predators. This characteristic then evolves within the species due to how males with this characteristic have a higher chance of reproductive success and their characteristics being passed on to surviving offspring.

In Wittig's “One is Not Born a Woman,” biology is a classifier that naturalizes gender distinction between women and men based on the physical discrepancies. Biology, as a field of science associated with historical evidence, constructs social conventions of gender difference and instills the idea as a permanent fact. The differing role of women and men throughout history is justified by the term “biological predisposition” and “holds onto the idea that the capacity to give birth (gender role based on biological function) is what defines a woman” (Wittig 10). The notion of biology in this term defers authority to the image of science -reasoning that concludes to a fixed and proven answer. The deference

Around the mid-nineteenth century until today’s times, three beliefs about women and men has become a major aspect for part of biology

Biological sex is determined by chromosomes in your genes. At prenatal development, only a few weeks after conception, there is no notable difference between male and female structure until the Gonadal Ridges, the structure which develops either female or male sex organs, grows to determine the sex of the baby. All prenatal babies have genitalia that appears distinctly feminine until at three months, hormones- testosterone if the baby’s to be a boy, and oestrogen if the baby’s to be a girl- is released and the baby develops into the hormone determined gender. For these reasons it is believed that there is a direct link between chromosomes and sex, and therefore sex and

Judson contributes to onefs understanding of sex among different organisms in that she makes difficult concepts simple to comprehend. Although she uses scientific terminology, she limits it so that anyone can understand the technical information she shares. Judson also describes the types of environments in which each species and

This is different than today’s society because today gardening is shared among males and females and we know that it is actually the males X or Y chromosome that determine the sex of a child.

Martin, after careful consideration and researching in unique methods, comes to an overall conclusion that there are cultural influences in the way egg and sperm interactions are presented in textbooks. This conclusion has many serious

Take the 1960s notion of free love, combine with today's sexually active teenagers who expect no emotional commitment, and you have the modern definition for “hook up.” The term evolved just as many ideas about sex have in this last century. Hooking up is no longer just kissing, it involves oral sex and also intercourse, it is all about the casual sex.

The study of genetics includes not only the study of normal DNA, but also of the mutations within a DNA. A mutation is a slightly distorted gene. These mutations can have an effect on a person, both physically and mentally. Although genetics may seem to be just about the genes, scientists are beginning to see a connection between gender and genetic mutations.

The Sex chromosome(X and Y) originates from a pair of autosomes (H.J. Muller, 1914) about 350million years ago in reptile-like ancestors (Charlesworth, 1991; Graves, 1995). Environmental factor like temperature determines sex in some species e.g. crocodiles and turtles (Bull et al, 1975). In humans, there are 22 pairs of chromosomes called the Autosomes and one pair of sex chromosome (X-Y) which makes a total of 23pairs of chromosomes. These 23pairs (46) chromosomes are contributed by female and male gamete. Females have 22pairs of autosomes and one sex chromosome (X) while males have Y sex chromosome in addition to the 22pairs of autosomes. This means that, the Y chromosome can only be inherited paternally (Lahn & Page, 1999).

Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male

When considering gender and sex, a layman’s idea of these terms might be very different than a sociologist’s. There is an important distinction: sex, in terms of being “male” or “female,” is purely the physical biological characteristic differences – primarily anatomical differences. (There are also rare cases of “intersexual” individuals as outlined in the Navarro article, “When Gender Isn’t a Given”.) Gender, on the other hand, is an often misconstrued concept that is commonly mistaken as synonymous with sex. A non-sociologist might surmise the following, “men act masculine and women act feminine, therefore, it must follow that gender is inherent to sex,” however, this is not necessarily the case.