Sex Itself: The Search for Male and Female in the Human Genome - Hardcover

Richardson, Sarah S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022608468X ISBN 13: 9780226084688

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2013

Synopsis

Human genomes are 99.9 percent identical—with one prominent exception. Instead of a matching pair of X chromosomes, men carry a single X, coupled with a tiny chromosome called the Y. Tracking the emergence of a new and distinctive way of thinking about sex represented by the unalterable, simple, and visually compelling binary of the X and Y chromosomes, Sex Itself examines the interaction between cultural gender norms and genetic theories of sex from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, postgenomic age.           Using methods from history, philosophy, and gender studies of science, Sarah S. Richardson uncovers how gender has helped to shape the research practices, questions asked, theories and models, and descriptive language used in sex chromosome research. From the earliest theories of chromosomal sex determination, to the mid-century hypothesis of the aggressive XYY supermale, to the debate about Y chromosome degeneration, to the recent claim that male and female genomes are more different than those of humans and chimpanzees, Richardson shows how cultural gender conceptions influence the genetic science of sex.            Richardson shows how sexual science of the past continues to resonate, in ways both subtle and explicit, in contemporary research on the genetics of sex and gender. With the completion of the Human Genome Project, genes and chromosomes are moving to the center of the biology of sex. Sex Itself offers a compelling argument for the importance of ongoing critical dialogue on how cultural conceptions of gender operate within the science of sex.

About this title

About the Author

Sarah S. Richardson is assistant professor of the history of science and of studies of women, gender, and sexuality at Harvard University. She is coeditor of Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age. She lives in Chester, CT.

Review

“Erudite and well-balanced. . . . Richardson takes issue with the perpetual reductionist view on sex differences. Perplexed by the suggestion made in 2005 that genetic differences between men and women are larger than those between humans and chimpanzees, she meticulously demonstrates how the genetics of sex has been modeled on alleged and often rehearsed gender distinctions between men and women. But she does more. Richardson skillfully demonstrates how instrumental sex differences have been in the development of genetics. . . . Not simply an account of the effect of gender on genetics, [Sex Itself] provides us with tools to think of the possibility of a gender-critical genetics.” (Amade M'charek Science)

"Accessible, beautifully written, and compelling (plus, the illustrations are excellent).  I could hardly put the book down. . . . Sex Itself is not only valuable as a model of feminist empiricist work, but it is also courageous. Richardson takes the science seriously and follows its implications, even if it conflicts with trends in feminist theory; she takes feminist work seriously and applies its methods to critique scientific research. . . . An important contribution to feminist scholarship." (Sally Haslanger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy)

“Sex Itself is a provocative book that sits at the intersection of history, philosophy, and social studies of science and gender, and is well worth picking up.” (Erika Lorraine Milam, Princeton University Journal of the History of Biology)

"Sex Itself offers an insightful analysis of how 'sex' and 'gender' as social odering concepts are woven into genetic research. . . . At the same time, [Richardson] offers something more than a straightforward account of how science is sexed and gendered. At its core, Sex Itself is concerned with ethics as much as history." (Monica J. Casper Women's Review of Books)

“This book convincingly documents the social and cultural values molding changeable gender views and warns that prevailing norms influence the path of scientific research. Recommended.” (R. A. Hoots, Sacramento City College Choice)

"In Sex Itself, Richardson takes gender criticism to a new level — the genomic one.
Richardson compellingly argues that gender is central to our understandings of chromosomal sex, and advocates for the acknowledgement of the interplay between sex and gender so that we may recognize how gender acts not only as a source of bias, but as a productive force driving genetic research. Her impressively clear writing, and the clever illustrations judiciously sprinkled throughout the text, help her less scientifically inclined readers quickly develop requisite familiarity with core biological and genetic concepts. This is an excellent addition to the feminist science studies literature, which should enjoy a wide readership across disciplines." (Somatosphere)

“Erudite yet accessible, meticulously researched, and elegantly written, Sarah S. Richardson’s Sex Itself examines the history of modern genetic research on human sex difference. The book is ambitiously pitched and yet magisterially successful in delivering what it promises....There is no question that Richardson’s book will remain the most authoritative text on the subject for many years ahead.” (History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences)

“Sex Itself presents an excellent study of the role of gender in human genomics. With this work, Sarah S. Richardson fills a perplexing—and crucial—gap in the literature of gender and science.”
(Evelyn Fox Keller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

“Through a series of deeply researched case studies, Sarah S. Richardson shows how thoroughly gender ideologies permeated twentieth- and twenty-first-century research on the so-called sex chromosomes. An essential addition to feminist science studies.”
(Helen E. Longino, Stanford University)

“This is the history I’ve been waiting for: the lucid recounting of a century’s worth of scientific and popular efforts to ground our notions of maleness and femaleness—and their supposed Mars/Venus opposition—in the strands of genetic material that we call X and Y. In Sex Itself, Sarah S. Richardson moves beyond simple notions of gender bias in science to carefully describe both how gender beliefs shape research trajectories and how scientific findings inform cultural and political agendas.”
(Steven Epstein, author of Inclusion and Impure Science)

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 022608468X
• ISBN 13: 9780226084688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 311