Biology seems to be helpful in our understanding of sex as a biological reality, but a lot less us in our understanding of gender, which is to a great extent/completely a social construct ... Gilda
I don't want to be misunderstood though as I do see the importance of biology's presence in the study of sexuality and gender, yet I can't deny that my concerns, interest, and activism stems from the treatment of the "subject" in life, not in how the "subject" came to be who they are ... Sara
All too often, scientific theories based on social assumptions or dependent on moralistic interpretations parade around as scientific, objective, and unchangeable facts ... Jessie
sometimes when biology is brought into the conversation, it becomes ... a matter of superiority/inferiority instead of an acknowledgement or appreciation of differences ... Beth
my main issue with biology is that when people start talking about the "differences between men and women" because I wish more people talked about it as a continuum with a bell curve rather than a dichotomy ... Jana
For many, biology has the ability to identify a definitive causation ... When exploring a topic as socially, politically, and personally loaded as sexuality, a definitive cause and effect explanation is expected in order for it to become a strong method of explanation ... Biology is only part of the story of sexuality. In studying causation; an individual is forced to look beyond the mere biological terms to social and personal consequence ... Mo
I rue the day (if it's even ever in our realm of possibility) in which homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality is scientifically pinned down. If we had the chance to 'prevent' the coding* for homosexuality in our offspring, would we committ genocide of the homo/bi/transsexual? ... Nancy
This subject, though, intrigues me - I think I will try to learn more about it on my own ... Mar
This question has been trapped within the mindset of binary opposition: nature versus nurture ... A logic system based on nature-nurture polarities misses the interactive relationship between the two that provides valuable information about the ways in which we can actively design our environment to maximize the expression of favorable traits. We already plan our communities to privilege certain behavior, many of which contribute to hierarchy, why shouldn't we use biology to counteract the existing systemic violence? ... Rebecca
Biology (like all science) doesn't answer questions (or solve problems) but it may (depending on one's degree of familiarity with it and other aspirations/commitments) provide observations and perspectives that are novel and useful for developing improved stories about particular phenomena (including sex and gender?). As is the case with all story-generating systems, biology (and science) creates risks as well as benefits in this regard. Appropriately used, perhaps it can contribute to counteracting "existing systemic violence"?
Some relevant area re "sex and gender":
Let's take material body for today Leave genesis/evolution for Thursday |
Is this a good story? What are the problems with it?
Self can be different from body AND experience/culture TOGETHER
Nervous system and body and body can conflict Self can change body |
From Jenny Boylan:
A different story? A "better story"? Pros and cons?
Put thoughts in forum area
To be continued ...
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