Suchergebnisse

This case study examines differences between how the animal‐behavior‐research fields of ethology and sociobiology account for female ornamental traits. I address three questions: 1) Why were female traits noted in early animal‐behavior writings but not systematically studied like male traits? 2) Why did ethology attend to female signals before sexual‐selection studies did? 3) And why didn't sexual‐selection researchers cite the earlier ethological literature when they began studying female traits? To answer these questions, I turn to feminist and other science‐studies scholars and philosophers of science. My main framework is provided by Bruno Latour, whose model I position within relevant feminist critique (Latour 1999). This approach provides an interactive account of how scientific knowledge develops. I argue that this embedded approach provides a more compelling reading of the relationship between gender and science than does focusing on androcentric biases. My overall aim is to counter arguments by some feminist biologists that feminist tools should emphasize the correction and removal of biases, and to address their fears that more rigorous critiques would lead to relativism or otherwise remove science as a tool for feminist use.

A PhD candidate in biological sciences, who is also pursuing a graduate certificate in women's studies, describes male-centered paradigms in the study of fish coloration that overlook coloration displays in females. As a result, many traits common to both sexes are labeled "male traits," thereby obscuring the actual degree of sexual variation. It is argued that the traditionally male-dominated field of animal behavior has produced many theories that fail to consider female evolution. However, recent work by the growing number of women in the field, as well as some astute male scientists, has focused more on androcentric research that reflects larger cultural shifts in gender roles. Personal experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field are related, along with how childhood socialization served to restrict certain aspirations, & how human gender roles inhibit conceptions of male & female animals. A discussion of the need to challenge science's gender-based representations contends that the insights & methodologies of feminist theory must be applied in order to develop a more flexible view of animal nature. 17 References. J. Lindroth