Anne Fausto-Sterling
Encyclopedia
Anne Fausto-Sterling, Ph. D. (born 1944) is Professor of Biology and Gender Studies at Brown University
. She participates actively in the field of sexology
and has written extensively on the fields of biology of gender
, sexual identity
, gender identity
, and gender role
s.
degree in zoology
from University of Wisconsin in 1965 and her Ph.D. in developmental genetics from Brown University
in 1970. She has taught at Brown since earning her Ph.D.
She has written two books intended for the general audience. The second edition of the first of those books, Myths of Gender, was published in 1992.
Her second book for the general public is Sexing the Body, published in 2000. She stated that in it she sets out to "convince readers of the need for theories that allow for a good deal of human variation and that integrate the analytical powers of the biological and the social into the systematic analysis of human development."
In a paper entitled "The Five Sexes", in which, according to her, "I had intended to be provocative, but I had also written with tongue firmly in cheek,", Fausto-Sterling laid out a thought experiment
considering an alternative model of gender containing five sexes: male
, female
, merm, ferm, and herm
. This thought experiment was interpreted by some as a serious proposal or even a theory; advocates for intersexual people stated that this theory was wrong, confusing and unhelpful to the interests of intersexual people. In a later paper ("The Five Sexes, Revisited") she has acknowledged these objections.
Fausto-Sterling also takes an interest in how flatworm
s (more precisely planaria) manage to reproduce themselves asexually.
Fausto-Sterling is married to Paula Vogel
, a Yale professor and Pulitzer-winning playwright
.
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. She participates actively in the field of sexology
Sexology
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....
and has written extensively on the fields of biology of gender
Biology of gender
Biology of gender can have different meanings, depending on the meaning of gender.* In medicine and biology it usually refers to the biology of sexual dimorphism, e.g...
, sexual identity
Sexual identity
Sexual identity is a term that, like sex, has two distinctively different meanings. One describes an identity roughly based on sexual orientation, the other an identity based on sexual characteristics, which is not socially based but based on biology, a concept related to, but different from,...
, gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
, and gender role
Gender role
Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
s.
Life and career
Fausto-Sterling received her bachelor of artsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from University of Wisconsin in 1965 and her Ph.D. in developmental genetics from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1970. She has taught at Brown since earning her Ph.D.
She has written two books intended for the general audience. The second edition of the first of those books, Myths of Gender, was published in 1992.
Her second book for the general public is Sexing the Body, published in 2000. She stated that in it she sets out to "convince readers of the need for theories that allow for a good deal of human variation and that integrate the analytical powers of the biological and the social into the systematic analysis of human development."
In a paper entitled "The Five Sexes", in which, according to her, "I had intended to be provocative, but I had also written with tongue firmly in cheek,", Fausto-Sterling laid out a thought experiment
Thought experiment
A thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...
considering an alternative model of gender containing five sexes: male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
, female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
, merm, ferm, and herm
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
. This thought experiment was interpreted by some as a serious proposal or even a theory; advocates for intersexual people stated that this theory was wrong, confusing and unhelpful to the interests of intersexual people. In a later paper ("The Five Sexes, Revisited") she has acknowledged these objections.
Fausto-Sterling also takes an interest in how flatworm
Flatworm
The flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
s (more precisely planaria) manage to reproduce themselves asexually.
Fausto-Sterling is married to Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.-Early years:...
, a Yale professor and Pulitzer-winning playwright
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
.
External links
- Brown University - faculty page
- The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough
- Sexing the Body: How Biologists Construct Human Sexuality
- http://www.isna.org/faq/faq-gender.html
- "Gender" Radio interview on Philosophy TalkPhilosophy TalkPhilosophy Talk is a talk radio program co-hosted by John Perry and Ken Taylor, who are professors at Stanford University. The show is also available as a podcast, available for purchase. The program deals both with fundamental problems of philosophy and with the works of famous philosophers,...
- Personal Website