Delivery & Return:Free shipping on all orders over $50
Estimated Delivery:7-15 days international
People:13 people viewing this product right now!
Easy Returns:Enjoy hassle-free returns within 30 days!
Payment:Secure checkout
SKU:92697954
Why do some people prefer heterosexual love while others fancy the same sex? Is sexual identity biologically determined or a product of convention? In this brilliant and provocative book, the acclaimed author of Myths of Gender argues that even the most fundamental knowledge about sex is shaped by the culture in which scientific knowledge is produced. Drawing on astonishing real-life cases and a probing analysis of centuries of scientific research, Fausto-Sterling demonstrates how scientists have historically politicized the body. In lively and impassioned prose, she breaks down three key dualisms - sex/gender, nature/nurture, and real/constructed - and asserts that individuals born as mixtures of male and female exist as one of five natural human variants and, as such, should not be forced to compromise their differences to fit a flawed societal definition of normality.
This is great book, and though it's almost 10 years old now, it's especially important and relevant to contemporary discussions of transgender and identity. I use it in my Philosophy of Science class, and though some of the technical language is challenging, the way that Fausto-Sterling continues to guide us through the larger narrative means that it's still relatively easy to read those sections. I highly recommend it.