User:Kimc1/sandbox

Intersex
Scientists would study hermaphrodites to prove that nature mattered hardly at all – never questioning the fundamental assumption that there are only two sexes. Instead, intersex individuals were seen as abnormal and in needing to be “fixed” – “doing whatever was necessary to assure that the child and h/her parents believed in the sex assignment”. Therefore, physicians would “decide” how to manage intersexuality, “and perpetuate, deeply held beliefs about male and female sexuality, gender roles, and the (im)proper place of homosexuality in normal development”. Furthermore, they assured the parents in “identify[ing] the ‘true’ sex that lies underneath the surface confusion”.

Parents may address the issue of giving birth to an intersex baby – how frequently intersex births happen and if there are other parents like themselves. But, due to the unawareness of available resources, doctors tell the parents of the rarity of these cases and how there is no one to consult. But, in a study found together by Fausto Sterling and a group of Brown University undergraduates, they estimated that intersex individuals make up 1.7 percent of all births.

Feminism
''The sex/gender distinction is endorsed by many feminists. Separating the two counters the argument that biology is destiny:''

Elizabeth Fee clarifies that women’s intelligence had been misrepresented in the past: the height of one’s cranium being a representation of one’s intelligence. Therefore, the female, the child, and the “savage” were all closely identified in terms of contemporary stereotypes. Furthermore, women were “proved” to be incomplete, undeveloped, and anatomically incapable of equality with men. But, in 1887, further studies concluded that the attempt to separate the sexes by cephalic index had proved unsuccessful and to be abandoned.

David Freedman, too, illustrates a flaw in the biological interpretation of the sperm, in contrast to the egg: “For decades they’ve been portraying sperm as intrepid warriors battling their way to an aging, passive egg that can do little but await the sturdy victor’s final, bold plunge”. But in reality, the egg is termed “aggressive” in nature: “…the sperm tries to pull its getaway act even on the egg itself, but is held down against it struggles by molecules on the surface of the egg that hook together with counterparts on the sperm’s surface, fastening the sperm until the egg can absorb it.”.

Therefore, instead of ''one's future depending on his/her biological features, it can depend on his/her social features. The distinction allows feminists to accept that there are forms of natural sexual differences, while criticizing gender inequality.[33]''

“When simple votes of exclusion to professional male domains fail, biology is invoked.”.

Gender inequality is portrayed in the work field and throughout one’s life, especially those of women. Women have been misrepresented in science and have not been identified as a contribution to scientific advancements until the late 1900s. Instead, women are seen as belonging to the “softer sciences” (psychology and humanities). They have been discouraged to move further in their field – “the pipeline”.

The Pipeline Theory
In the late 1980s, the “pipeline” was a new model that looked at things from the bottom up. It predicted that if more girls entered the educational end of the pipeline, more women would be turned into credentialed specialists in science or promoted to a top executive position in business. (other citation)

“The problem was viewed less as one of discrimination than as one of self-(de)selection: too many girls were opting out of math and science at too early an age”.

Scholars believed that the child’s environment played a significant role on his/her development. Parents would raise their children based on the gender of their child. Similarly, manufacturers would create toys and software for a specific gender: Demolition Division for boys and Barbie Super Model for girls. Furthermore, in grade school, boys and girls would receive a difference in education: sociologists found that teachers often gave boys more freedom to discover alternative solutions to problems, while encouraging girls to follow rules more closely.

Women began to lose confidence in one’s self– dissatisfaction with some aspect of their appearance, personality, and ability (57): “women often underestimate[d] and men overestimate[d] their abilities and probability of success.”

'''While it is argued that women in the pipeline are becoming sufficiently trained and educated to compete for top-level positions, others contend that women in the pipeline are being unjustly held back from advancement. The latter would call this situation the “leaky pipe,”''' where women who have made it to graduate school and have attained a job, “leak” through a pipeline. Women end up leaving their careers in science and engineering for various discriminatory reasons: not being invited to professional meetings, performance being judged by different standards from men, having to work harder than men, and balancing their family and career. Furthermore, women would have to hide one’s pregnancy and deal with salary discrepancies.

It may seem that there are not enough women in the pipeline. But, women have made success in science, but have left to further study the politics and history within science:  Evelyn Fox Keller, France Cordova, Martha Crouch, Regina Kollek.

Numerous intervention programs have been aimed in keeping more women on track: providing mentors in an atmosphere of isolation, introducing maternity leave to institutions modeled on men’s cycles, incorporate girls’ interests in math classrooms. But women have been in the pipeline for twenty to twenty-five years. In order for the pipeline to work there must be a desire from women to fill the high executive positions – to feel comfortably joined with the rank of men - in order for them to even be considered for those positions.

Nuclear family
“Our biology directs us toward a patriarchy.”.

The “facts” about the differences between men and women in society – gender differences – are seemingly naturalized as manifestations of essentially biological sex differences. Therefore, for many men, such assumptions – which imply that the current division of labor between the sexes in our society (a social division of labor) is merely a reflection of some underlying biological necessity – are extraordinarily convenient. .

The normalcy and stability of the nuclear family reflect the individual’s gender role in order to maintain that stability. Men are the breadwinners, whereas women took upon a more nurturing role, as the housewife. .

“Society needs both productive men and dependent, nurturative, and reproductive women”.

Problems arose where women developed “The Feminine Mystique” – the highest value and the only commitment for women [being] the fulfillment of their own femininity, especially that of the housewife. But women felt as though they were being held by a straightjacket, and boredom, family problems, psychosomatic complaints came upon the women.