The Nature of the Sexes
eBook - ePub

The Nature of the Sexes

Why Biology Matters

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Nature of the Sexes

Why Biology Matters

About this book

How complex is sex? According to this book, not nearly as complex as we're often told these days.

Author Tomás Bogardus first critically evaluates varieties of a complex view of sex—supported by Anne Fausto-Sterling, Sarah Richardson, and others—in which sex is a constellation of traits related to chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and phenotypes. Bogardus then considers several gamete-based accounts of sex, to which he is more sympathetic, including those from Alex Byrne, Laura Franklin-Hall, and Paul Griffiths. Shortcomings of these views are described, and an improved account is proposed: the sexes are activated higher-order functions. In short, to be male is to have the function of producing sperm, and to be female is to have the function of producing eggs. Bogardus develops this view, all while untangling the various meanings and definitions of 'gender' and 'gender identity', and while examining whether all of them are ultimately defined in terms of the sexes.

The author then defends his methodology of deferring to biologists when figuring out the nature of the sexes and concludes with practical questions about whether we should revise the meanings of our sex terms for the sake of social justice. He asks whether pronouns like 'he' and 'she' track biological sex, and whether they should continue to do so.

The Nature of the Sexes: Why Biology Matters expands current philosophical debate on sex and gender, and is essential reading for curious students and academics alike.

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Yes, you can access The Nature of the Sexes by Tomás Bogardus in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Gender Studies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Routledge
Year
2025
eBook ISBN
9781040427194

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Endorsement Page
  3. Half Title page
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. Contents
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. 1 Introduction
  10. 2 What the Sexes Could Not Be: The Complex View
  11. 3 What the Sexes Could Be: The Gamete View
  12. 4 Gender Is Defined in Terms of the Sexes
  13. 5 When Biology Meets Politics
  14. 6 A Defense of the Sex-Tracking View of Pronouns
  15. 7 Conclusion
  16. Index