Nature's Body [Paperback]

Londa Schiebinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1995 | ISBN-10: 080708901X | ISBN-13: 978-0807089019

Gender in the Making of Modern Science

Winner of the 1994 Society for Social Studies of Science Ludwik Fleck Prize

"Schiebinger's incisive book draws timely attention to the critical roles of language, metaphor, and ideology in the development of science."
-Nature

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This historical study explores the influence of sex roles in the development of modern science, much of which has been defined by the science of the 18th century; today's names, viewpoints, and approaches reflect the sexual and racial prejudices of 18th-century European men. Schiebinger ( The Mind Has No Sex , LJ 11/1/89) looks closely at a few illustrative cases, including botanists' use of erotic language to describe plant reproduction, Linneaus's decision to name a group of animals mammals even though breasts are not the most prominent unifying characteristic, and the discovery of apes and how scientists defined their relationship to human males and females. She concludes with a very good discussion of 18th-century perceptions of race and sex roles. Highly recommended for all libraries.
- Eric D. Al bright, Galter Health Sciences Lib., Northwestern Univ., Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In a fascinating, informative, and well-argued book, Schiebinger examines how knowledge has been molded by science's inclusion and exclusion of subjects and workers as well as by social and political struggles. She focuses upon the eighteenth century and begins with Linnaeus and botanical classification, especially its sexual aspects, going on to the social origins and consequences as well as the gender politics that surrounded the great taxonomist's introduction of the term mammalia (Schiebinger advances other terms he could have chosen). Schiebinger subsequently chronicles the rise of scientific racism and sexism and examines the place of females in the great chain of being, raising provocative, pertinent questions such as why was the skull, not the pelvis, selected as the basic unit for anatomical investigation? Carefully selected illustrations support the text's arguments, as do some 70 pages of notes and bibliography. William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Beacon Press (October 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080708901X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807089019
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,604,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an excellent reminder for any scientist, January 5, 1998

By 

biologist44 "biologist44" (DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature's Body (Paperback)

Being this my first introduction into gender studies to say nothing of gender's role in the making of modern science, I was a bit worried I wouldn't completely grasp the concepts presented in the book. However, Schiebinger gives excellent examples and rational explanations on how who does science affects what is done in science.

Any student should be aware of the history of his or field of interest and how it affected its development. Schiebinger's books is an intriguing resource for any student of systematics, race, or biology in general for its account of 17th and 18th century science. In a world that is dictated so much by science, it also serves as an excellent reminder of why the scientific community should be ever so aware of how its members influences its results.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Be Required Reading in Biology or Sociology Classes, April 16, 2009

By 

Bonam Pak (Berlin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature's Body: Gender in the Making of Modern Science (Hardcover)

I read the original hardcover of 1993. It is some 170 regular text pages long and features additional 39 monochrome pictures and 55 pages of footnotes.

Londa Schiebinger's work isn't merely about the construction of genders as the title suggests, but to a great extent also about the intertwined construction of races. Which you won't find tackled together very often. She unravels the sexist - no less fascinating as sick as arbitrary - origins of taxonomy, still in use today. Her point is that scientists aren't free of the times they are living in, causing science concepts to build on whatever contemporary constructs, usually well beyond those constructs' expiration dates. For example, calling mammals "mammals" isn't as logical as it is usually taken for granted, but reflects the fashion of mind, when first imprinted on our collective memory.

Many jaw-dropping facts keep the reading interesting from beginning to end. (Apes as slaves in European mines, women admitted to the Académie des Sciences in Paris no sooner than 1979, menstruation blood once thought to turn wine sour, kill bees and drive dogs mad). One minor remark, though: As a specialist in the topic, she should have avoided the term "races" and related vocabulary, as none of those words resemble current - or 1993 - scientific knowledge.

You may be interested in related topics: The Meanings of Sex Difference in the Middle Ages: Medicine, Science, and Culture (Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine) and Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women Are Not the Better Sex, the Inferior Sex, or the Opposite Sex.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not all it is cracked up to be, October 10, 2009

By 

J. S. Lewis "bibliophile" (Harrisburg, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nature's Body: Gender in the Making of Modern Science (Paperback)

While the author provides a very readable book, it is of little real value beyond recounting a particular aspect of the history of science. The book is full of non-sequiturs, contradictions, and biased speculations that are insufficiently supported. Her reading of the historical record is skewed from the start, and it is evident that there is an agenda to push. What little evidence is offered is done quite selectively, with conclusions drawn that do not follow from what is presented. On the few occassions when the author does offer counterevidence, the result is a tacit denial of its import, resulting in speculations about what one person or another meant to imply. The history is correctly presented as non-linear, but the interpretation is decidedly linear. The agenda is clear, though largely unsupported.

If you are looking to confirm a pre-ordained ideology, then go ahead and read this book. If you want an unbiased account of the history of science in this area, find something else to read.