Description Hide Description- Show Description+
The groundbreaking examination of the construction of sexual identity -- now updated to reflect the latest research
Is sexual identity biologically determined or a product of social convention? In this brilliant and provocative classic, the distinguished feminist scholar Anne Fausto-Sterling argues that even the most fundamental knowledge about sex and gender is shaped by the culture in which scientific knowledge is produced.
Drawing on illuminating 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 intersex and other non-binary individuals should not be forced to fit flawed societal definitions of normality.Now with a new preface and final chapter considering the many scientific and political developments of the last two decades, Sexing the Body is an indispensable and revolutionary look at how biology, society, and history together determine sexual difference.
Author: Anne Fausto-Sterling
Paperback Published 13 October 2020 608 pages
"A fascinating and essential book, at once vigorous, erudite, amiable, and sly."―Natalie Angier
"Boldly eschewing binary conceits, Sexing the Body remains a groundbreaking appraisal of the broad spectrum of human experience. Anne Fausto-Sterling's fluency with both biological science and social theory still dazzles. And we now inhabit a world this perceptive book helped us to apprehend. It remains a work of enduring power and impact. A bona fide classic."―Alondra Nelson, author of The Social Life of DNA
"There is nobody I trust more to guide me on the topic of sex and gender than Anne Fausto-Sterling. She is unequivocally brilliant. As masterful, fresh, and vital as it has always been, this new edition of Sexing the Body should be required reading for everyone, especially now."―Angela Saini, author of Superior and Inferior