Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Emily Martin

  • Aristotelian gender bias in modern depictions of fertilization

    Brit TrogenNew York, New York In 1991, anthropologist Emily Martin argued that accounts of human fertilization in medical textbooks often applied gendered language and stereotypes to anthropomorphized representations of the sperm and egg.1 “Masculine” sperm were depicted as strong adventurers, heroes, and conquerors, actively swimming towards the egg and “penetrating” its defenses.1 “Feminine” oocytes, on…