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Christin Rosado Assignment 02: Sex is more than skin deep

Throughout the history of the world and present day there have been various instances of inequality that have occurred. Inequality is the unfair treatment of people on the bases of their race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. There are many groups that have been subjected to discrimination; however, my essay will focus on the factors that contributed to the inequality of women. Writer Londa Schiebinger wrote an essay named Skeletons in the Closet which discusses the major role anatomical differences between white males and females played during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Schiebinger’s piece also examines how these physical differences affected both the social and political circumstances during these time periods.

During the eighteenth century many scientists developed a growing interest in the anatomical differences between white males and females. In her essay Schiebinger questions whether the sudden interest was in response to the movements for women’s equality at the time as a plot to discover inequalities between the sexes (Schiebinger, 1986). In the early eighteenth century one of the goals of the medical community was to learn more about the female anatomy as they believed it would be beneficial to their health care. However, as time went on the data gathered from this research was also used to discredit women. Scientists would then utilize the data to “prove” that women were incapable of being intellectual beings which aimed to prohibit them from participating in politics. The research also “proved” that the anatomy of women was constructed to fulfill a specific role in society which appointed women as child bearers capable of nurturing a family and nothing more. The study of the composition of white men and women influenced the attitudes of people which led many to believe that women were inferior to men and that they were capable of only one role in society.

In the nineteenth century the research that was conducted created an apparent division between both white men and women. The anatomy of white men was deemed to be superior over the anatomy of others. This belief resulted in women being pushed away from practices like the sciences which greatly affected midwives at the time as it was believed that their one true purpose was motherhood. Writer Schiebinger wanted to know why this project was important to the medical community. Her essay reveals that although there was an interest in the anatomy of women for a medical purpose there were other intentions. Scientists aimed to use their research as a way to not only minimize the capabilities of women but to also diminish the number of roles they could hold in a society. Although at the time science was male dominated and heavily influenced by male chauvinistic views of society its known reputation for being authentic made it effective in skewing attitudes. The main goal of scientists was to reveal that the distinctions in the anatomy were far too great. These dissimilarities portrayed men as strong and women as weak and even childlike. As women held movements to show they were equal to men the medical community tried to taint their claims by using science to sway public opinion and prolong their oppression.

Schiebinger, L. (1986). Skeletons in the Closet. 42-82.