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In my previous book, Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men (Basic Books, 1985), I exhorted scholars to examine the personal and political components of their scholarly viewpoints. Individual scientists are inclined to believe one or another claim about biology based in part on scientific evidence and in part on whether the claim confirms some aspect of life that seems personally familiar. As someone who has lived part of her life as an unabashed heterosexual, part as an unabashed lesbian, and part in transition, I am certainly open to theories of sexuality that allow for flexibility and the development of new behavior patterns, even in adulthood. I do not find it surprising, however, that someone who has always felt either heterosexual or homosexual might be more open to theories that posit a biologically determined sexuality that unfolds as one grows into adulthood.
Regardless of one’s personal leanings, anyone who wants to make a general argument beyond his or her limited knowledge must gather evidence and put it together in a way that makes sense to others. I hope I have done that well enough to convince readers of the need for theories that allow for a good deal of human variation and that integrate the analytical powers of the biological and the social into the systematic analysis of human development.
For a book written for a general audience, this volume has an unusually large notes and bibliography section. That is because, in essence, I have written two books in one: a narrative accessible to a general audience and a scholarly work intended to advance discussion and arguments within academic circles. At times the scholarly discussion can become arcane or devolve into side issues that deflect attention from the main narrative. Furthermore, academics often demand detailed evidence in the form of quotes from original sources or detailed accounts of a particular experiment. One of the ways I have used the notes is to carry on the scholarly discussions without distracting the general reader. Although one need not do so to follow my general argument, I
nevertheless urge everyone to read the notes, as they add both depth and diversity to the text.
Furthermore, Sexing the Body is a highly synthetic work, and thus most readers, be they academicians or members of a general audience, will be unfamiliar with—and quite possibly skeptical of—at least some of the areas on which I touch. For this reason as well, I chose to footnote heavily, indicating that claims I make even in passing have substantial backing in the academic literature. Then, too, readers intrigued with particular topics can use the notes and bibliography as a resource for further reading of their own. This, I fear, is the teacher in me. My biggest desire in writing this book is to stimulate discussion and reading on the part of my readers, so the rich and up-to-date bibliography draws on significant literatures in fields ranging from science studies to feminism to sexuality studies to human development to systems theory and biology.
I have also included a fair amount of artwork, and again this is unusual for a book of this type. Some of the illustrations consist of cartoons or humorous drawings describing events discussed in the text. I was inspired to take this route by others who have conveyed scientific ideas using cartoons. Many people think of science as a humorless profession, and feminists are always accused of lacking a sense of humor. But this feminist scientist finds humor everywhere. I hope that some of the illustrations encourage readers suspicious of the cultures of science and of feminism to see that it is possible to be deeply serious about one’s profession while maintaining a sense of humor.
Biology itself is a very visual field, as a glance at current biology textbooks reveals. Some of my illustrations, then, are intended to convey information visually, rather than verbally. In this I am merely being true to my own academic tradition. At any rate, I encourage the reader to laugh if so moved, to study diagrams if he or she wishes, or to skip over the illustrations and focus on the text, if that is the reader’s preferred mode.