The Egg And The Sperm - 1202 Words

Emily Martin s article The Egg and the Sperm highlights androcentric biases hidden within biology texts. Martin acknowledges the language that is being used around the egg and the sperm cells, attributing the sperm with masculine characteristics while the egg is given more feminine characteristics. The language that Martin speaks about is not only found in texts, but also in educational films such as: Fertilization: a Love Story, and The Miracle of Human Creation parts one and two. The language of giving these body cells a gender or gender characteristics has become so habitual that it has gone unnoticed until pointed out. Being that the egg and sperm cells are bodily cells just like any other cell (brain cell, lung cell, etc), it is outrageous to assign them characteristics attributed to a gender. The film Fertilization: A Love Story begins explaining the process of fertilization by introducing the players Mr.Sperm and Miss Oocyte. Mr. Sperm refers to sperm cells, which are found in a male s scrotal sac; and rightfully the counterpart to a sperm would be an egg, or Ms.Egg for the purpose of the film s players. However, Mr. Sperm s counterpart in the film is Miss Oocyte. While many people may easily be able to identify what a sperm cell is, it is not likely that the same amount of people are able to identify what an Oocyte cell is, making it easily dismissible. According to the Webster Dictionary, an Oocyte cell is an immature ovum. The androcentric language withinShow MoreRelatedThe Sperm and the Egg783 Words   |  4 PagesThe Sperm and the Egg Anna Carroll PSY 265 When sperm fertilizes an egg, conception occurs. For conception to occur the sperm and egg must meet. This is a story about how Bob, the sperm and Mary, the egg meet for the first time. The moment Bob and Mary come together a new individual is formed. Marys was produced at the time she was in a fetuss ovaries. It has been over 23 years since she and five million others like her were produced. It is an exciting day for Mary because unlike allRead MoreThe Egg And The Sperm1188 Words   |  5 Pagesme Instructor s Name Course Title 23 July 2015 Any Topic (writer s Choice) Surname Instructor Course Date The Egg and the Sperm Emily Martin begins the literature piece by claiming that culture tends to shape many things in the society including the manner as to how biological scientists illustrate what they know about the scientific world. She goes ahead to explain various scientific details regarding reproductive technologies that confer information as to how gender stereotypes prefer hidingRead MoreThe Sperm and the Egg900 Words   |  4 PagesThe Sperm and the Egg PSY/265 May 6th, 2012 Rhettman Mullis The Sperm and the Egg Hello, my name is Eve and today is going to be the most exciting day of my life. It has been a really long journey but I have finally made it to the infundibulum, this is the outer part of a women’s fallopian tube. My medical name is known as â€Å"Ova†, but to my friends I am known as Eve or Egg. I have recently been in contact with a germ cell named Adam. His medical name is known as â€Å"Sperm† and he lives insideRead MoreThe s The Egg And The Sperm899 Words   |  4 Pagesnature and that our cultures and technologies are in some way unnatural. However, I believe that not only are we a part of nature, but our cultures are also deeply entwined with how we view nature. In this paper, I will review Emily Martin’s The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles as well as Michael Pollen’s Why ‘Natural’ Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore in order to examine how nature, culture, an d power relate with each other. Martin assertsRead MoreThe Development of the Egg and Sperm884 Words   |  4 PagesThe Development Of the Egg and Sperm your name PSY/265 May 20, 2012 Nicole Pansey The sperm and the egg are the key to reproduction. Without the sperm fertilizing the egg there would no reproduction. They both start off in very different places and in different ways but come together to create a life. The journey to create a life is a very interesting one and in this paper I will be outlining it in detail, describing the male and female sex organs and the role of both theseRead MoreEssay about The Egg and the Sperm774 Words   |  4 PagesMartin, in her essay entitled The Egg and the Sperm, takes this problem of gender stereotype to a new and much more serious level. As an anthropologist, Martin is concerned with the socio-cultural impacts on many different aspects of everyday life, including biology. In doing her research for this article, Martin was trying to uncover suspicions she had about socio-cultural gender stereotypes, and the affects they had on the diction used to describe egg and sperm interactions in numerous biologyRead MoreThe Egg And The Sperm By Emily Martin998 Words   |  4 Pagesother hand men should be overly confident, aggressive, dominant, and view women beneath them. This paper uses various readings to show how these gender norms are supported and challenged in today’s society. Emily Martin’s reading about the egg and the sperm was interesting due to the fact that many people never notice how gender norms are portrayed in science. Science books are using metaphors within their text that reflect the socially constructed definitions of male and female. Martin points outRead MoreThe Egg And The Sperm By Emily Martin910 Words   |  4 PagesAcademic research throughout the conversation of language in science indiscreetly displays gender bias towards women, aiding the theories that Martin addresses in her article. 2. Introduction paragraph: †¢ Introduce, Emily Martin’s article The Egg and the Sperm. Martin’s main goal is to shine a light on gender stereotypes hidden in the language of biology (Martin 1). Explain the gender roles in scientific language. Three main points of the article, Gender bias is seen in an early age in science textbooksRead MoreFrozen Sperm And Frozen Eggs1382 Words   |  6 PagesOver the last few years there have been court battles involving frozen embryos, frozen sperm and frozen eggs. One of the most recent cases is Sofia Vergara and Nick Loeb’s publicized battle over the frozen embryos that they created together in 2013. The decision was made to create the embryos due to Sofia’s age and Nick’s desire to have children. They realized how sophisticated science had become and decided to use the scientific knowledge to their advantage. When they were ready, they would haveRead MoreEssay about Eggs, Sperm, and Hormones1114 Words   |  5 Pages Eggs, Sperm, and Hormones Dionna Washington G150/PHA1500 Section 21 Structure and Function of the Human Body Felicia Stokes June 11, 2014 1. Sperm starts within the testis, in which it then passes into the epididymis and sits until it matures in the few days that it had waited. Then, the sperm is forced up into the ducts (vas deferens) into the seminal tubule and into the ejaculatory ducts, which moves semen into the urethra. Once that occurs, the semen covers the sperm and it moves