The Politics of Women's Biology

By Ruth Hubbard

Book Overview

For a range of historical and contemporary issues in eugenics, human evolution, and procreative technology, Ruth Hubbard explains why scientific descriptions and choices should not generalize human, or female, attributes without acknowledging the realities of people's lives. Sophisticated in its analysis, yet not at all technical in its exposition, this book will find a wide readership among feminists, the general public, and the scientific community.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813514908
• ISBN13: 9780813514901
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

Insightful and thought-provoking.

I was first introduced to this book in a philosophy of science class. Judging by its cover and its then decade old copyright, I was expecting a book full of fluffy, consciousness raising complaints about science's treatment of women -- and I couldn't have been more wrong. Hubbard first skewers the notion that science should be held as a neutral presentation of facts and data, and instead invites the reader to appreciate that nothing -- no study, no theory, no scientist -- is completely free of its societal setting and bias. The rest of the book builds on this initial idea and expands out a concept of feminist science, both in practice, in in reflection on previous scientific discoveries. She deals with politics behind how certain endevors are funded or deemed important, speaks about faulty scientific methods and fields (eugenics) and about the systematic shut out of women and their accomplishments in the various scientific fields. Thoughtful, insightful, and highly readable, this is a highly recommended book.