Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. - Review - book review

Journal of Sex Research, Feb, 2001 by William B. Stanley

Fausto-Sterling argues that research on sexuality will remain constrained as long as we continue to accept the O/A mind/body dualism, which holds that the body (nature) is the fundamental precursor to behavior. She believes we need to switch our perspective "so that we see nature and nurture as an indivisible, dynamic system." (p. 228). This is not, in her estimation, a new view, but one that has been neglected. She cites research (animal and human) to illustrate how the environment (including the prenatal environment) can change our anatomy, brain, and central nervous system. In this way, "events outside the body become incorporated into our very flesh" (p. 238).

Fausto-Sterling argues for a more flexible view of sex and sexuality, one that does not give primary signifying status to the genitals but allows an individual the right to redefine his/her sexual identity. She urges researchers to abandon terms such as sex hormones, androgen, and estrogen and to use the more accurate term steroid hormones instead. She also asks that we consider removing the category sex from our major forms of identification (e.g., driver's license). While such proposals might seem radical to many, they are motivated by her research on the dysfunctional effects of our current views of sex and sexuality.

Compared to other primates, humans take far longer to reach maturity. One can argue that the evolutionary benefit derived from remaining so long in such a vulnerable state comes from the increased opportunity for environment (cultural and physiological) to shape our behavior. Understanding this sort of dynamic system requires both a change of view and extensive research collaboration across disciplinary boundaries. Sexing the Body promotes the dialogue required to move in this direction. Fausto-Sterling claims to "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" (p. ix). She has succeeded on both counts.

REFERENCES

Colapinto, J. (2000). As nature made him: The boy who was raised as a girl. New York: HarperCollins.

Diamond, M. (1965). Critical evaluation of the ontogeny of human sexual behavior. Quarterly Review of Biology, 40, 147-175.

Dreger, A.D. (1998). Hermaphrodites and the medical invention of sex. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Herdt, G. (Ed.). (1996). Third sex, third gender: Beyond sexual dimorphism in culture and history. New York: Zone Books.

Reviewed by William B. Stanley, University of Colorado at Boulder, School of Education,Education Building 124, Campus Box 249, Boulder, CO 80309; e-mail: wb.stanley@colorado.edu and Lynn W. Stanley, 1741 Lois Court, Lafayette, CO 80026; e-mail: wbs@colorado.edu.