Knowledge of Sex and Gender

Sex is a physical matter of fact. Questions about sex are central for biomedicine and the life sciences as well as for therapeutic practice and diagnostics. But how are scientific knowledge, social practice, and cultural conceptions of sex interrelated, and what role do conceptions of gender play in the different fields of action and knowledge of health, prevention, and screening? In what ways are contemporary patterns of knowledge and epistemic hierarchies produced in specific fields? How do these circulate and shape practices? And what role do gender perceptions play in knowledge content? In short, how does knowledge of sex and gender function in biomedicine and the life sciences?

Our conceptions of sex – from XY chromosomes to testosterone and estrogen to reproductive stages and sexuality – are now largely determined by knowledge from biomedicine and the life sciences. But not only. Because cultural gender images are also incorporated into concepts of the body. In addition, the distribution of tasks in science and medicine is shaped by gender roles, which help to determine who does research and who assists, who cares and who treats. At IMGWF, we conduct research on the interaction of knowledge, sex and gender from perspectives of cultural studies as well as the history of science and medicine.