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Image source: LetsTalkSex.net
“Human fertilisation is a gigantic lottery with 250 million tickets: for healthy sperm, it is the luck of the draw.”
In this popular science article, Martin debunks a series of myths and double standards in human reproduction, including the pervasive, heteronormative belief that sperm cells "race" to reach an egg.
A host of factors figure into whether someone’s biological sex appears female, male, or somewhere in between. This reference poster from Scientific American represents some elements in the spectra of gender (identity) and (biological) sex.
Though this poster uses the phrase "intersex conditions", we advise using "intersex traits" instead.
Creator Amanda Montañez tells the story behind the infographic in her article, "Visualizing Sex as a Spectrum".
This video, from the PBS “Origin of Everything” series, discusses the origins of gender in humans. The concept of gender is distinguished from biological sex, and the homology of sex organs is briefly discussed as it played a role in developing the concept of gender in some societies. Most of the video is spent how ideas of gender have developed through history in multiple cultures. We noted a valuable and rarely made distinction : the video discusses how the concept of “man” has often been closely associated with race and class, not just with gender.
We are excited to give our webinar "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" as part of the NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus’ Rainbow Series. This even is scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 4:30 pm Pacific time.
The LGBTQ+ Caucus is the voice of the LGBTQ+ community within the National Education Association.
In this blog post, Ariel Heyman shares a five-step strategy to teach genetics while protecting and affirming student identity.
College professor Karen G. Hales wrote this article suggesting options for gender-inclusive adaptation of language within genetics courses at the college undergraduate level. Topics include biological sex, parenthood, genetic traits, and pedigree charts. This article is open access through Life Sciences Education Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2.
Hales KG. Signaling Inclusivity in Undergraduate Biology Courses through Deliberate Framing of Genetics Topics Relevant to Gender Identity, Disability, and Race. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2020 Jun;19(2):es2. doi: 10.1187/cbe.19-08-0156. PMID: 32357097.
Emily Quinn, an intersex activist, delivered this 14-minute talk at the TedWomen 2018 event. Emily tells her personal story and discusses the little-known truth that biological sex is a spectrum and not a binary. This is true whether we measure biological sex by chromosomes, hormones, gonads, or external genitalia. She dispels the myth of intersex people as extremely rare outliers, and humanizes diversity in biological sex.
It's rare to meet an intersex person that hasn't been operated on. Oftentimes, these surgeries are done to improve intersex kids' lives, but they usually end up doing the opposite, causing more harm and complications, both physical and emotional. I'm not saying that doctors are bad or evil. It's just that we live in a society that causes some doctors to "fix" those of us who don't fit their definition of normal. We're not problems that need to be fixed. We just live in a society that needs to be enlightened.
This video is uploaded to Youtube but its mature content tag makes it inaccessible through some school internet filters. Alternatively, TED.com page contains the video, transcript in 24 languages, and further reading list.
Sam gave this one-hour webinar for an audience of science educators - not strictly limited to biology content, but with much overlap with our Gender-Inclusive Biology Framework. The webinar also spends time on on science identity, science language, equity in chemistry, and meaningful teaching about diverse scientists.
Shifting Schools is a wonderful organization with a weekly series of free webinars for educators with an equity lens - check out their webinars, podcasts, and other events!
We are excited to present our session "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" at the SEEDS 2021 Conference. SEEDS is a fantastic organization of equity-focused science education, and the conference is free with membership in the organization.
Image shows the silhouette of a person standing with arms raised and a DNA double helix running across the page. Both figures are colored in multicolored dots. Text reads, “Biology is the study of a diverse range of living things, and biology affirms all genders.”
Sam wrote this introductory article in TEACH Magazine’s 2019 Special Issue: “Out of the Closet and Into the Classroom”. The magazine is based in Canada and all articles are available in English and French.
Pedigree charts are one of the most requested topics that we get from visitors to our website. We have built a guidance document below that will be continually updated. You can also view it on Google Docs.
Image https://www.theknowledgeroundtable.com/tutorials/decoding-pedigrees-made-easy/ What is a pedigree chart? A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence of phenotypes through several generations of genetically related individuals. Because a pedigree chart is often confused with a family tree, and uses symbols to differentiate males and females, it is important for educators to give clear and inclusive messaging to their students about these charts.
GLSEN and interACT developed the Gender Triangle as an educational tool to highlight the main components that revolve around gender identity—our bodies, how we use our bodies to express ourselves, and how the world around us reads our bodies based on the cultural and social codes of our time and place.
This poster provides an important clarification when learning about biology - that our biological or genetic concept of family may be different from social or legal understandings of family. You can teach your students that all families are valid using this poster or other resources in the Gayby Baby Project’s Diverse families Toolkit.
This BBC Earth article explores the rare phenomenon of bilateral gynandromorphs, or animals which develop different physical sex characteristics on their left and right side. This occurs when a cycle of meiosis yields multiple viable eggs rather than one egg and three polar bodies to be discarded. When two eggs are fertilized by sperm, mosaicism can occur in the sex chromosomes.
When introducing students to the article, the teacher should be sure to note that overgeneralizing language is briefly used to describe humans (“In humans, men have an X and a Y chromosome, while women have two X chromosomes.”) However, the article can still have value in demonstrating the nonbinary nature of biological sex and the scientific processes by which evidence is gathered to support this.
A Reddit post shows a gynandromorph lobster found in the wild:
This is the second episode of the PBS documentary series “9 Months That Made You.” The episode uses family interviews, documentary footage, and computer animations to detail the relationship between genetic and phenotypic variations in humans. Among those featured is güevodoces, a specific intersex trait observed in the Dominican Republic. We felt that the individuals were portrayed with empathy and autonomy, and using modern language. As a post-viewing exercise, students may discuss the various choices of language used to describe variation within the episode.
The güevodoces clip can be streamed for free on Vimeo. The entire episode can be streamed for free on Kanopy with a public library card or university login. It is also available with a paid subscription on Netflix and PBS as of the time writing this post.
Pigeonetics is a game developed by the University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center for web browser and mobile devices (iOS and Android). Players complete pigeon breeding challenges through trial and error. Students use evidence to learn the patterns of simple genetic inheritance, sex chromosome inheritance, and eventually incomplete dominance with dilution.
As curators of gender-inclusive resources, we like this game because it accurately portrays sex in animal species without conflating sex with gender or anthropomorphizing the animals. It also comes with a teacher guide.
We are excited to return to the Northwest Conference on Teaching for Social Justice for a second year presenting "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts".
We are returning to the Colorado Science Conference for a second year presenting "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts". Our session takes place at 2:00 pm Mountain time on Saturday, November 14, 2020.
We will be part of a fantastic lineup of virtual workshops at the KABT 2020 Online Conference. Our presentation "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" will begin at 10:50 am Central time on Saturday, September 12, 2020.. You can access event info, our slide deck, and the video from our presentation below.
We have the privilege of delivering a virtual workshop at the NABT 2020 Online Conference. Our presentation "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" is at 2:00 pm Eastern time on Friday, November 6, 2020. You can access event info, our slide deck, and the video from our presentation below.