Science Isn't Neutral

      Emily Martins article The egg and the sperm: knowledge as ideology in Social Construction A Reader illustrates the way that biology defines the reproduction system and describes how the women’s reproduction system is categorized as “waste” and “death”. Males are than more powerfully described in the biology textbook; such as the fact that the author doesn’t write sperm is considered to be “waste” as well.  Martin explains how science shows a different use of language that reflects upon the stereotypes central to our cultural definitions of male female.

            This scientific fairytale presented in a major scientific textbook demonstrates how the women’s monthly cycle is described to produce eggs to prepare a place for them to be grown and fertilized, till the end of making babies. “By extolling the female cycle as productive enterprise, mensuration must necessarily be viewed as a failure. Medical texts describe menstruation as the “debris” of the uterine lining, the result of necrosis or death of tissue” (Martin 28). This implies that the system has gone to make products useless and wasted. There is even an illustration in the medical text showing the menstruation as chaotic disintegration. “In 1948, in a book remarkable for its early insights into these matters, Ruth Herschberger argues that female reproductive organs are seen as biologically interdependent, while male organs are viewed as autonomous, operating independently and isolation” (Martin 29). These descriptions illustrate how science is not neutral. Another example that portrays science not being neutral is a show called “Brain Games”.

            “Brian Games” is a show on a National Geographic. There was an episode that talked about stress and how our brain controls stress. This episode shows in a scientific point of view of how our brain controls stress, and what happens to our brain that makes us feel stressed. However, from a social constructionist viewpoint, one can control how they choose to feel during a stressful situation. In other words, you can spend your time being “stressed” or you can spend your time choosing to respond differently to a situation.