Unnatural Selection Summary

Keely Savoie’s article Unnatural Selection featured in “Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine”, discusses the often overlooked sexist and discriminatory bias found in scientific research. Savoie notes that particularly, in biology, scientists still carry a conservative bias over their research, mirroring Victorian era-like ideals on sex. The belief of sex for the sole purpose of heterosexual reproduction became a standard for evolutionary theory, while there still remains no accepted theoretical explanation for the plethora of homosexual species discovered, as well as their non-reproductive sex. Dr. Joan Roughgarden, a theoretical ecologist at Stanford University explains that research challenging these preconceived notions of sex and gender are often ridiculed or completely ignored. This has altered the scientific world’s results, leaving heavily biased and incorrect theories. Savoie states the reason why scientific research on gender often end up so ridiculous is because it attempts to justify the evils of misogyny and male dominance as destiny and genetics. The general acceptance of women being docile and men being aggressive is so ingrained in cultures that it will spread into areas such as science, which many believe to be untouchable from bias. Misogyny altering the science world is
In a study about the sex lives of men and women, psychologist Dr. Teri Fischer would adjust the levels of societal pressure on her subjects as she asked them intimate questions. Fischer wanted to prove that research conducted on a selected group will be unreliable due to them adhering to cultural expectations and stereotypes. Under the belief that they were being lie-detected, women and men admitted to having the same amount of sex, unlike prior results where they were not