Framing the Scientific Mind as Masculine and Nature as Feminine
The formation of such a view of science forms some stratifications concerning the distribution of attitudes and the perception of different opinions. All this is constructed through a particular discourse, in which a strict hierarchy of the importance of ideas that relate to male or female sciences is created. Therefore, an essential factor is that such a division of science is reflected in how its facts are perceived. The fact is that the formation of a “masculine” way of thinking led to the fact that some branches of science, such as technical sciences, began to dominate over those in which there were more women (Keller, 1995). Thus, nature has become a lesser section in importance, while objectivity has become associated with masculinity. All this leads to the fact that such a discourse serves as an important factor in the establishment of scientific reality. This is manifested in the fact that in order to get into scientific circles, it becomes necessary to learn to follow the rules, language, and norms of that world.
Distinction Between Women and Gender
First of all, the differences between gender and women should be made by the fact that it helps to create a correct scientific discourse. Focusing only on gender, the very topic of women’s research disappears from view. This is because a confident attitude is being formed to what gender studies are. Thus, there are more opportunities to distinguish women from the total mass of studies by dividing these categories. This division is also essential since “women are culturally and historically marked by their sex or gender” (Keller, 1995, p. 32) Therefore, the correlation of gender and women is a logically wrong decision. This is reflected in the substantive part of the very concept of “gender”. Almost all people belong to it, and as Fox Keller notes, completely different studies may be of interest within this category (Keller, 1995). Thus, the importance of this division can be traced to the significance of highlighting women in science.
Reference
Keller, E. F. (1995). Gender and science: Origin, history, and politics. Osiris, 10, 26–38. Web.