The Narrative of Testosterone in Medical Education Textbooks

A Phenomenological Case Study on Behalf of Butler’s Gender/Sex Thesis

Bibliographic Data

ID17814052
AuthorsSteven Burgess (corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume19
Issue1
Pages21-38
Publication date2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1937-4577 • E-ISSN: 1937-4585
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/ijfab-2024-0033
OpenAlexW7160211351
LanguageEN
References cited16

This paper is a phenomenological case study analysis of the hormone testosterone as narrated in medical education textbooks. This analysis demonstrates that these accounts of testosterone depend on three elements of what Judith Butler terms the “heterosexual matrix,” binary sex, naturalized masculinity, and heteronormativity. Those whose sex-assigned-at-birth is inaccurate will mostly receive care on the male/female model of medical practice; likewise, the sexual health of trans, queer, and non-binary populations is poorly represented in medical education, leaving individual practitioners to rely solely on their heteronormative training. In both cases, there is a strong likelihood that patients will receive inadequate care

Health care · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Medical literature · Narrative · Narrative review · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Sex and Gender in Healthcare · Sexual Differentiation and Disorders

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