Defining and Using Gender/Sex in Human Biology
Where Are We? Where Should We Be
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19459869 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cindi L Sturtzsreetharan (0000-0001-7528-8991, School of Human Evolution and Social Change Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA, corresponding author), L Zachary Dubois (0000-0001-5459-2863, Department of Anthropology University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA), Alexandra Brewis (0000-0003-3769-4205, School of Human Evolution and Social Change Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | e70093-e70093 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Human Biology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1042-0533 • E-ISSN: 1520-6300 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajhb.70093 |
| PMID | 40566648 |
| OpenAlex | W4411663266 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 54 |
Sex and gender categories are often used by human biologists in hypothesis generation, research design, data analysis, and interpretation. Many studies in human biology thus differentiate samples by “sex” and/or “gender.” But it is unclear to what extent, if any, these terms are defined or clearly operationalized. Through analysis of recent publications in the American Journal of Human Biology we assessed how these terms are defined and used in human biological research. Through systemic coding of the text of all original research studies published in AJHB in 2023, we identified inconsistencies in the definition and application of these terms. We find that sex and gender are often conflated and often lack a clear definition. In addition, the reader must glean definitions and methods of operationalization. We tie these observations to theories of language as social action— the idea that language represents experience, creates organization, and differentiates. Thus more precise gender/sex language use in research reporting increases precision in science, but also matters for dissemination of human biological research. We discuss pressing opportunities for human biologists to lead translational science writing by moving toward such precise yet nuanced uses of sex and gender in their research reporting
Biological sex · Conflation · Data science · Epistemology · Human biology · Operationalization · Sociology · Transgender · Computer Science · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration · Psychology · Sex and Gender in Healthcare · Social Psychology
Nature's body
Testosterone
T he F ive S exes , R evisited
The Five Sexes
Different Bodies, Different Minds
Sex and Gender
It's Not the Language, It's Us
Challenging the binary
Pearl lecture
How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis
Transcending the Male–Female Binary in Biomedical Research
From Gender and Sex to Gender/Sex
Storytelling as a theory‐building activity
Sex and Gender in Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex
Gender/Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Identity Are in the Body
Toward a redefinition of sex and gender
Beyond Sexual Orientation
Nation and the Absent Presence of Race in Latin American Genomics
Speaking of Sex
The Importance of Feminist Critique for Contemporary Cell Biology
Fixing Sex
Technologies of Belonging
From egg & sperm to reconceiving medical education
Beyond a catalogue of differences
What Biological Stories are Americans Telling About the Egg and the Sperm? A Study Inspired by Emily Martin 30 Years Later
Beyond Dimorphism
The Egg and the Sperm
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |