Duxbury, Catherine (2019) Of Monkeys, Men and Menstruation: Gendered Dualisms and the Absent Referent in Mid‐Twentieth Century British Menstrual Science. Journal of Historical Sociology, 32 (1). pp. 94-107. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12218
Duxbury, Catherine (2019) Of Monkeys, Men and Menstruation: Gendered Dualisms and the Absent Referent in Mid‐Twentieth Century British Menstrual Science. Journal of Historical Sociology, 32 (1). pp. 94-107. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12218
Duxbury, Catherine (2019) Of Monkeys, Men and Menstruation: Gendered Dualisms and the Absent Referent in Mid‐Twentieth Century British Menstrual Science. Journal of Historical Sociology, 32 (1). pp. 94-107. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12218
Abstract
In this paper, I analyse the historical constructions of menstruation in mid‐twentieth century Britain. I examine the complex intertwining relations between the female human body and the female nonhuman body. My argument is twofold: firstly, I argue that endocrinological experiments on nonhuman animals' reproductive cycles were mobilised towards affirming a binary division of female/male, animal/human. This facilitated the perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies in British biomedical research. Secondly, I argue that as a result of these dualistic conceptualisations, the female nonhuman body intersected with the female human body in scientific discourses. These bodily transmutations in scientific research contributed towards a form of social control over women, strategically rendering them as ‘Other’ with nonhuman animals. I illustrate this using Carol J Adams' (2015) concept of the absent referent.
Item Type: | Article |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, School of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 19 Nov 2019 18:51 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2024 19:46 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/25643 |