Meeting Abstract
Biologists studying sexual dimorphisms often impose gendered terms (masculinize, feminize, etc.) onto morphological sex characteristics. Application of gendered descriptions to morphological characters and morphogenetic processes reinforces outdated notions of gender and sex. Genital development is a major focus of the study of sexual differentiation. In our experimental studies, we found that XY mouse embryos exposed to the anti-androgenic chemical vinclozolin at specific embryonic stages have a mislocated urethra. At birth, the urethra of VCZ-treated males is where the XX female urethra typically is. Biologists typically refer to this as “feminization,” although urethral position is a morphological sex trait, not a gender trait. Another well-studied sexually dimorphic character is the ratio of second to fourth digit length (2D:4D ratio). In humans, the 2D:4D ratio has been shown to correlate with gender, sexual orientation, health, and behavioral traits. Men typically have 2D < 4D, while women typically have 2D > or = 4D. The same ratios are seen in male and female mice, respectively. It’s been suggested that 2D:4D is reflective of fetal androgen exposure, and dimorphism in mouse 2D:4D is due to androgen/estrogen signaling in the 4th digit. Prenatal exposue to vinclozolin induces XY mice to develop XX-typical 2D:4D proportions. Previous work has referred to XY mice with XX-typical 2D:4D as “feminized”. While appropriate for correlating gender with digit ratio, this is not an appropriate description of biological sex characters. I examined the frequency of gendered terms in PubMed entries and found that these terms are often inappropriately applied to animal and plant studies of sex. As biologists, it is our responsibility to improve our descriptions and terms.
