KINE 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Atomism, Menopause, Social Darwinism
10 Apr 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
The theory of the human body is part of a world picture and part of a fantasy. Picture of egg and sperm relies on stereotypes central to our cultural definition of male and female. Fundamentally, scientific textbooks depict male and female reproductive organs as systems for the production of egg and sperm: woman"s monthly cycle is described as being designed to make eggs and prepare to make babies. The praise ends there as menstruation is viewed as a failure. Menstruation is described as debris of uterine lining, result of tissue death (necrosis). The maturation of sperm is seen as a remarkable cellular transformation from spermatid to sperm . One text says the female sheds only a single gamete each month, while the seminiferous tubules produce hundreds of millions of sperm a day. One author marvels at the length of the seminiferous tubules, asking how this feat is accomplished: none of these texts express enthusiasm for female reproductive processes.
