Synopsis
Conversations about identity can be particularly challenging when they intersect with biology, culture (including faith), and lived experience. In the current social and political moment, many people are seeking a richer understanding of sex and gender, drawing on insights from current science and from other ways of knowing. How do these concepts overlap, and how are they different? How have ideas about sex and gender changed over time, and why? How can (or should) society respond?
At the 2022 December Dialogue, AAAS DoSER hosted a conversation about sex, gender and identity. Together with three experts we considered scientific perspectives on these concepts as they relate to humans and other organisms – AND share ideas about fostering constructive conversations about sex, gender and identity in religious spaces, recognizing the challenges and opportunities of the current moment.
The 90-minute event included a round of short reflections from panelists, a moderated discussion, and Q&A with the audience.
Presenters
- Anne Fausto-Sterling, PhD, Nancy Duke Lewis Professor Emerita of Biology and Gender Studies, Brown University
- August Laperche, MATS, Interim Co-executive Director and Program Director, Q Christian Fellowship
- Meredith Reiches, PhD, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts-Boston and student, Hebrew College
- (Moderator) Rob O’Malley, Project Director, AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion program
Authors and experts recommended by the speakers
- Kimberly Crenshaw
- Loretta Ross
- Dorothy Robert
- Angela Chen
- Sherronda Brown
- Pamela Lightsey
- Walela Nehanda
