reporting assignment one

It's a tad bit dull...

nScienceCafe
By Jane Gerster

The Faculty of Science kicked off this year’s Science Café with an informative presentation on the differences between males and females. The presentation, by Dr. Root Gorelick, Associate Professor in the department of biology and mathematics, was held early Wednesday evening at Wild Oat Café.
At issue was whether there are any differences between males and females. Audience members were quick to point out anatomical and hormonal differences, with one woman calling out, “it’s who’s carrying the offspring.”
According to Gorelick, however, “There’s no clear difference... between the sexes.”
The small Café was at capacity for Gorelick's talk, which started as an in-depth explanation of the anatomical differences between males and females, but quickly digressed when the crowd proved to be more interested in the social implications of the research.
Gorelick challenged the idea that the difference between males and females is hormonal, arguing that both males and females have the same hormones, just different levels of them.
He argued against anatomical differences by citing research from Anne-Fausto Sterling, a professor of biology and gender studies at Brown University. Gorelick said that in cases where a baby’s gender is not immediately obvious, medical professionals measure the child’s genitalia to decide.
“If it’s more than two and a half, boy. If it’s less than one centimetre, girl. Anywhere in between and they recommend surgery.”
This occurs in one in 60 babies, Gorelick said.
On a cellular level, he said it is possible to distinguish between males and females. “When we talk about gametes, it looks like there’s a true dichotomy,” he said. However, Gorelick is quick to point out that for more developed male and female organisms, it’s not so clear-cut.
“Sociologists have said biology doesn’t predetermine sex, but somehow contributes to it.”
He said he believes that individuals must integrate the different aspects of sex, including biology and cognitive gender, in order to choose for themselves.
“We should let people self-identify on sex, and if they want to self-identify on multiple sexes, well okay.”
Gorelick was criticized by a member of the audience for his use of blue and pink to distinguish between the sexes. He said it was deliberately provocative and intended to raise the issue of appropriate terminology.
“The wording matters... it ends up influencing how we think politically and socially,” he said.
As if to prove his point, an audience member raised the issue of professional sports. Who should be competing where? Gorelick reinforced the idea that people should be allowed to self-identify and that, saying that while he’s no sports expert, it’s interesting to note that “for any other job in the world, nobody will actually question you.”
The bi-weekly Science Café returns Sept. 29 to pick apart the sex lives of turtles.

-30-