The Egg and The Sperm

The Egg and The Sperm is an essay   written by the anthropologist Emily Martin. It explores  the socio-cultural gender stereotypes and how  they affect the description of the egg and sperm interactions in biology books and research reports.

Since the start of contemporary man, gender stereotypes have existed. They are all concerned with female weakness and male dominance, controlled male and uncomfortable female, violence and excitement and many others that mainly lead to the same thing. The egg and The Sperm takes the issue of gender stereotype to a more serious level. Emily Martin is concerned with the socio-cultural effects on different fields counting biology. Through her article, Emily Martin tries to “ shine a bright light on the gender stereotypes hidden within the scientific language of biology” (Martin,1999).Martin believes that if her suspicions are true, then what we learn in biology books and class would be partly wrong. She claims that traditionally scientific researches give the egg and sperm defined feminine and masculine specifications. She also believes that descriptions of reproductive systems are considered as a result of the historical view of society of gender roles. The egg is seen as weak, and the sperm as the powerful violator. New researches credit the egg. In fact the egg has more functions than those of a sperm. Those new researches reveal that the egg coat “serves as a sophisticated biological security system that screens incoming sperm, selects only those compatible with fertilization and development, prepares sperm for fusion with the egg  and later protects the resulting embryo from polyspermy.”(Martin,483)