Society's Influence on Scientific Writing

In “The Egg and the Sperm” Emily Martin explores the idea that scientific knowledge on male and female reproductive organs has been greatly influenced by pre-conceived notions of the social roles of males and females in society. She sites several different texts in which the reproductive process was described from very similar standpoints. The male was always portrayed as being more dominant, efficiant, and generally more exciting than the female. The female was always described as having a more passive role in the whole process. The writers of each of the texts Martin sites gives the sperm an almost heroic role. The reproductive process was described in the same manor as a ferry-tale would be told. Basically, the brave sperm would set out on the dangerous journey to rescue the helpless egg, which was portrayed as the damsel in distress. Is this what really happens in during fertilization, or is this just an interpretation from someone who has been jaded by ...