Nation
Marsha Blackburn asked Ketanji Brown Jackson to define 'woman.' Science says there's no simple answer.
[ad_1]
- When Marsha Blackburn asked Ketanji Brown Jackson to define “woman,” she said “I’m not a biologist.”
- Blackburn was displeased, but experts say Jackson’s answer was scientifically sound.
- There is no sufficient way to clearly define what makes someone a woman.
In the 13th hour of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing Tuesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) asked the Supreme Court nominee: “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?”
Jackson, appearing confused, responded, “I’m not a biologist.”
Blackburn chided Jackson, claiming that “the fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about.”
Senators on both sides of the aisle have used Jackson’s confirmation hearing to air issues that have less to do with Jackson’s qualifications and more to do with their respective parties. The exchange reflects the current state of gender politics in the U.S., as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’ recent NCAA win sparked a fierce debate over trans athletes, as a flurry of bills have sought to ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth, and as other bills have banned trans girls from participating in K-12 girls’ sports. If Jackson is confirmed, it’s inevitable she will preside over cases involving trans rights.
Report:2022 could be most anti-trans legislative years in history
Ketanji Brown Jackson:Comments on motherhood, her husband’s tears and what they mean for a historic moment
Scientists, gender law scholars and philosophers of biology said Jackson’s response was commendable, though perhaps misleading. It’s useful, they say, that Jackson suggested science could help answer Blackburn’s question, but they note that a competent biologist would not be able to offer a definitive answer either. Scientists agree there is no sufficient way to clearly define what makes someone a woman, and with billions of women on the planet, there is much variation.
“I don’t want to see this question punted to biology as if science can offer a simple, definitive answer,” said Rebecca Jordan-Young, a scientist and gender studies scholar at Barnard College whose work explores the relationships between science and the social hierarchies of gender and sexuality. “The rest of her answer was more interesting and important. She said ‘as a judge, what I do is I address disputes. If there’s a dispute about a definition, people make arguments, and I look at the law, and I decide.’ In other words, she said context matters – which is true in both biology and society. I think that’s a pretty good answer for a judge.”
‘There isn’t one single ‘biological’ answer to the definition of a woman’
Blackburn tweeted after the exchange that “this is a simple question,” and called Jackson’s response “a major red flag.”
But Jordan-Young said she sees Jackson’s answer, particularly the second half of it, reflecting the necessity of nuance. While traditional notions of sex and gender suggest a simple binary – if you are born with a penis, you are male and identify as a man and if you are born with a vagina, you are female and identify as a woman – the reality, gender experts say, is more complex.
“There isn’t one single ‘biological’ answer to the definition of a woman. There’s not even a singular biological answer to the question of ‘what is a female,'” Jordan-Young said.
There are at least six different biological markers of “sex” in the body: genitals, chromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive structures, hormone ratios and secondary sex characteristics. None of the six is strictly dichotomous, Jordan-Young said, and the different markers don’t always align.
Sarah Richardson, a Harvard scholar, historian and philosopher of biology who focuses on the sciences of sex and gender and their policy dimensions, said Jackson’s answer accurately reflects legal practice. While U.S. law remains an unsettled arena for the conceptualization and definition of sex, it frequently grounds sex categorization in biological evidence and reasoning.
But like Jordan-Young, Richardson emphasized that biology does not offer a simple or singular answer to the question of what defines a woman.
“As is so often the case, science cannot settle what are really social questions,” she said. “In any particular case of sex categorization, whether in law or in science, it is necessary to build a definition of sex particular to context.”
Experts say the category of ‘woman’ has always been in dispute
Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at UCLA who specializes in gender and the law, said it’s important to note this isn’t an entirely new debate.
The category of woman has long been politically contested. Black women, she said, were not always welcomed in the category. For example, while the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, for decades many Black women were excluded from exercising it. During Jim Crow, there would be bathrooms labeled “men,” “women” and “colored.” The longstanding view of white supremacy denied recognition as women to Black women and women of color.
Williams said one can also look to the era of Phyllis Schlafly, Schlafly was an attorney and activist and the face of conservative women in the 1970s who argued against the Equal Rights Amendment, which would make discrimination on the basis of sex unconstitutional. Williams said Schlafly believed women’s roles as homemakers were fundamental to how the category of woman was defined.
“There was an effort to define womanhood in very specific ways around roles of mothering and nurture, and to suggest that a society in which women’s rights and opportunities were equal to men would essentially lead to a genderless, gender-neutral society,” she said. “In other words, if women ceased acting like women, they would cease being women.”
A fierce debate over trans women in sports
Blackburn’s questions reflect the current debate over Thomas, a transgender woman and member of the University of Pennsylvania swimming team who made history this month when she won an NCAA swimming competition in Division I.
Gender scholars and trans activists argue that critics are focused on Thomas’ assignment as male at birth as the sole reason for her excellence. Thomas began transitioning in 2019 with hormone therapy, and while her swim times slowed, she remained a top competitor.
Opinion:Lia Thomas’ NCAA title should spark legitimate debate, not hate
Analysis:Conservatives want to ban transgender athletes from girls sports. Their evidence is shaky.
“Lots of people are assigned male at birth, have higher testosterone levels … and could never make a Division I swimming team,” said Kate Mason, a gender studies professor at Wheaton College who studies social inequality. “Why do we attribute her current success to her assigned sex, rather than to her long record as an elite swimmer?”
Experts say there can be standards for legal sex classification, but no one can legislate science
Gender scholars say there can be standards for legal sex classification, but no one can legislate science.
“I do think that judges and justices sometimes have to make determinations about who is meant by ‘man’ or ‘woman’ in written statutes – and they may have to acknowledge the reality that sex and gender are not binary,” Mason said. “I think Blackburn would prefer a world in which reality was much simpler.”
Jordan-Young said some politicians have work to do on the issue of “fairness” for women.
“When Blackburn and the rest of her caucus support women’s full reproductive justice, when they aggressively try to solve the inequality of investment in girls’ and women’s sports – still true 50 years after Title IX made it illegal – when they take meaningful action on the persistent wage discrimination against women, especially women of color, then maybe it will make sense to engage their questions about who can count as a woman.”
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
Subscribe to continue reading
Access all subscriber-only stories free for 2 months
Subscribe Now
[ad_2]
Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
[ad_1]
Harsh sanctions from Western nations on Russia have reminded citizens of the country’s 1998 debt crisis.
By Anna Nemtsova
USA TODAY
- McDonalds and other American businesses have closed in Russia amid its invasion into Ukraine.
- One expert estimates more than 200,000 Russians have left the country since the start of the war.
- To counter economic turmoil, Putin has demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas exports in rubles.
The once bustling corner of Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street looked deserted on Wednesday, as Russia’s first-ever McDonald’s franchise – opened in 1990 in a move that symbolized the Soviet Union’s opening to the West – shut its doors.
A large mural depicting a giant, Soviet-era medal – the Order of Victory, the highest military decoration awarded in World War II — loomed over over the empty sidewalk.
Subscribe to continue reading
Access all subscriber-only stories free for 2 months
Subscribe Now
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
[ad_2]
Benefits of Assisted Living
What Dinosaur has 500 Teeth? – Racist meme of 2022
Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods – Uses, Types and Pros
Winter Olympics recap: Jessie Diggins wins Team USA's final medal, Finland wins men's hockey gold
Presidents' Day furniture deals are here—save big at Wayfair, Target, Macy's and West Elm
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard strikes Wisconsin assistant at end of loss
-
Travel3 months ago
Winter Olympics recap: Jessie Diggins wins Team USA's final medal, Finland wins men's hockey gold
-
Travel3 months ago
Presidents' Day furniture deals are here—save big at Wayfair, Target, Macy's and West Elm
-
Latest3 months ago
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard strikes Wisconsin assistant at end of loss
-
Latest3 months agoBest supplements: Two daily pills shown to lower cholesterol levels by up to 30 percent
-
Politics3 months ago'Invasion has already begun!' Sajid Javid warns Russia to face sanction fury from UK
-
Tech3 months agoNew Soundboard Review: Pricing is Not Always the Only Criteria
-
Tech3 months agoDiscover these Waterproof and Rugged Smartphones that Go on Sale
-
Tech3 months agoComputers Climb the List of the Top Gadgets in Forbes Magazine