Anne Fausto-Sterling, Ph.D.
Professor of Medical Science
Brown University
Fields: Biology, genetics, women's studies
Specialty: Developmental genetics, intersexuality, science and gender issues
Nominated by: Joanne M. Callahan
Excerpt from nomination: "Dr. Fausto-Sterling has a unique ability to explain complex biological and
sociological topics to the general public, as evidenced by the popularity
of her book, Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men.
It has been translated into German and Japanese and several chapters have
been reprinted in varous books on biology, feminism, and sociology. Her
pioneering essay, "The Five Sexes" received an honorable mention in
"The Best American Essays of 1994" and is helping to break our culture's
silence on intersexuality.
Anne Fausto-Sterling is an excellent pioneering role model for women in
science and technology, for she always challenges us to go beyond the
"famous woman" approach to develop a non-sexist philosophy of science."
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
I've been on the faculty at Brown my entire professional life, and I've been learning my entire life. Hard to say what Brown has given me except an opportunity to grow and to some extent follow my muse. Sometimes they punish me for that, but since I have tenure, they can't fire me! That's what academic freedom is there for.
Who is your hero, mentor or person you most admire? Why?
I admire different people for different things. My mentors have been contemporaries in women's studies and feminist science studies. Ruth Hubbard, Peggy McIntosh and Sol Slapikoff have all reached out to me at crucial times. But they are not the only ones. We help each other as we break new ground. I admire Karl Marx for his social and political vision. I admire Emma Goldman for her passionate and committed life. I admire Pete Seeger for his songs and committment to the world. There are lots of others, but I can't think of them right now.
What is your favorite book?
I don't have a favorite book. I read widely and at any one period of my life it's usually related to my professional interests. Since I am deeply interdisciplinary that may include science studies (I love Bruno Latour's Science in Action), feminist studies (too many to mention), feminist science studies (I love all of Donna Haraway's work), biology (oh my goodness, too many there), and gender and sexuality (now there's a small topic with only a few great books!). When I begin work on a biography I read biography. When I'm thinking about how metaphors work, I read fiction.
What advances in your field do you envision over the next 10 years?
The advances I would like to see are theoretical breakthroughs in envisioning organisms as systems which include their environment, thereby relegating the nature/nurture split to the garbage dump.
What do you see as the single most interesting element of your work?
The fact that it is interdisciplinary and involves many different types of tasks - lab work, teaching, searching in archives (a legal way to read other people's mail), confronting my computer alone in a room and making it create the next chapter of my book. They're all fun sometimes and the mix is great.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
My forthcoming book Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Human Sexuality (12/15/99: Basic Books); it supercedes my last book: Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Women and Men (2nd ed. 1992: Basic Books) which used to be my greatest accomplishment.
What was your greatest challenge and what did you learn from it?
My greatest challenge is ongoing, not in the past tense - how to do work which is off the beaten path - which is important and which I love, even though I have to fight in my home department for its recognition. That is always the challenge for someone who breaks new ground. Who knows what I've learned from it except how to survive.
