Gender Roles of the Sperm and the Egg
By Anna Nelson
Growing up, the concept of a women’s period was hush hush in society around me. My parents were very supportive and open to the topic, but when it was my turn, my mom bought me my first purse to “hide” my feminine products from the world around me. In school I would go to the bathroom during class periods so no one had to see me grab anything from my locker and walk to the bathroom, even then I would hide a tampon or pad up my sleeve. Subconsciously I always believed that it was unfair that society made me feel like I had to hide such a large part about what it means to be a woman. In essence, male and female reproduction, down to the egg and sperm, relies on our society’s central definition of male and female and therefore creates stereotypes around the idea of reproduction. Different scientific articles have a range of opinions on this topic. Author Emily Martin applies a feminist lens when writing about the sperm and egg, creating an inclusive, nuanced dialogue within a scientific debate.
The essay The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles by Emily Martin highlights the way in which science has shaped society’s view on conception and reproduction. Throughout her whole article, she explains that science has altered and shifted the view on eggs and sperm in a stereotypical male-female gender role way. In essence, the sperm is the hero that travels all the way to the egg to implant and make the child, whereas the egg is passive and awaits her hero. As seen in society, the egg is remarkably “feminine” while the sperm is regarded as very “masculine.” Martin writes, “The egg is seen as large and passive, it does not move or journey, but passively ‘is swept’ or even ‘drifts’ along the fallopian tubes. In utter contrast, sperm are small, ‘streamlined’ […] and deliver their genes to the egg and activate the development of the egg. They can ‘propel the semen into the deepest recess of the vagina.’” (Martin pg 489). The vocabulary used everywhere to describe just the process of conception follows strict female-male gender roles, which makes it practically impossible to view conception in a non-gender role way. Later on in the article Martin explains that in reality, the egg and sperm play an equal role in the importance of conception, and some could argue the egg even does more. Martin cites a study from John Hopkins that says that the egg is more important. Martins draws on this information and writes that the egg’s coat serves as a security system that screens incoming sperm, selects the sperm, prepares the sperm for fusion with the egg, and then later protects the resulting embryo (Martin pg 496). Martin later describes specific studies in which the egg is given a more active/powerful role, but the vocabulary makes the egg seem aggressive, much like how society treats women in power. The roles of the egg and women in society are so similar in which they are either given a passive/helpless role, or if given power, they are called aggressive or hostile.
Martin also describes the way in which males and females are looked at in regards to masturbation, menstruation, and gamete production. Every month, a female has a menstrual cycle in which an egg is matured, uterine lining prepares for an implanted embryo, uterine lining is then shed if no implantation occurs, and the egg and uterine lining leave the uterus. What some may think is a beautiful process of life, others may think is a waste of viable eggs. According to Martin, medical terminology describes menstruations as the “debris” of uterine lying, implying that the product has no use and is a waste. Additionally, females are born with all the eggs that they will ever have. This has made society deem every “lost” egg as a wasted one. On the other hand, male reproductive physiology is looked at in a completely different lens. A normal male may make up to several hundred million sperm a day, whereas a female sheds only a single gamete each month. Martin writes, “The real mystery is why the male’s vast production of sperm is not seen as wasteful. Assuming that a man “produces” 100 million sperm per day during an average 60-year reproductive cycle, he would produce well over 2 trillion sperm. […] Assuming two or three offspring, for every baby women produces, she wastes only around 200 eggs.” (Martin 489) It’s obvious that the way in which female and male reproductive physiology is unfair. Society celebrates and encourages male masturbation (each ejaculation has 20-100 million sperm) whereas a female’s monthly cycle is shameful and seen as a waste.
At a very young age, society teaches children gender-specific roles of the sperm and the egg. Parents and educators may even use cartoons to assist in explaining the complexity of conception to children, but if you do a quick google search of “cartoon egg and sperm”, only images empowering the sperm are seen, making the sperm the hero. The egg is like a dormant princess waiting for her prince’s kiss (the sperm) to awaken her. Instead, eggs should be portrayed as a life support, with strength and power. The sperm and the egg should be shown as a combined effort, each with different strengths, that create and grow something magical.
Link to Article: https://web.stanford.edu/~eckert/PDF/Martin1991.pdf
Martin, Emily. “The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles.” Feminist Theory and the Body, 2017, pp. 179–189., doi:10.4324/9781315094106-22.
