Gender of Things

Maria Rentetzi is Professor of Science, Technology, and Gender Studies at FAU Erlangen- Nurnberg, and an affiliate of the Max Planck Institute for History of Science, Berlin, Germany.

'This is a fascinating book on a completely original topic, the ways in which scientific and technological things, objects, processes, machines, techniques, come to acquire a gender in the context of their patriarchal (and feminist) uses. Things are made and used by us: how they are made and the ways in which they are used - by whom, with what effects – is a central but unexplored question in Science and Technology Studies. This collection brings new political and social perspectives and new questions to our understanding of what technological ‘things’ may become.'- Elizabeth Grosz, Professor of Women's Studies and Literature, Duke University, USA'Certain things, such as ships, have long been gendered but these were thought of as exceptions to the general rule of neutrality: a thing is an "it," not a "she" or a "he." This eye-opening book shows how widespread the gendering of things actually is — and not just the things of everyday life but the things of science. From the sealing wax and string of the laboratory to genealogical databases, The Gender of Things reveals the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that the things of science and technology can be made masculine or feminine.'- Lorraine Daston, Director emerita, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Germany

• Introduction: Gendering ThingsMaria RentetziPart 1: Things in/as LaboratoriesSealing Wax and StringDonald L. OpitzButter: Fat Lions and Dairy GirlsAnna Frasca-RathGendered Images of ChromosomesMaría Jesús SantesmasesGodofredo and Françoise Travel Around the World: Phantoms, Radioiodine Uptake Tests, and the IAEA’s Standardization ProjectsMaria RentetziThe Tell-Tale Heart: Multiple Ontologies of the First Human Donor HeartAnnerose Böhrer and Larissa PfallerColourful Minilabs: Cosmeceuticals at the Interface of Gender, Technology, and Knowledge TransfersMilton Fernando Gonzalez RodriguezPart 2: Things as ArtefactsGendered Mobility: Early Motor Scooting around 1920Heike WeberA Make-up Kit from the National Air and Space MuseumEleanor S. ArmstrongThe Fan: Gendered Bodily Communication at the Intersection of Salon Semiotics, Fashion, Political Campaigning, and Menopause ReliefAnnette KeilhauerGendering the Boundary Object: "Sophia the Robot" as Cyborg-Woman, Fashionista, Citizen, and ImaginationRoger A. Søraa and Nienke BruijningAnimating Machines, Alienating Women: Siri and Alexa as Affective Linguistic LabourersSiri Lamoureaux and Alexa HagertyPart 3: Things as Sites of PowerDangerous Erections: Gender, Race, and the Engineering of Trump’s Border WallAmy E. SlatonPaternity and Pedigree: How Academic Genealogical Databases Become GenderedRebecca M. HerzigIs the Scrum Board Feminine?Stefan Sauer and Amelie Tihlarik