Sarah Richardson

New teaching video + paper out today on the role of gender in understanding sex disparities in adverse drug events!

This is the third of 3 videos we created to help build understanding and dialogue across fields and communities about the importance of considering gender-related variables.

GSL Paper Explainer: Using simulations to demonstrate the importance of considering variation within sexes in genetics — GenderSci Lab In a new paper in the American Journal of Human Biology by Mia Miyagi, Sarah Richardson, and Emilia Huerta-Sánchez from the Center for Computational Molecular Biology at Brown, we explore the effe...

In this work, we use population genetic simulations to show that when sex interacts with geography or other factors, modeling individuals of the same sex as interchangeable can change common genomic signals of historical migration. Check out our explainer blog! www.genderscilab.org/blog/gsl-pap...

New work out! How can sex contextualism help us think with more precision about sex-biased migration events and the dynamics of the XX/XY chromosomes in evolutionary history?

We have Olympic fever in the GenderSci Lab this week! Check out our new video on how historical gender inequalities in sport contribute to present-day gender/sex disparities in injury rates.

Great for teaching and sharing with your communities.

Research paper and blog explainer in the thread.

📣Sexuality Summer School | 24–29 May 2026 📅 Join us in Manchester for postgraduate workshops, seminars & public events on sex, race & sexuality. Keynotes: @crileysnorton.bsky.social, @kanerace.bsky.social & @profrichardson.bsky.social. Details and sign up: sexualitysummerschool.wordpress.com

YouTube video by GenderSci Lab Algorithmic futures for women’s health?

As explained in our short video, we found that these algorithms risk perpetuating “crude ontologies of sex and gender that undermine both scientific validity and health justice” (p. 1).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TqL...

New work out on gender/sex, algorithms, and biomedicine- and check out our explainer video in the 🧵, great for teaching/sharing!

I'm very excited about this workshop on "Gametic Politics" that Rene Almeling and I are hosting next spring for early career scholars - Deadline approaching Dec. 1. See link below for details & FAQ.

Please share widely!

Hot off the press! See our new paper: “Three maxims for countering sex essentialism in scientific research” in the journal Biology of Sex Differences. We show how sex essentialism distorts research & propose 3 ways to avoid making these mistakes. (1/12) rdcu.be/eNcRM

Gametic Politics Workshop Call for papers for social science and humanities scholars studying eggs, sperm, and gender/sex in the 21st century

*CALL FOR PAPERS* Due Dec 1

Gametic Politics: Eggs, Sperm, and Gender/Sex in the 21st Century

A Workshop for Early-Career Researchers organized by Rene Almeling & Sarah Richardson

April 16-17, 2026 at Yale University

Details and application form here: www.renealmeling.com/gametic-poli...

The Maternal Imprint Leading gender and science scholar Sarah S. Richardson charts the untold history of the idea that a woman's health and behavior during pregnancy can have long-term effects on her descendants' health a...

For deep dive into these issues, see my book The Maternal Imprint:

'Long history of blaming mothers': Trump's Tylenol warning echoes past misconceptions Medical scholars say, efforts to find a singular cause for autism has historically led to scrutinizing parents and fueling stigma about autism

I'm quoted along w/ Martine Lappé and Marga Viceda in this piece: " We live in an era of intensive pressure around parenting and expectations that one will do whatever possible to optimize outcome. And there's very little tolerance for the idea that there are many things not under our control."

I engage in scholarly debate as well as address public audiences and speak to media about my work, but I do not engage with inflammatory personal attacks and threats.

The goal of my work is to build conversations across fields and disciplines about how to conduct rigorous and ethical research on sex-related biological variation.

Sex is an important biological developmental process, a vital concept for scientific research, and also a polysemic, plural, and contextual concept.

There are many plain language resources and open access materials on my website and the GenderSci Lab site that thoroughly explain and answer common questions about my position on sex.

As a historian and philosopher of science, I study how scientists across fields and over time use the concept of sex.

They seem to have reading comprehension issues and are distorting my words and the piece as part of their rage machine. Already getting trickles of hate in my email inbox. It's been round after round of this. I guess I've gotten under their skin! Too bad Twitter is such a partisan bubble now.

Friends tell me that now Steven Pinker, Michael Shermer and crowd are on Twitter still dragging me for the 2-page book review essay I wrote for the Lancet this summer. A few comments below.

Reminder! Submission deadline: Dec. 1

Gametic Politics Workshop Call for papers for social science and humanities scholars studying eggs, sperm, and gender/sex in the 21st century

Call for Papers! 🚨

Gametic Politics: Eggs, Sperm, and Gender/Sex in the 21st Century

A Workshop for Early-Career Researchers organized by Rene Almeling (@ralmeling.bsky.social) and Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social)

April 16-17, 2026; Yale University, New Haven, CT

Gender under attack The Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health lucidly highlighted how attacks on the concept of gender, and on gender equality and women's rights more broadly, are not new. As Sarah Hawkes and her...

🔗 Access the new article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

"Defending research and clinical practice in gender-related areas must be a priority in the face of perilous new attacks on science and academic freedom" - "Gender Under Attack," by GenderSci Lab director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) , in today's Lancet.

GenderSci Lab director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) has a new paper out, extending her work on "sex contextualism"!

A GenderSci Lab Blog Q&A about the paper is linked below in the comments.

🔗 Access the new paper here: journals.publishing.umich.edu/ptpbio/artic...

Riddles of Sex Difference Science: Q&A with Sarah Richardson — GenderSci Lab In a new open access article recently published in the journal Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology , GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson extends and develops her framework of “sex con...

Q&A about my new paper, extending my work on "sex contextualism." Analyzing a debate over whether estrous cycle needs to be accounted for in sex difference research designs, the paper shows how scientists make contextual judgments about what counts as "sex itself" in laboratory rodent research.

New sex contextualism article out in PTPBio! "Sex and the Riddle of Variability" - check it out.

Richardson (2025) @profrichardson.bsky.social: "The debate over measuring variability in preclinical science shows that operationalizing “sex as a biological variable”... requires... contextual judgements at multiple decision points".

@ptpbio.bsky.social #psyscisky #neurosky 🧪
tinyurl.com/3vvah3x7

Resharing with the update that the GenderSci Lab's NSF grant was terminated last week, leaving us with a $500K shortfall. I am seeking both small donors and partners w/ capacity to provide serious bridge funding for our work while Harvard fights for the future of US higher ed and science.

Today I am launching a direct fundraising effort for the Harvard GenderSci Lab, which I founded in 2018. In the current political and funding climate, private contributions are essential to sustaining our vital work. Please share to help us spread the word!

Today I am launching a direct fundraising effort for the Harvard GenderSci Lab, which I founded in 2018. In the current political and funding climate, private contributions are essential to sustaining our vital work. Please share to help us spread the word!