Cory Silverberg is a sex educator and the author of “What Makes a Baby”, “Sex is a Funny Word”, and the new book “You Know, Sex” which is for children 10+. Cory spoke in this interview about teaching and learning about sex as it relates to not only reproduction, but also pleasure, power, and identity. These are valuable ideas for science educators looking to put their teachings about sex in context with students’ whole lives.
Resource Roundup: gender-inclusive sex education
Resource Roundup is a newly periodic attempt to capture all the links aggregated through conversations and requests, shared by many. We focus on science education materials but have encountered enough sex education-adjacent curriculum to share the collection below. Your mileage may vary. (RXS)
For a comprehensive sex ed curriculum check out Advocate for Youth's 3Rs . It's completely free unlike most curricula and they just did a big update of the lessons this year!
GIB offers a longer language guide (sex ed is the last category) and has a Healthy Teen Tipsheet linked there.
Queer Sex Ed’s Gender Expansive Puberty: An Educational Guide
Short on time? BIG rec for the → zines← on Queer Sex Ed Community Curriculum about dysphoria vs. dysmorphia, anti-fat bias, science, sex, and society, sex diversity in nature, boundaries, and gender expansive puberty, and more! [Ed. note: I made certain pages a station for discussion that they then had to record the synthesis of before they moved on.]
Gender Spectrum's Gender Inclusive Puberty & Health Education Principles and Resources
Sex Ed for Social Change (SIECUS) has this Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (K-12) that may help with scope & sequence concordance with the National Sex Education Standards supplementing.
very accessible sex determination & non-disjunction activity by Sabrina Kayed, based on the Scientific American "Beyond XX and XY" poster, and has students trace chromosome to gonads to hormones to organs to traits development based on the sex chromosomes available
Planned Parenthoods have peer education groups who do guest lessons Teen Council
SparkEd - Planned Parenthood sex ed lessons
Planned Parenthood lessons (y en español)
LGBTQ Family + Gender Diversity Elementary Teaching Guide (SFUSD)
Gender Inclusive Language Guidance for SFUSD Educators (SFUSD)
Sex Education Collective may help you find nearby folks to collaborate with
Turner Syndrome Foundation's Guide to Your Body for people with Turner Syndrome (XO)
Oregon DoE sexuality education newsletter has a lot of links grouped by topic
#sex ed tagged articles from Teen Vogue
More LGBTQ-inclusive sex ed reduces odds of bullying, depression, suicidal thoughts, and victimization (J Adolesc Health)
Title: Associations of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education with mental health outcomes and school-based victimization in U.S. high school students
Journal: Journal of Adolescent Health
Public access URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6478545/pdf/nihms-1516132.pdf
Summary: Students with a greater proportion of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education have lower odds of experiencing school-based victimization and adverse mental health [such as depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, or making a plan to commit suicide
Adapting Language for Diverse (A)Genders, Bodies, and (A)Sexualities
clear infographics (see above for examples),
a checklist with advice for challenging situations such as:
and a statements-editing activity from a workshop by SextEd (a free and confidential texting helpline that answers questions about sex, dating, and health within 24 hours) and ACCM (AIDS Community Care Montreal).
“We also know it can be challenging to use inclusive language when students, peers, or service users don’t, or they’re not familiar with the practice. In these cases, you can still take the time to gently explain why you speak or write the way that you do: to respect the diversity in people’s sexualities, genders, and bodies. If someone asks why you phrased something a certain way, you can take the time to explain why.
In situations where a person is asking a question or speaking in a way that isn’t inclusive, you can....
— Use phrases like “Yes, men, or anyone with a penis, can get an erection at random.”
— Gently remind them of identities they didn’t include in their statement or question, “Yeah, for sure. But I also
think it’s important to keep in mind that some men don’t have penises, and some women do, to make sure we’re
being inclusive.””
Inclusive Zines from the Queer Sex Ed Community Curriculum
Clownfish, a dolphin, a whale, and other fish swim over the title “Sex Diversity in Nature: A brief exploration of sex diversity in the natural world.”
The Queer Sex Ed Community Curriculum is an LGBTQ-led project that is developing inclusive, trauma-informed, and sex-positive resources for use with youth. Their resource library includes zines, posters, and training materials that you can implement in your classroom. Check out the awesome Sex Diversity in Nature Zine, as well as their zine on Deconstructing the Gender Binary.
Happy New Year from Gender-Inclusive Biology! [Jan]
Happy New Year from Gender-Inclusive Biology!
Welcome to our updated newsletter, filled with updates, resources, and ideas for teaching that includes ALL students and identities.
Gender-Inclusion In the News
On January 5th, the U.S. House of Representatives approved gender-neutral language in the official House rules and established a permanent Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This change in language uses inclusive words such as “parent,” “child,” and “sibling” and changes references to an individual in the third person to “themself.”
This move is one small step towards equity, but shows the impact shifting language can make! Check out our language guide that shows simple shifts teachers can make to create a more inclusive biology classroom.
Upcoming Inclusive Sex Ed Book
Many are excited about an upcoming publication, Puberty: Pick Your Path by Dr. Sydney Tam, MD, CCFP and Rakiyah Jones, DNP, FNP-BC, illustrated by Bishakh Som and kd diamond. Here’s the description shared by the publisher, Flamingo Rampant:
“This groundbreaking book introduces young people to the process of puberty, allowing any kid to learn about the changes that may come. The book describes many options for trans and nonbinary kids to explore - for the first time ever - possible routes and options through puberty and into adulthood, with age-appropriate illustrations and diagrams throughout.”
You can pre-order this and other titles in the Flamingo Rampant collection here.
Calling High School Life Science Teachers!
A call to participate in research by Elizbeth Hobbs
I am asking for your participation in a survey to insight into how Biology teachers teach social justice and socioscientific issues. I am asking high school Biology, Life Science and Environmental Science teachers to participate. It is about a 15-20 minute survey. One in four participants who gives a valid email address and submits the survey will be emailed a $10 gift card from Amazon.com within a month of submittal. The survey will not work on a mobile device, so please complete on a laptop or desktop computer. Please see the link to the survey below. Consent information is included at the beginning of the survey. Thank you!
-Elizabeth Hobbs, Webster Groves High School (MO) Science Teacher
Upcoming events
The Gender-Inclusive Biology team will be presenting at the Science Educators for Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice conference January 28-February 1, 2021.
We’d love to hear from you! We have lots in store but are always looking for new ideas and hearing from folks who are looking for resources, collaboration, or support. We also welcome your feedback as we step into a new shiny email newsletter platform!
Happy New Year!! - Sam, River, and Lewis
Many asexually-reproducing Unisexual (all-lesbian) anole lizard species frequently copulate anyway. (Gender Showcase, 9-12)
Though they can reproduce without a partner, these progesterone cycling lizards frequently court and copulate with one another.
Pictured: Aspidoscelis tesselata by Vicente Mata-Silva
Confused?
If the entire species is one sex, how can there be lesbian? Doesn’t there have to be something else? Here, “lesbian” is used to refer to how their behavior is based on progesterone cycles but the entire species is one sex; if it were based on testosterone cycles, I assume authors would have referred to it as gay asexual lizards.
If they’re asexual, why are they having sex? Here, “asexual” means they’re able to reproduce without having sex. Some humans identify as asexual, but this is different from the term “asexual reproduction” as it is traditionally used in biology.
Some parthenogenic unisexual species include:
Cnemidophorus inornatus (Arizona whiptail lizard)
Cnemidophorus velox (Colorado whiptail lizard)
Cnemidophorus tesselatus (Colorado whiptail lizard)
Aspidoscelis tesselatus (Common checkered whiptail lizard)
Book Excerpt
Courtship in an asexual species is almost exactly the same [as in sexual species of American whiptail lizards].(EN3) One of the females copies the male role down to the last detail. One mounting female was even seen everting her cloacal region to contact the cloacal area of the mounted female. Courtship between female whiptail lizards is not a sloppy parody of male-female courtship left over from its sexual ancestry, but an intricate and finely honed sexual ritual.
When two females are housed together, they quickly wind up with alternating hormonal cycles. (EN4) As one female cycles into high estradiol, her eggs mature and she assumes the female role in courtship. At the same time, the other cycles into high progesterone (not testosterone) and assumes the male role. Then they switch roles a few weeks later as their hormone cycles switch. (Roughgarden 129)
Why do asexual females bother with courtship?
Because they lay twice the number of eggs!
In nature, asexual females lay an average of 2.3 batches of eggs each season. If a female is housed alone, she lays only about 0.9 batches. If housed with a female whose hormonal state leads to male behavior, she lays 2.6 batches during the season. (Roughgarden 130)
New Mexico’s Environthon reports:
“The New Mexico Whiptail, as well as several other all-female species of whiptail lizard, does reproduce, and all of its offspring are female. Moreover, it reproduces by parthenogenesis -- its eggs require no fertilization, and its offspring are exact and complete genetic duplicates of the mother. Scientists understand only partially how this reproductive mode developed, and it raises many questions. One of the most intriguing is how this cloning affects the lizard's ability to adapt to environmental changes. Since there is no genetic variation except that which occurs through mutation, the New Mexico Whiptail cannot evolve as other species do.”
National Geographic Magazine (Nov 2016 issue) reports on the Baumann team’s research:
“The lizards are all female and parthenogenetic, meaning their eggs develop into embryos without fertilization. But before the eggs form, Baumann’s team discovered, the females’ cells gain twice the usual number of chromosomes—so the eggs get a full chromosome count and genetic variety and breadth (known as heterozygosity) rivaling that of a sexually reproducing lizard.
Why does this occur?
Because long ago, Baumann says, lizards of the genus Aspidoscelis had “a hybridization event”—that is, females of one species broke form and mated with males of another species. Those outlier liaisons gave whiptails robust heterozygosity, which has been preserved by the identical replication—essentially, cloning—that occurs in asexual reproduction. It’s a genetic-diversity advantage that today’s females still enjoy and propagate.”
Crews, D. (1987) Courtship in Unisexual Lizards: A Model for Brain Evolution. Scientific American Vol. 257, No. 6 (December 1987), pp. 116-121. writes:
“The females produce by parthenogenesis, that is, reproduction without fertilization, and therefore copulation between its members is not directly related to the production of offspring. Nevertheless, the females in this species actively engage in courtship rituals that are virtually identical with those observed between male and female whiptail lizards.”
Book Citations: Roughgarden, J. (2013) Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press, Berkeley. pp. 129-131.
Related Citations
D. Crews and K. Fitzgerald, 1980, "Sexual" behavior in parthenogenetic lizards (Cnemidophorus), Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 77:499-502
D. Crews, 1987, Courtship in unisexual lizards: A model for brain evolution, Scientific American 257 (6): 116-21.
L. Young and D. Crews, 1995, Comparative neuroendocrinology of steroid gene expression and regulation: Relationship to physiology and behavior, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 6: 317-23.
D. Crews, M. Grassman, and J. Lindzey, 1986, Behavioral facilitation of reproduction in sexual and unisexual whiptail lizards, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 83:9547-50.
C. Cole and C. Townsend, 1983, Sexual behaviour in unisexual lizards, Anim. Behav. 31:724-28.
D. Crews and L. Young, 1991, Pseudocopulation in nature in a unisexual whiptail lizard, Anim. Behav. 42:512-14.
B. Leuck, 1982, Comparative burrow use and activity patterns of parthenogenetic and bisexual whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus: Teiidae), Copeia 416-25.
B. Leuck, 1985, Comparative social behavior of bisexual and unisexual whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus), J. Herpetology 19:492-506.
Y. Werner, 1980, Apparent homosexual behavior in an all-female population of a lizard, Lepidodactylus lugubris, and its probable interpretation, Tierpsychol. 52:144-50.
M.J. McCoid and R.A. Hensley, 1991, Pseudocopulation in Lepidodactylus lugubris, Herpetological Review 22:8-9.
Dias, B. G., & Crews, D. (2006). Serotonergic modulation of male-like pseudocopulatory behavior in the parthenogenetic whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus uniparens. Hormones and behavior, 50(3), 401–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.05.001
Paulissen, M., & Walker, J. (1989). Pseudocopulation in the Parthenogenetic Whiptail Lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Teiidae). The Southwestern Naturalist, 34(2), 296-298. doi:10.2307/3671747
All female spotted hyenas have penises they use to mount, pee, & give birth. (Gender Showcase, 9-12)
All female hyenas have functional penises they use to mount & give birth.
Erect penises are a sign of submission in the matriarchal society of hyenas.
The female hyena without the erect penis is the dominant leader of the entire pack.
Editor’s note: Earlier, the author defines “penis” in this discussion as something the animal can pee through. —RXS
All female spotted hyenas have functional penises. They use it pee, signal, anally mount males & females for dominance, and give birth.
Intersex plumbing is found in ALL females of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) of Tanzania—in which the females have penises nearly indistinguishable from those of the males. (EN23)…The first scientific investigation in 1939 showed that a spotted hyena makes only one-size gamete throughout its life, either as an egg or sperm. (EN24) Thus these hyenas are not hermaphrodites. Rather, female spotted hyenas are intersexed, like some female bears.
Editor’s note: The term "hermaphrodite" is appropriate for referring to non-human animals with sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. For humans, “intersex” is the appropriate term—learn more here!(EN23) L. Frank, 1996, Female masculinization in the spotted hyena: Endocrinology, behavioral ecology, and evolution, pp. 78-131 in J. Gittleman, ed., Carnivore Behavior and Evolution, vol. 2, Cornell University Press; L. Frank, 1997, Evolution of genital masculinization: Why do female hyenas have such a large ‘penis’? Trends Ecol. Evol. 12:58-62.
(EN24) M. Harrison, 1939, Reproduction in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben.), Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond., ser. B, 230-1-78.
The females have a phallus 90% as long and the same diameter as a male penis (yes, somebody measured, 171 millimeters long and 22 millimeters in diameter). The labia are fused to form a scrotum containing fat and connective tissue resembling testicles. The urogenital canal runs the length of the clitoris, rather than venting from below. The animal can pee with the organ, making it a penis. Completing the picture, the female penis contains erectile tissue (corpus spongiosum) that allows erections like those of a male penis.
Sex & reproduction with two penises is as costly as pre-Industrial human reproduction, so why has this survived so long? (book excerpt)
A female spotted hyena mates and gives birth through her penile canal. When mating, a female retracts the penis on itself, ‘much like pushing up a shirtsleeve,’ and creates an opening into which the male inserts his own penis. The female’s penis is located in the same spot as the male’s penis, higher on the belly than the vagina in most mammals.
Therefore, the male must slide his rear under the female when mating so that his penis lines up with hers. During birth, the embryo traverses a long and narrow birth canal with a sharp bend in it. About 15% of the females die during their first birth, and they lose over 60% of their firstborn young. (EN 25) These obvious disadvantages lead us to question why female spotted hyenas have this penis instead of a clitoris.
(EN25) L. Frank and S. Glickman, 1994, Giving birth through a penile clitoris: Parturition and dystocia in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), J. Zoology London 206:525-31; L. Frank, M. Weldele, and S. Glickman, 1995, Masculinization costs in hyenas, Nature 377:584-85.
Erect hyena penises are a sign of submission; the female hyena without the erect penis is the dominant leader of the entire pack. (book excerpt)
Female spotted hyenas have a dominance hierarchy, and the erect penis is a signal of submission. When two females interact with each other in a struggle for dominance, the one who wants to back down signals by erecting her penis. (EN26) No one knows why female hyenas evolved this method of signaling.
(EN26) M. East, H. Hofer, and W. Wickler, 1993, The erect “penis” is a flag of submission in a female-dominated society: Greetings in Serengeti spotted hyenas, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 33:355-70; H. Hofer and M. East, 1995, Virilized sexual genitalia as adaptations of female spotted hyenas, Revue Suisse de Zoologie 102:895-906.
Erections occur in the “meeting ceremony” when animals greet after having been apart. The animals approach each other and stand alongside one another, head-to-tail, one or both lifting her hind leg to allow inspection of her erect penis. When only one member of a greeting pair displays an erection, she is normally the subordinate.
Each hyena puts her reproductive organs next to powerful jaws. Greetings between captive females that have been separated for a week are tense and frequently wind up in a fight that starts when one bites the genitals of the other, doing occasional damage to the reproductive capability of the injured party.
[This] social-inclusionary trait…allows a female hyena access to resources needed for reproduction and survival. If a female were not to participate in social interactions using her penis for signaling, she would not be able to function in hyena society and presumably would either die or fail to breed.
[Testosterone from elevated aggression in hyena society can’t develop] a full-fledged replica of male genital anatomy, complete with scrotal sacs and fat bodies resembling testicles. This structure can’t develop from a few extra splashes of testosterone in the blood.
Citation: Roughgarden, J. (2013) Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press, Berkeley. pp. 138-39.