GenderSci Lab
@genderscilab.bsky.social
Feminist research lab at Harvard University dedicated to generating concepts, methods, and theories for scientific research on sex and gender.
Excited to see our recent analysis (published in The BMJ) of the risks of digital menstrual tracking apps featured in Harvard FAS Current! Read it here: current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/alar... & www.bmj.com/content/394/...
Alarm over menstrual tracking apps
Menstrual tracking apps have become all the rage, leading the growing field of “femtech” that claims to help women understand — and regulate — their bodies. But these apps may promise more than they d...
current.fas.harvard.edu
October 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Excited to see our recent analysis (published in The BMJ) of the risks of digital menstrual tracking apps featured in Harvard FAS Current! Read it here: current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/alar... & www.bmj.com/content/394/...
Our new paper was just covered in CNET! Check it out here: www.cnet.com/health/cycle... & www.bmj.com/content/394/...
Cycle-Tracking Apps Bring Substantial Risks to Users, New Analysis Finds - CNET
This includes apps that promote the practice of cycle syncing.
www.cnet.com
October 1, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Our new paper was just covered in CNET! Check it out here: www.cnet.com/health/cycle... & www.bmj.com/content/394/...
Out today! A joint statement in @bmj.com led by @resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social and the GenderSci Lab on the risks of digital menstrual tracking offers strong caution against the use of these tools to address menstrual conditions or direct fitness and nutrition behaviors. www.bmj.com/content/394/...
October 1, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Out today! A joint statement in @bmj.com led by @resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social and the GenderSci Lab on the risks of digital menstrual tracking offers strong caution against the use of these tools to address menstrual conditions or direct fitness and nutrition behaviors. www.bmj.com/content/394/...
See our new paper in Health Affairs, documenting how, why, and with what consequences gender/sex info is used in clinical decision-support algorithms across medical specialties: www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/...
The Extent Of Gender/Sex Variables Included In Clinical Algorithms Across Medical Specialties | Health Affairs Journal
Gender/sex variables are often included in clinical algorithms, typically without articulating which aspects of gender or sex-linked biologies are hypothesized to contribute to the tools’ output. To d...
www.healthaffairs.org
July 8, 2026 at 3:37 PM
See our new paper in Health Affairs, documenting how, why, and with what consequences gender/sex info is used in clinical decision-support algorithms across medical specialties: www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/...
"Any time that we’re building a structure of recommendations for bodily comportment and health that is not based on empirical evidence, it’s harmful."
GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) comments on the risks of hormone tracking in Dazed (@dazeddigital.com).
GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) comments on the risks of hormone tracking in Dazed (@dazeddigital.com).
Why are we all so obsessed with hormone health?
Understanding how hormones impact us can be empowering, especially for people with endocrine disorders – but there’s a risk that ascribing every passing feeling to hormones is reviving tired, sexist n...
www.dazeddigital.com
June 20, 2026 at 7:02 PM
"Any time that we’re building a structure of recommendations for bodily comportment and health that is not based on empirical evidence, it’s harmful."
GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) comments on the risks of hormone tracking in Dazed (@dazeddigital.com).
GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) comments on the risks of hormone tracking in Dazed (@dazeddigital.com).
Our article on investment feminism and women's health is out now in Signs! doi.org/10.1086/738995
You can check out the explainer blog post here: www.genderscilab.org/blog/investm...
You can check out the explainer blog post here: www.genderscilab.org/blog/investm...
March 13, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Our article on investment feminism and women's health is out now in Signs! doi.org/10.1086/738995
You can check out the explainer blog post here: www.genderscilab.org/blog/investm...
You can check out the explainer blog post here: www.genderscilab.org/blog/investm...
We’re excited to announce our latest video explainer, which summarizes our work to date on gender and sex disparities in Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCym...
The Role of Gender in Understanding Adverse Drug Events
YouTube video by GenderSci Lab
www.youtube.com
March 4, 2026 at 2:14 AM
We’re excited to announce our latest video explainer, which summarizes our work to date on gender and sex disparities in Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCym...
The GenderSci Lab is excited to share a new paper explaining how variation within males and females can affect the way that the sex ratio of migration events in human history is studied.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Contextualizing Population Genetic Models of Sex‐Biased Migration and Admixture
Models of sex-biased migration or admixture in human history often use sex itself as the factor that controls the probability that an individual migrates. This modeling strategy unites work across a ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The GenderSci Lab is excited to share a new paper explaining how variation within males and females can affect the way that the sex ratio of migration events in human history is studied.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off with projected record-setting representation of women athletes, the GenderSci Lab is excited to share a new video we’ve created explaining how gendered social factors contribute to a higher risk of injury for women athletes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmLv...
Gender Inequities in Sports and ACL Injury Risk
YouTube video by GenderSci Lab
www.youtube.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:51 PM
As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off with projected record-setting representation of women athletes, the GenderSci Lab is excited to share a new video we’ve created explaining how gendered social factors contribute to a higher risk of injury for women athletes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmLv...
Does women’s health need sex-specific algorithms? In a paper just out in Big Data & Society (bigdatasoc.bsky.social) we at the GenderSci Lab warn against the growing use of so-called “pink” and “blue” algorithms, arguing that they risk embedding biological sex essentialist assumptions into medicine.
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
tinyurl.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:12 AM
Does women’s health need sex-specific algorithms? In a paper just out in Big Data & Society (bigdatasoc.bsky.social) we at the GenderSci Lab warn against the growing use of so-called “pink” and “blue” algorithms, arguing that they risk embedding biological sex essentialist assumptions into medicine.
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
Three maxims for countering sex essentialism in scientific research
rdcu.be
November 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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
Reposted by GenderSci Lab
New publication with @susanshort.bsky.social in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social. We analyzed 2025 revisions to womenshealth[dot]gov under the Trump administration -documenting how credible health content was replaced with ideology: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Rewriting women's health: a content analysis of the Trump administration's revisions to womenshealth.gov
In 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid changes to the data and information available on US government websites. We conducted a content ana…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:54 PM
New publication with @susanshort.bsky.social in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social. We analyzed 2025 revisions to womenshealth[dot]gov under the Trump administration -documenting how credible health content was replaced with ideology: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Celebrating lab member Madeleine Pape's new article about gender/sex entanglement, structural sexism, and injury through the case of Australian rules football!
Check it out here 🏉 : doi.org/10.1002/ajhb...
Check it out here 🏉 : doi.org/10.1002/ajhb...
Gender/Sex Entanglement, Structural Sexism, and Injury: The Case of Australian Rules Football
This article considers how to approach sporting injury from the perspective of gender/sex entanglement. Taking the case of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, I explore how the gender differen...
doi.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Celebrating lab member Madeleine Pape's new article about gender/sex entanglement, structural sexism, and injury through the case of Australian rules football!
Check it out here 🏉 : doi.org/10.1002/ajhb...
Check it out here 🏉 : doi.org/10.1002/ajhb...
Find out what researchers in biomedicine, life-science, and further disciplines can learn from understanding the double historicity of concepts and phenomena of sex and gender 💡⚡
Check out lab member Alex Thinius's new paper:
doi.org/10.1007/s105...
Check out lab member Alex Thinius's new paper:
doi.org/10.1007/s105...
The Double Historicity of Sex and Gender - Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior -
doi.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Find out what researchers in biomedicine, life-science, and further disciplines can learn from understanding the double historicity of concepts and phenomena of sex and gender 💡⚡
Check out lab member Alex Thinius's new paper:
doi.org/10.1007/s105...
Check out lab member Alex Thinius's new paper:
doi.org/10.1007/s105...
US executive order 14168 terminated federal funding for much gender-related research. How can scientists speak out against gender-related disinformation efforts?
Learn more in "Combat disinformation about gender research" by Restar, Gamarel, and Operario here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Learn more in "Combat disinformation about gender research" by Restar, Gamarel, and Operario here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Combat disinformation about gender research
US executive order 14168 of 20 January 2025 terminated federal funding for research that examines gender as a scientific and social construct beyond the so-called “immutable biological classification ...
www.science.org
August 31, 2025 at 1:40 PM
US executive order 14168 terminated federal funding for much gender-related research. How can scientists speak out against gender-related disinformation efforts?
Learn more in "Combat disinformation about gender research" by Restar, Gamarel, and Operario here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Learn more in "Combat disinformation about gender research" by Restar, Gamarel, and Operario here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Call for Commentaries: How Many Sexes Are There? How Many Genders Are There? Deadline September 1st!
🔗 You can access the article at this link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🔗 You can access the article at this link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Call for Commentaries: How Many Sexes Are There? How Many Genders Are There? - Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior -
link.springer.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Call for Commentaries: How Many Sexes Are There? How Many Genders Are There? Deadline September 1st!
🔗 You can access the article at this link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🔗 You can access the article at this link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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
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
Gametic Politics Workshop
Call for papers for social science and humanities scholars studying eggs, sperm, and gender/sex in the 21st century
www.renealmeling.com
August 5, 2025 at 11:55 AM
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
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
"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.
August 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
"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.
Lab member Jamie Marsella (@jrmarsella.bsky.social) explores America’s long legacy of eugenic pronatalism for @teenvogue.com:
Check out...:
The article: www.teenvogue.com/story/what-i...
Teen Vogue’s Bluesky post:
bsky.app/profile/teen...
Jamie's Bluesky quote tweet:
bsky.app/profile/jrma...
Check out...:
The article: www.teenvogue.com/story/what-i...
Teen Vogue’s Bluesky post:
bsky.app/profile/teen...
Jamie's Bluesky quote tweet:
bsky.app/profile/jrma...
July 10, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Lab member Jamie Marsella (@jrmarsella.bsky.social) explores America’s long legacy of eugenic pronatalism for @teenvogue.com:
Check out...:
The article: www.teenvogue.com/story/what-i...
Teen Vogue’s Bluesky post:
bsky.app/profile/teen...
Jamie's Bluesky quote tweet:
bsky.app/profile/jrma...
Check out...:
The article: www.teenvogue.com/story/what-i...
Teen Vogue’s Bluesky post:
bsky.app/profile/teen...
Jamie's Bluesky quote tweet:
bsky.app/profile/jrma...
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...
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...
Sex and the Riddle of Variability
Scientific research associations, funders, and publishers have recently introduced sex inclusion mandates requiring the use of male and female specimens in preclinical research designs and the analysi...
journals.publishing.umich.edu
July 2, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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...
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...
Resharing with the update that the GenderSci Lab's NSF grant was terminated last week, leaving us with a $500K shortfall. We are 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.
📣 Donate to support the Harvard GenderSci Lab! 📣 If you believe in feminist science, in research that challenges bias, and in training the next generation of feminist scholars — please consider supporting or sharing! Learn more at this link:
www.genderscilab.org/donate
www.genderscilab.org/donate
Donate — GenderSci Lab
www.genderscilab.org
May 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Resharing with the update that the GenderSci Lab's NSF grant was terminated last week, leaving us with a $500K shortfall. We are 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.
We are excited to share the upcoming release of Seminal, a groundbreaking collection exploring sperm as a lens into the complex intersections of biology, politics, and health. Lab member Marion Boulicault contributed a chapter based on our sperm decline work.
May 12, 2025 at 7:17 PM
We are excited to share the upcoming release of Seminal, a groundbreaking collection exploring sperm as a lens into the complex intersections of biology, politics, and health. Lab member Marion Boulicault contributed a chapter based on our sperm decline work.
Join author Agustín Fuentes (@anthrofuentes.bsky.social) in conversation with GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) about his new book, Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary.
📍Harvard Book Store
📆 Tuesday May 13, 7 PM
www.harvard.com/event/agust%...
📍Harvard Book Store
📆 Tuesday May 13, 7 PM
www.harvard.com/event/agust%...
May 6, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Join author Agustín Fuentes (@anthrofuentes.bsky.social) in conversation with GenderSci Lab Director Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social) about his new book, Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary.
📍Harvard Book Store
📆 Tuesday May 13, 7 PM
www.harvard.com/event/agust%...
📍Harvard Book Store
📆 Tuesday May 13, 7 PM
www.harvard.com/event/agust%...
📣 Donate to support the Harvard GenderSci Lab! 📣 If you believe in feminist science, in research that challenges bias, and in training the next generation of feminist scholars — please consider supporting or sharing! Learn more at this link:
www.genderscilab.org/donate
www.genderscilab.org/donate
Donate — GenderSci Lab
www.genderscilab.org
April 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
📣 Donate to support the Harvard GenderSci Lab! 📣 If you believe in feminist science, in research that challenges bias, and in training the next generation of feminist scholars — please consider supporting or sharing! Learn more at this link:
www.genderscilab.org/donate
www.genderscilab.org/donate
🌟Scholars and activists interested in women’s health, femtech, and capitalism.🌟 Our new piece, forthcoming in Signs, introduces the concept of “investment feminism” as a useful way to understand how financialization shapes the conversation around femtech and gender health equity.
tinyurl.com/ffcs67h
tinyurl.com/ffcs67h
Investment Feminism and Women's Health
This essay introduces the term investment feminism to characterize the phenomenon in which financial actors position investment as a powerful lever for advancing gender equity. We offer investment fem...
dash.harvard.edu
April 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
🌟Scholars and activists interested in women’s health, femtech, and capitalism.🌟 Our new piece, forthcoming in Signs, introduces the concept of “investment feminism” as a useful way to understand how financialization shapes the conversation around femtech and gender health equity.
tinyurl.com/ffcs67h
tinyurl.com/ffcs67h