The Gendered Atom: Reflections on the Sexual Psychology of Science

Beneath the scientist's purportedly rational, objective surface, Theodore Roszak identifies a maelstrom of sexual prejudices and gender stereotypes, and shows that even physics, the "hardest" of the sciences, is as profoundly shaped by unconscious and irrational drives as any human pursuit. Roszak argues that, in its masculine drive to control and exploit, mainstream science has ultimately corrupted our relationship to nature. Even the concept of the atom, long pictured as the very foundation of physical reality, is tainted with gender bias.

Deftly weaving insights from diverse sources ranging from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the field of feminist psychology, The Gendered Atom looks forward to a gender-free science that finally respects nature and promises a healthier, more fully realized form of knowledge.