Skelettestreit

Area of Science:

• History of Anatomy
• History of Science
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Examines Michael Stolberg's claim of a sixteenth-century movement towards sexing skeletons, using Felix Platter's 1583 female skeleton as evidence.
• Contrasts Platter's singular illustration with the later emergence of distinctively female-sexed skeletons in Europe after 1730.

Discussion:

• Highlights that anatomists in the 1730s perceived these new depictions of female skeletons as radically novel, not canonical.
• Discusses the emergence of widespread debates concerning the precise anatomical features of the female skeleton.
• Situates these anatomical illustrations within a changing political climate where bodily sex was linked to gender roles and social regimes.

Key Insights:

• Rejects the notion of a slow, steady accumulation of knowledge regarding sexual differences in anatomy.
• Emphasizes the role of changing reinterpretations, cultural contexts, and evolving meanings of sameness and difference.

Outlook:

• Argues against judging foundational shifts in scientific culture solely by identifying 'firsts'.
• Suggests a more nuanced understanding of the history of anatomical studies of sexual dimorphism.