Sarah Richardson
@profrichardson.bsky.social
Aramont Professor of the History of Science and Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University
More about my work at https://scholar.harvard.edu/srichard/
More about my work at https://scholar.harvard.edu/srichard/
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.
Great for teaching and sharing with your communities.
Research paper and blog explainer in the thread.
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 4, 2026 at 12:46 PM
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.
Great for teaching and sharing with your communities.
Research paper and blog explainer in the thread.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
📣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
January 16, 2026 at 12:38 PM
📣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
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TqL...
Algorithmic futures for women’s health?
YouTube video by GenderSci Lab
www.youtube.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:12 AM
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...
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!
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 4:17 PM
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!
Please share widely!
***10 days left to apply***
Please share widely!
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 at Yale
Details: www.renealmeling.com/gametic-poli...
Please share widely!
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 at Yale
Details: www.renealmeling.com/gametic-poli...
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
November 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
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!
Please share widely!
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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 Sarah Richardson
*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...
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...
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
October 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM
*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...
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...
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."
'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
www.npr.org
September 28, 2025 at 1:12 PM
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."
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.
September 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
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
***Call for Papers***
Gametic Politics: Eggs, Sperm, and Gender/Sex in the 21st Century
A workshop for early-career researchers organized by Rene Almeling and Sarah Richardson.
April 16-17, 2026
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Details and application form:
www.renealmeling.com/gametic-poli...
Gametic Politics: Eggs, Sperm, and Gender/Sex in the 21st Century
A workshop for early-career researchers organized by Rene Almeling and Sarah Richardson.
April 16-17, 2026
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Details and application form:
www.renealmeling.com/gametic-poli...
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
September 15, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reminder! Submission deadline: Dec. 1
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
🔗 Access the new article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
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...
www.thelancet.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:53 PM
🔗 Access the new article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
"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.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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...
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.
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...
www.genderscilab.org
July 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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.
Check out our latest issue with some outstanding papers from outstanding authors! As always, we are fully #openaccess, free for both authors and readers.
🌱🐋 🌎
journals.publishing.umich.edu/ptpbio/issue...
🌱🐋 🌎
journals.publishing.umich.edu/ptpbio/issue...
June 18, 2025 at 1:44 PM
New sex contextualism article out in PTPBio! "Sex and the Riddle of Variability" - check it out.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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
@ptpbio.bsky.social #psyscisky #neurosky 🧪
tinyurl.com/3vvah3x7
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
June 14, 2025 at 8:55 AM
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
@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!
📣 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
May 23, 2025 at 6:29 PM
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.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
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!
📣 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 3:20 PM
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!
📣 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 3:20 PM
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!
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
New work out! Thread at the link.
🌟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 3:56 PM
New work out! Thread at the link.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
Sex Based Medicine: Helpful or Harmful?
Join The Moynihan Center on Thursday, March 13 from 2:00 to 3:30PM EDT for a panel featuring Catherine Clune-Taylor, Anais Hausvater, Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social), and Angela Saini.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sex-based-...
Join The Moynihan Center on Thursday, March 13 from 2:00 to 3:30PM EDT for a panel featuring Catherine Clune-Taylor, Anais Hausvater, Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social), and Angela Saini.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sex-based-...
Sex Based Medicine: Helpful or Harmful?
Join The Moynihan Center for a panel featuring Catherine Clune-Taylor, Anais Hausvater, Sarah Richardson, and Angela Saini.
www.eventbrite.com
March 3, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Sex Based Medicine: Helpful or Harmful?
Join The Moynihan Center on Thursday, March 13 from 2:00 to 3:30PM EDT for a panel featuring Catherine Clune-Taylor, Anais Hausvater, Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social), and Angela Saini.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sex-based-...
Join The Moynihan Center on Thursday, March 13 from 2:00 to 3:30PM EDT for a panel featuring Catherine Clune-Taylor, Anais Hausvater, Sarah Richardson (@profrichardson.bsky.social), and Angela Saini.
Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sex-based-...
Johns Hopkins is set to be crippled by the cuts at NIH. These cuts start tomorrow. Thread below.
February 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Johns Hopkins is set to be crippled by the cuts at NIH. These cuts start tomorrow. Thread below.
Reposted by Sarah Richardson
Excellent 🧵 on this evening's NIH announcement of a dramatic reduction in indirect rates for research institutions, which amounts to a generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem. These cuts are effective immediately, not just for new grants but for existing ones.
6. The policy does not just affect funding going forward. All existing NIH grants will have their indirect rates cut to 15% as of today, the date of issuance.
For a large university, this creates a sudden and catastrophic shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars against already budgeted funds.
For a large university, this creates a sudden and catastrophic shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars against already budgeted funds.
February 8, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Excellent 🧵 on this evening's NIH announcement of a dramatic reduction in indirect rates for research institutions, which amounts to a generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem. These cuts are effective immediately, not just for new grants but for existing ones.