Research project The “Female Turn” in Evolutionary Biology – a science study of shifting canonical knowledge

Sexual selection, the evolutionary theory concerning sex differences, is both an expansive and controversial field. Theoretically, females were long expected to gain no benefit from mating with more than one male. Since 1980, evolutionary biologists’ views have undergone a radical shift following the findings that females often mate with multiple males. Early polyandry research was male-focused, followed by increased interest in questions pertaining to females. This “Female Turn” may be conceived as a controversy coming to a closure. In this project, I analyze scientific publications, scientific debates and oral history interviews with the analytical concepts situated knowledges and epistemology of ignorance.

This project illuminates the interaction between society and the scientific process of evolutionary research on sex at a hitherto unexamined crucial turn, thereby contributing significantly to the international forefront of feminist science studies.