FY 2021 Joint Research Project: NAKATANI Ayami
Project
Multi-disciplinary approaches to sex/gender: Categorization revisited
Members
NAKATANI Ayami (Project leader)
Research Institute for the Dynamics of Civilizations, Okayama University
MATSUMOTO Naoko
Research Institute for the Dynamics of Civilizations, Okayama University
SEIKE Akira
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University
FUJII Wasa
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University
MITSUMOTO Jun
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University
KATAOKA Hitomi
Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Okayama University Hospital
MATSUDA Yui
Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Hospital
OSAWA Kimiko
Institute of Global Human Resource Development, Okayama University
ITOH Noriko
Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University
TAKEUCHI Kyoko
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo / Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Project Overview
This research project employs a multi-disciplinary approach to reconsider the nature of sexual or gender differences, which have traditionally been approached through a male/female or sex/gender dichotomy, giving consideration to the commonly held paradigms within each field throughout academia. With specialties in a wide spread of historical periods, researchers from a variety of fields spanning the humanities and sciences, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, sociology, political science, medical science, and primatology, will consider the ways in which our understanding of sexual or gender differences has been taken for granted or called into question within each respective field.
While a considerable amount of research has amassed concerning sex and gender, its results have not been sufficiently understood and integrated into general society. Through this research project, we will clarify the current state of understanding concerning and investigative methods surrounding gender/sex and sexuality prominent within each field and confirm that various sexual or gender differences and the meanings thereby imparted are diverse: In some situations, sexual/gender differences based on a certain level of reality hold meaning; in other situations, they do not; and in even other situations, differences may be emphasized even though they do not hold meaning, etc. Additionally, this research project aims to clarify the characteristics of the approaches undertaken within each field and draw attention to the problems taken for granted therein.
Furthermore, moving beyond the conceptual level and pursuing discussion based on concrete examples (for example, the identification of sex/gender differences represented in archaeological artifacts, the reproductive behavior of chimpanzees, etc.) will enable us to discover more readily understandable methods of relating research on sex/gender to other fields and society as a whole.