On the meaning and use of "gender" and "sex" in plant biology.

Abstract

This issue of the American Journal of Botany features two thoughtful and thought-provoking essays on the meaning and use of the terms gender and sex in plant biology. Much has been written recently about the importance of inclusive language in teaching and research in the biological sciences (e.g., Zemenick et al., 2023, and references therein). Land plant life cycles, with their alternation of gametophytic and sporophytic generations, add complexity to discussions of sex and gender. The two essays, each in distinctive ways, explore the issues from a botanical sciences perspective. The “On the Nature of Things” (“OTNOT”) essay by Oberle and Fairchild (2023) provides a brief history of the uses of the term gender in the botanical literature, which emphasize the continuous nature of sporophyte sexual function, and its uses in the social sciences, which view gender as a classification of human individuals determined by self-identity, experience, and social context. They argue that use of the term gender in reference to plants should be avoided and that, in particular, instruction in the biological sciences should aim for inclusive language. They recommend engaging with students about how botanical terms have been used in the past and how terms might be used in the future (see also https://projectbiodiversify.org/sex/). The Commentary by Pannell (2023) discusses the specific use of the term gender in studies of the “context-dependent and quantitative (nonbinary)” reproductive systems of plants. To tackle the complexities of land plant life cycles, Pannell distinguishes between sexes and sex roles and then reviews Lloyd's (1980) formulation of “functional gender” as a quantitative measure of a sporophyte's sex role(s). Pannell acknowledges the potential harmful consequences of applying human social constructs to plants, but also emphasizes potential positive aspects: for example, Lloyd's usage of the term gender in reference to plants emphasizes the diversity of sex roles among individuals. I hope you find these essays informative and engaging. AJB welcomes your thoughts on this or any other issues of note in the botanical sciences.