Introductory general biology courses and textbooks cover a vast amount of material. They tend to stress the similarities of life at the molecular and cellular levels, with Homo sapiens considered but one of many species. For students wishing to learn specifically about the female body, or about differences between the sexes, these courses aren't usually appropriate.
ANALOGY: Like women's absence in past medical tests and clinical trials, many problems have not been addressed in biology, anatomy, or physiology classes, maintains Heidi Fencl, director of the Women and Science program for the University of Wisconsin system. And so arose gender-based biology courses, which explore in-depth sexual differentiation. Most of these classes are offered through womens studies departments, but some hail from biology or psychology departments. And they are quite popular, say those who teach and take them. Relates Christina Wesolek, a psychology major with a biology minor who is taking "Women's ...
