Abstract
In “Analyzing COVID-19 Sex Difference Claims: The
Harvard GenderSci Lab,” Marion Boulicault and Sarah
Richardson summarize some of the groundbreaking work
that they’re doing at the Harvard GenderSci Lab. Since
March 2020, their lab has been analyzing, interrogating,
and critiquing sex essentialist explanations of COVID-19
outcome disparities that are fairly ubiquitous in news
media. Using interdisciplinary tools from feminist
philosophy, science studies, and critical public health,
they work collaboratively with two goals: (i) to critically
examine COVID-19 sex difference research and (ii) to
explore and elevate the role of social variables in driving
biological disparities. They argue that in public health
research, media, and messaging, data on sex disparities
must be contextualized both to avoid reinforcing harmful
sex essentialist assumptions and also to help the public
understand the complex ways in which social factors
influence these patterns. They argue that within the
context of COVID-19, doing so can both clarify risks and
save lives. Their contribution to this issue describes their
methods and shares some of their findings.