Crossed Figurations of Gender and Science: Modest (Mutated) Witnesses and a Couple of Penguin Stories

Abstract

This article explores the problem of binary gender construction in relation to hegemonic science models. To this end, the author analyzes March of the Penguins, a documentary film that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature) in 2006, examining how it constructs an idea of scientific objectivity to support a binary and heteronormative gender model. These constructions are questioned in relation to the figure of the modest witness. Finally, through feminist figuration and speculation, alternative narratives are proposed to envision possible futures beyond the hegemonic figures of gender and science.