Are stereotypes in decline? The portrayal of female anatomy in e‐learning

Abstract

Sex and gender bias in anatomy learning materials are considered a “hidden obstacle” to gender equity in medical curricula. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether quantitative sex and gender biases do exist in popular anatomy e‐learning platforms and compare the results with those found in contemporary textbooks and atlases. A systematic content‐analysis was performed on N = 3767 images published from 2008 to 2021 in which sex/gender could be identified by considering technical aspects of illustration and various intersectional categories. E‐learning platforms took into account an appropriate representation of the female body and presented even more females (n = 932/1412; 66%), more frequently from a ventral/anterior (χ2 = 26, P < 0.001) and whole‐body perspective (χ2 = 27, P < 0.001). This was in contrast to German anatomy books, where the results pointed to a significant sex and gender bias. For example, all books assessed underrepresented females (n = 707/2355; 30%) and placed them in stereotypical sex‐specific context (χ2 = 348, P < 0.001), showing them more often from a caudal/inferior (χ2 = 99, P < 0.001) and internal (χ2 = 132, P < 0.001) perspective. Altogether, the visual representation of sex and gender in anatomical curricula is still biased and the stereotypical perceptions of human anatomy seem to be a global issue. However, the increasing use of electronic learning platforms, which gradually replace traditional books is changing the way the male and female body is depicted, which might offer new opportunities for reducing stereotypes in anatomy education.

Anatomy's missing faces: An assessment of representation gaps in atlas and textbook imagery

“…Age variation is limited, with most images depicting adults. This is consistent with data reported by Darici and colleagues, 53 wherein 6.5% (153 of 2355) of their analyzed images depicted pediatric individuals and <1% (18 of 2355) depicted geriatric individuals. This deficit is of note as healthcare professionals often evaluate and treat patients across their lifespan, and many providers work in fields that specifically engage with either the pediatric or geriatric populations.…”

“…This is consistent with anatomy's long history of presenting male anatomy as the standard against which female anatomy is compared 58 . Darici and colleagues 53 contend that significantly higher portrayals of female body parts from internal and inferior perspectives further relegates women to a position of perceived inferiority. Despite decades of research, many students and professional anatomists may still be unaware, or are otherwise unconcerned, by disproportionate sex and gender representations in instructional materials 104,105 …”

“…Outside of the Anglosphere (i.e., countries where English is the official majority language), the underrepresentation of ethnic (i.e., a population that shares similar cultural characteristics) and racial minority groups may be even more pronounced. For example, in their study of popular anatomical resources used across German medical schools, Darici and colleagues 53 only identified three images depicting non‐White individuals (<1%; 3 of 3767).…”

“…In contrast to the sizeable scope of previous work on skin tone and sex, to date, only a few studies have superficially explored age and body size variation in anatomical images 53,60 . Given the well‐documented obesity epidemic, 61 and that the highest proportion of patient encounters are for newborns and individuals over 65 years of age, 62 it stands to reason that medical trainees would benefit from additional exposure to pediatric and geriatric images, as well as those that vary in body size.…”

Interprofessional socialization of first-year medical and midwifery students: effects of an ultra-brief anatomy training

“…For future sessions, we plan to set up ultrasound devices and assign specific examination tasks to interprofessional tandems [29]. We believe that such authentic exercises will lower the threshold for future interprofessional collaboration, as the high authenticity of the stations results in socioconstructivist and situated learning [30,31]. Situated learning theory emphasizes authentic learning environments as particularly useful to promote effective collaboration and (inter)professional identity formation ("feeling like an interprofessional team solving a real task") [2,3].…”