At this point in the course I do not have a definitive answer as to which, science or culture, influences the other more. The course text, Science and culture throughout history, identifies science and culture as being reciprocal in influence of the other. (Bowles & Kaplan, 2012). Gender norms or stereotypes have always influenced the American culture; I was surprised to find out that there has been much research and scientific study that supported most of the masculine favored stereotypes. O’Connor and Joffe describe gender norms as stereotypes that have long been projected onto scientific information; this type of projection is now being analyzed and questioned by both scientists and sociologists (2014). The scientific and social and/or cultural study of gender has gained a considerable amount of momentum as traditional gender roles have shifted within familial units. An additional aspect of gender norms is gender equality which has changed the culture of American with greater understanding and growing acceptance of the LGBT community. In having very little background knowledge on this topic I must admit that the excerpt of Kukla’s (2002) “Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Science” was a very complex read. What I was able to take away is that Kukla’s point of view began or centered on a clear division of sociologists, those who focus on sustaining and refining tradition, versus philosophers, those who shake up status quo. I believe that this is important to the reciprocal relationship of science and culture that was established early on. Reply to this post in 125 words or more