Neurosexism and Neurofeminism

Philosophy Compass 11 (11):716-729 (2016)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

As neuroscience has gained an increased ability to enchant the general public, it has become more and more common to appeal to it as an authority on a wide variety of questions about how humans do and should act. This is especially apparent with the question of gender roles. The term ‘neurosexism’ has been coined to describe the phenomenon of using neuroscientific practices and results to promote sexist conclusions; its feminist response is called ‘neurofeminism’. Here, our aim is to survey the phenomena of neurosexism and neurofeminism using a largely philosophical approach, incorporating concepts from the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, ethics, and feminist philosophy. First, we delineate how neuroscientific studies purporting to show sex brain differences may be prone to bias at a number of methodological levels – including the choice of categories to be studied, and the choice of tools for data gathering, analysis, and presentation. Then, we show how interpretations of such studies may wrongly assume the notion of ‘hard-wiring’. Furthermore, lack of attention to distinctions within philosophy of mind may result in a mistaken supposition that brain differences lead to mental and/or psychological and/or behavioral ones. It is not difficult to see how these forms of neurosexism, leading to claims of ‘hard-wired’ gender differences that map onto traditional and harmful gender stereotypes, raise ethical questions. We conclude by briefly considering one: are the harms caused by neurosexist studies and their interpretations outweighed by their potential benefits?

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Beyond neurosexism : is it possible to defend the female brain?Robyn Bluhm - 2012 - In Robyn Bluhm, Anne Jaap Jacobson & Heidi Lene Maibom (eds.), Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Introduction.Robyn Bluhm, Anne Jaap Jacobson & Heidi Maibom - 2012 - In Robyn Bluhm, Anne Jaap Jacobson & Heidi Lene Maibom (eds.), Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Analytics

Added to PP
2016-11-10

Downloads
71 (#209,912)

6 months
9 (#144,939)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author Profiles

Ginger A. Hoffman
Saint Joseph's University of Pennsylvania
Robyn Bluhm
Michigan State University

Citations of this work

Cognitive Enhancement Inevitably Leads to Discrimination against Women.Konrad Szocik - 2023 - American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 14 (4):357-359.

Add more citations