The New 'Neurosexism'? Why Neuroscience Needs 'Neurofeminism'

Cordelia Fine (University of Melbourne)

Abstract: Feminist critics have recently argued that current use of the new technology of functional neuroimaging in sex differences research follows a long tradition of ‘neurosexism’: the reinforcement of traditional gender stereotypes and roles in ways that are not scientifically justified. Having argued the validity of such concerns, it is suggested that a feminist perspective is needed to bring a conceptually sophisticated understanding of gender to the ever-increasing potential of neuroscience to reveal its material substantiation in the brain. Contra concerns that feminist criticisms might hinder scientific progress by inhibiting investigation of sex influences on the brain, the quality of the science would be substantially improved, and socially harmful effects decreased, by taking those critiques into account.