The myth of the gendered brain
The differences between men’s and women’s brains are a product of nurture and societal expectations rather than biology, a neuroscientist has argued in a new book.
Gina Rippon, professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University in Birmingham, argues in her work, The Gendered Brain, that our brains are constantly changing from birth – leading, she believes, to differences which result from society’s expectations of men and women, not the other way round. She argues that this could prove harmful and necessitates a closer look at how gendered the nurturing process is.
In the book, Rippon says our education, jobs, hobbies and sports will all influence how our brains develop. So if a young boy is given Lego to play with but a girl isn’t, the boy will develop spatial skills that the girl won’t, not because his brain is more inclined towards such aptitudes but because of the path adults have chosen for him. She writes:
“Seeing the lifelong impressions made on our brains by the experiences and attitudes they encounter makes us realise that we need to take a really close look at what is going on outside our heads as well as inside. If we could follow the brain journey of a baby girl or a baby boy, we could see that right from the moment of birth, or even before, these brains may be set on different roads.”
A controversial claim
Rippon’s work, however, has not been embraced by others in the field, who maintain biology does play a role.
Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, writing in The Times, cited scientific evidence which did not fit with Rippon’s theory. The study was carried out on newborn babies and found physical differences between boys’ and girls’ brains – differences which, clearly, could not be explained by culture. He also alluded to a separate study which found differences in their reactions to images.
He argued that Rippon’s view is extreme, and one which is not wholly held or contested by other neuroscientists. , “Most biologists and neuroscientists agree that prenatal biology and culture combine to explain average sex differences in the brain.
“I’m sure she is right that our minds are affected by a world where gender roles matter, but to say that’s the only process at work is extreme.”
He went on to speculate that if the differences were purely cultural, we as a society could make changes to improve equality, but argued that political beliefs shouldn’t determine how we select and present scientific evidence.
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