The NeuroGenderings Network

The NeuroGenderings Network is an international group of researchers in neuroscience and gender studies.[1] Members of the network study how the complexities of social norms, varied life experiences, details of laboratory conditions and biology interact to affect the results of neuroscientific research.[2] Working under the label of "neurofeminism", they aim to critically analyze how the field of neuroscience operates, and to build an understanding of brain and gender that goes beyond gender essentialism while still treating the brain as fundamentally material.[3][4][5] Its founding was part of a period of increased interest and activity in interdisciplinary research connecting neuroscience and the social sciences.[6]

The NeuroGenderings Network
FormationSeptember 15, 2012 (2012-09-15)
FoundersIsabelle Dussauge and Anelis Kaiser
Founded atUppsala, Sweden
PurposeTo critically examine neuroscientific knowledge production and to develop differentiated approaches for a more gender adequate neuroscientific research.
FieldsCritical neuroscientific research into sex differences
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The group, comprising scholars who specialized in feminism, queer theory and gender studies, formed to tackle "neurosexism"[3] as defined by Cordelia Fine in her 2010 book Delusions of Gender: "uncritical biases in [neuroscientific] research and public perception, and their societal impacts on an individual, structural, and symbolic level."[7] Research can suffer from neurosexism by failing to include the social factors and expectations that shape sex differences, which possibly leads to making inferences based on flawed data.

By contrast, the network members advocate "neurofeminism",[8] aiming to critically evaluate heteronormative assumptions of contemporary brain research and examine the impact and cultural significance of neuroscientific research on society's views about gender.[3][9] This includes placing greater emphasis on neuroplasticity rather than biological determinism.[3][10]

Conferences

In March 2010, the first conference – NeuroGenderings: Critical Studies of the Sexed Brain – was held in Uppsala, Sweden.[11][12][13] Organisers Anelis Kaiser and Isabelle Dussauge described its long terms goals "to elaborate a new conceptual approach of the relation between gender and the brain, one that could help to head gender theorists and neuroscientists to an innovative interdisciplinary place, far away from social and biological determinisms but still engaging with the materiality of the brain."[14] The NeuroGenderings Network was established at this event,[3][15] with the group's first results published in a special issue of the journal Neuroethics.[16][17]

Further conferences have since been held on a biennial basis:[18] NeuroCultures — NeuroGenderings II, September 2012 at the University of Vienna's physics department;[11][19][20][12][21][22] NeuroGenderings III – The First International Dissensus[23] Conference on Brain and Gender, May 2014 in Lausanne, Switzerland;[11][24][25][26] and NeuroGenderings IV in March 2016, at Barnard College, New York City.[27]

Members

The members of the NeuroGenderings Network are:[28]

See also

Bibliography
Books
  • Fine, Cordelia (2010). Delusions of gender: how our minds, society, and neurosexism create difference. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9780393068382.
  • Bluhm, Robyn; Maibom, Heidi Lene; Jaap Jacobson, Anne (2012). Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230296732. Also available to view by chapter online.
  • Schmitz, Sigrid; Höppner, Grit, eds. (2014). Gendered neurocultures: feminist and queer perspectives on current brain discourses. challenge GENDER, 2. Wien: Zaglossus. ISBN 9783902902122.
  • Rippon, Gina (2019). Gender and Our Brains: How New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Minds. New York: Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 9781524747039.
Book chapters
  • Kaiser, Anelis (2010), "Sex/Gender and neuroscience: focusing on current research", in Blomqvist, Martha; Ehnsmyr, Ester (eds.), Never mind the gap! Gendering science in transgressive encounters, Uppsala Sweden: Skrifter från Centrum för genusvetenskap. University Printers, pp. 189–210, ISBN 9789197818636.
  • Schmitz, Sigrid (2014), "Sex, gender, and the brain – biological determinism versus socio-cultural constructivism", in Klinge, Ineke; Wiesemann, Claudia (eds.), Sex and gender in biomedicine: theories, methodologies, results, Akron, Ohio: University Of Akron Press, pp. 57–76, ISBN 9781935603689.
  • Kaiser, Anelis; Dussauge, Isabelle (2014), "Re-queering the brain", in Bluhm, Robyn; Japp Jacobson, Anne; Maibom, Heidi Lene (eds.), Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science, Hampshire New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 121–144, ISBN 9781349333929.
  • Kraus, Cynthia (2016), "What is the feminist critique of neuroscience? A call for dissensus studies", in de Vos, Jan; Pluth, Ed (eds.). Neuroscience and critique: exploring the limits of the neurological turn. London New York: Routledge. pp. 100–116. ISBN 9781138887350.
Journal articles
Opposing publications

Below is a list of works which cause the network concern due to their "neurodeterminist notions of a ‘sexed brain’ [which] are being transported into public discourse [..] without reflecting the biases in empirical work."[29]

References
  1. Breit, Lisa (1 March 2016). "Genderforschung: Das Soziale an der Biologie". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. Krichmayr, Karin (24 May 2017). "Geschlechterunterschiede: Das Spiel der Hormone im Hirn". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  3. Schmitz, Sigrid; Höppner, Grit (25 July 2014). "Neurofeminism and feminist neurosciences: a critical review of contemporary brain research". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8 (article 546): 546. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00546. PMC 4111126. PMID 25120450.
  4. Dussauge, Isabelle; Anelis, Anelis (13 April 2015). "Feminist and queer repoliticizations of the brain". EspacesTemps.net | Brain Mind Society. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. Roy, Deboleena (Spring 2016). "Neuroscience and feminist theory: a new directions essay". Signs. 41 (3): 531–552. doi:10.1086/684266.
  6. Callard, F.; Fitzgerald, D. (2016). Rethinking Interdisciplinarity across the Social Sciences and Neurosciences. Palgrave Macmillan. OCLC 1014459177.
  7. Fine, Cordelia (2010). Delusions of gender: how our minds, society, and neurosexism create difference. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9780393068382.
  8. Bluhm, Robyn; Maibom, Heidi Lene; Jaap Jacobson, Anne (2012). Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230296732.
  9. Kaiser, Anelis; Dussauge, Isabelle (2014), "Re-queering the brain", in Bluhm, Robyn; Jacobson, Anne Jaap; Maibom, Heidi Lene (eds.), Neurofeminism: issues at the intersection of feminist theory and cognitive science, Hampshire New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 121–144, ISBN 9781349333929.
  10. Vidal, Catherine (December 2012). "The sexed brain: between science and ideology". Neuroethics. 5 (3): 295–303. doi:10.1007/s12152-011-9121-9.
  11. Kraus, Cynthia (2016), "What is the feminist critique of neuroscience? A call for dissensus studies (notes to page 100)", in de Vos, Jan; Pluth, Ed, eds. (2016). Neuroscience and critique: exploring the limits of the neurological turn. London New York: Routledge. p. 113. ISBN 9781138887350.
  12. MacLellan, Lila (27 August 2017). "The biggest myth about our brains is that they are "male" or "female"". Quartz. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  13. Engh Førde, Kristin (30 April 2010). "Tverrfaglig forståelse". Forskning.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  14. "NeuroGenderings: Critical Studies of the Sexed Brain". genna.gender.uu.se. Uppsala University, Sweden. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  15. "The body/Embodiment group". genna.gender.uu.se. Uppsala University, Sweden. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  16. Kaiser, Anelis; Dussauge, Isabelle (December 2012). "Neuroscience and sex/gender". Neuroethics. 5 (3): 211–216. doi:10.1007/s12152-012-9165-5.
  17. Wills, Ben (2017-03-14). "What is Feminist Neuroethics About?". The Neuroethics Blog. Emory University. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  18. Chaperon, Sylvie (15 May 2018). "Neuroféminisme contre neurosexisme". Libération (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  19. "Welcome to NeuroCultures - NeuroGenderings II". univie.ac.at. University of Vienna. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  20. Gupta, Kristina (2 October 2012). "A Dispatch from the NeuroGenderings II Conference". The Neuroethics Blog. Emory University. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  21. Conrads, Judith (2013). "NeuroCultures – NeuroGenderings II. Konferenz vom 13. bis 15. September 2012 an der Universität Wien". Gender: Zeitschrift für Geschlect, Kultur und Gesellschaft. 5 (1): 138–143.
  22. Dachs, Augusta (2012-09-12). "Lesen aus der Gehirnstruktur". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  23. A term expressing the idea that disagreement and social conflict are necessary parts of the discovery process: Fitzgerald, Des (2016-08-01). "Book review: Neuroscience and Critique: Exploring the Limits of the Neurological Turn". History of the Human Sciences.
  24. ""NeuroGenderings III – The 1st international Dissensus Conference on brain and gender," Lausanne, 8-10 May 2014". genrepsy.hypotheses.org. Genre et psychiatrie. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  25. Pulver, Jonas (5 May 2014). "Le sexe du cerveau ne fait pas consensus". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  26. "NeuroGenderings III Conference Recap" (PDF). International Neuroethics Society Newsletter. International Neuroethics Society. September 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  27. "2016 Seed Grants". Center for Science and Society. Columbia University. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  28. "Members". neurogenderings.wordpress.com. The NeuroGenderings Network. 2014-10-21. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  29. Schmitz, Sigrid; Höppner, Grit (2014-07-25). "Neurofeminism and feminist neurosciences: A critical review of contemporary brain research". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00546. ISSN 1662-5161.
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