Gina Rippon

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Gina Rippon
GR highres.jpg
Rippon in 2016
Born
Georgina Mary Jane Rippon

1950 (age 72–73)
Nationality British
Scientific career
Fields Cognitive neuroimaging
Institutions Aston University, Birmingham
Thesis The orienting reflex in normal and in schizophrenic subjects  (1982)
Website Official website

Gina Rippon (born 1950) [1] is a British neurobiologist and feminist. She is a professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham. [2] Rippon has also sat on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psychophysiology . [3] In 2019, Rippon published her book, Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience that Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain, which investigates the role of life experiences and biology in brain development. [2] [4]

Contents

Career

Researcher

Rippon gained her PhD in 1982 in physiological psychology, and then focused on brain processes and schizophrenia. [5] [2] Rippon's research applies brain imaging techniques, particularly electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), and uses cognitive neuroscience paradigms to study normal and abnormal cognitive processes. [6] Her work has also focused on Autistic Spectrum Disorders and to developmental dyslexia. [6]

Gendered Brain

In 2019, Rippon released her book, Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience that Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain. [7]

Reviews

Reviews of Rippon's work have been "positive", according to review aggregator Book Marks, with three rave reviews, four positive, and three mixed reviews. [8]

In a review for Nature , neuroscientist Lise Elliot wrote that Rippon's book accomplishes its goal of debunking the concept of a gendered brain. [9] Rhonda Voskuhl and Sabra Klein, of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, responded in Nature to Eliot's review, arguing against the idea that sex differences in behavior are due only to culture, and criticizing Eliot's claim that the brain is "no more gendered than the liver or kidneys or heart". They state that biological and cultural effects are not mutually exclusive, and that sex differences occur also in animals, who are not affected by culture. [10] In a review for The Times , psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen stated that "most biologists and neuroscientists agree that prenatal biology and culture combine to explain average sex differences in the brain". [11] He argues that Rippon "[boxes] herself into an extremist position by arguing that it’s all culture and no biology". [11] Writing for The Guardian , Rachel Cooke writes that the book is a "brilliant debunking of the notion of a ‘female brain’". [12] In a mixed review at The New York Journal of Books, Jane Hale noted the book could be improved by finding "a social scientist to partner with". [13]

Views

Criticism of 'neurotrash'

Rippon is critical of what she sees as the misrepresentation and hijacking of neuroscience, what she calls 'neurotrash'. [1] "The logic of their argument is that males and females are biologically different, men and women are behaviourally different, so their behavioural differences are biologically caused and cannot and, more importantly, should not be challenged or changed. I aim to... produce a guide to spotting such ‘neurononsense’." [14] Neurotrashers, she says, "extrapolate wildly" from their data and believes that their science can be used for "social engineering" to reinforce perceived male and female roles and status. [1] She says that neurotrashers perpetuate the idea "that biology is destiny. If you are biologically different that's it and if you fight against it in any particular way that's going to be damaging." [1] Rippon cites the work of Louann Brizendine as examples of neurotrash [15] and has also criticized experiments done by Simon Baron-Cohen. [11]

Sex differences in the brain

Rippon does not believe that there is a "single item type as a male brain or a female brain", instead that "everybody is actually made up of a whole pattern of things, which is maybe due to their biology and maybe due to their different experiences in life." [7] She puts forward the idea that "every brain is different from every other brain". [7]

Rippon is also opposed to the "continued emphasis on 'essentialist', brain-based explanations in both public communication of, and research into, many forms of gender imbalance." [16] When asked for a comparable "watershed" moment in science to compare her findings to, Rippon responded "the idea of the Earth circling around the sun". [17]

Rippon states that "I do think there are sex differences in the brain; there are bound to be, with respect to different roles in the reproductive process". [7] She expanded that, when discussing brain differences, "there are sex differences that we should pay attention to, but the power that’s attributed to biology is what needs challenging". [18]

Media appearances

Rippon appeared on BBC Radio 4's Today programme alongside professor Robert Winston and BBC's No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?. [19] [1] [20] She was interviewed on the podcast NOUS on the publication of her book The Gendered Brain, where she responded to her critics. [21]

Bibliography

Books

Journal articles

See also: Cahill, Larry (March–April 2014). "Equal ≠ The Same: Sex Differences in the Human Brain". Cerebrum. 2014: 5. PMC   4087190 . PMID   25009695. Archived from the original on 10 March 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2017.

Other articles

Lectures

Transcript of a lecture given at the British Science Festival, 18 September 2010.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cognitive neuroscience</span> Scientific field

Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes. It addresses the questions of how cognitive activities are affected or controlled by neural circuits in the brain. Cognitive neuroscience is a branch of both neuroscience and psychology, overlapping with disciplines such as behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, physiological psychology and affective neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience relies upon theories in cognitive science coupled with evidence from neurobiology, and computational modeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Baron-Cohen</span> British psychologist and author

Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of Trinity College. In 1985, Baron-Cohen formulated the mindblindness theory of autism, the evidence for which he collated and published in 1995. In 1997, he formulated the foetal sex steroid theory of autism, the key test of which was published in 2015.

Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.

The empathising–systemising (E–S) theory is a theory on the psychological basis of autism and male–female neurological differences originally put forward by English clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen. It classifies individuals based on abilities in empathic thinking (E) and systematic thinking (S). It measures skills using an Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemising Quotient (SQ) and attempts to explain the social and communication symptoms in autism spectrum disorders as deficits and delays in empathy combined with intact or superior systemising.

Gender incongruence is the state of having a gender identity that does not correspond to one's sex assigned at birth. This is experienced by people who identify as transgender or transsexual, and often results in gender dysphoria. The causes of gender incongruence have been studied for decades. The most studied factors are biological, especially brain structure differences with relation to biology and sexual orientation. Environmental factors have also been proposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience and sexual orientation</span> Mechanisms of sexual orientation development in humans

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender, or none of the aforementioned at all. The ultimate causes and mechanisms of sexual orientation development in humans remain unclear and many theories are speculative and controversial. However, advances in neuroscience explain and illustrate characteristics linked to sexual orientation. Studies have explored structural neural-correlates, functional and/or cognitive relationships, and developmental theories relating to sexual orientation in humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordelia Fine</span> Canadian-born British psychologist and writer

Cordelia Fine is a Canadian-born British philosopher of science, psychologist, and writer. She is a full professor in the History and Philosophy of Science programme at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Fine has written three popular science books on the topics of social cognition, neuroscience, and the popular myths of sex differences. Her latest book, Testosterone Rex, won the Royal Society Science Book Prize, 2017. She has authored several academic book chapters and numerous academic publications. Fine is also noted for coining the term 'neurosexism'.

<i>Delusions of Gender</i> 2010 book by Cordelia Fine

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference is a 2010 book by Cordelia Fine, written to debunk the idea that men and women are hardwired with different interests. The author criticizes claimed evidence of the existence of innate biological differences between men and women's minds as being faulty and exaggerated, and while taking a position of agnosticism with respect to inherent differences relating to interest/skill in "understanding the world" versus "understanding people", reviews literature demonstrating how cultural and societal beliefs contribute to sex differences.

Rebecca M. Jordan-Young, is an American feminist scientist and gender studies scholar. Her research focuses on social medical science, sex, gender, sexuality, and epidemiology. She is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience of sex differences</span> Characteristics of the brain that differentiate the male brain and the female brain

The neuroscience of sex differences is the study of characteristics that separate the male and female brain. Psychological sex differences are thought by some to reflect the interaction of genes, hormones, and social learning on brain development throughout the lifespan.

Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by their internal and external genitalia and expression of secondary sex characteristics.

Although there are many physiological and psychological gender differences in humans, memory, in general, is fairly stable across the sexes. By studying the specific instances in which males and females demonstrate differences in memory, we are able to further understand the brain structures and functions associated with memory.

Sex differences in human intelligence have long been a topic of debate among researchers and scholars. Most psychologists now believe that there are no significant sex differences in general intelligence, although ability in particular types of intelligence does appear to vary slightly on average.

Sex differences in cognition are widely studied in the current scientific literature. Biological and genetic differences in combination with environment and culture have resulted in the cognitive differences among men and women. Among biological factors, hormones such as testosterone and estrogen may play some role mediating these differences. Among differences of diverse mental and cognitive abilities, the largest or most well known are those relating to spatial abilities, social cognition and verbal skills and abilities.

Anelis Kaiser is professor of gender studies at MINT, University of Freiburg, Germany. She is also on the lecturer within the social psychology and social neuroscience department at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Along with Isabelle Dussauge, Kaiser was a guest editor of a special issue on Neuroscience and sex/gender of the journal Neuroethics, they also co-founded The NeuroGenderings Network together.

The NeuroGenderings Network is an international group of researchers in neuroscience and gender studies. 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. 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. Its founding was part of a period of increased interest and activity in interdisciplinary research connecting neuroscience and the social sciences.

Giordana Grossi is a cognitive neuroscientist and professor of psychology at SUNY New Paltz, New York, and a member of The NeuroGenderings Network, a group which promotes "neurofeminism".

Daphna Joel is an Israeli neuroscientist and advocate for neurofeminism. She is best known for her research which claims that there is no such thing as a "male brain" or a "female brain". Joel's research has been criticized by other neuroscientists who argue that male and female brains, on average, show distinct differences and can be classified with a high level of accuracy. Joel is a member of The NeuroGenderings Network, an international group of researchers in gender studies and neuroscience. They are critical of what they call 'neurosexism' in the scientific community. Joel has given lectures on her work in both scientific and lay conventions around the world.

Neurosexism is an alleged bias in the neuroscience of sex differences towards reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes. The term was coined by feminist scholar Cordelia Fine in a 2008 article and popularised by her 2010 book Delusions of Gender. The concept is now widely used by critics of the neuroscience of sex differences in neuroscience, neuroethics and philosophy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Llewellyn Smith, Julia (17 December 2010). "Professor Gina Rippon: Fighting the 'neutrotrash industry'". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Fox, Genevieve (24 February 2019). "Meet the neuroscientist shattering the myth of the gendered brain". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Rippon, Gina; Senior, Carl (February 2007). "Editorial Board". International Journal of Psychophysiology . Elsevier. 63 (2): iii. doi:10.1016/S0167-8760(07)00006-2.
  4. ↑ "Women's brains ARE built for science. Modern neuroscience explodes an old myth". CBC News .
  5. ↑ Rippon, Georgina Mary Jane (1975). The orienting reflex in normal and in schizophrenic subjects (Ph.D thesis). OCLC   1001034091.
  6. 1 2 "Gina Rippon". theconversation.com. The Conversation . Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "'Every brain is different from every other brain': Author Gina Rippon challenges gender stereotypes" . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Book Marks reviews of Gender and Our Brains: How New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Minds by Gina Rippon". Book Marks. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Eliot, Lise (2019). "Neurosexism: the myth that men and women have different brains". Nature. 566 (7745): 453–454. Bibcode:2019Natur.566..453E. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-00677-x . S2CID   71146513.
  10. ↑ Voskuhl, Rhonda; Klein, Sabra (9 April 2019). "Sex is a biological variable — in the brain too". Nature. 568 (7751): 171. Bibcode:2019Natur.568..171V. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-01141-6 . PMID   30967673.
  11. 1 2 3 Baron-Cohen, Simon (8 March 2019). "The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon review — do men and women have different brains?". The Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Cooke, Rachel (5 March 2019). "The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon review – demolition of a sexist myth". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "a book review by Jane Haile: Gender and Our Brains: How New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Minds". www.nyjournalofbooks.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  14. ↑ Rippon, Gina (18 September 2010). Sexing the brain: How Neurononsense joined Psychobabble to 'Keep Women in Their Place'. Aston University. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016.
    Transcript of a lecture given at the British Science Festival, 18 September 2010.
  15. ↑ Dr Anna Zecharia, ScienceGrrl Director (host), Chi Onwurah, MP Newcastle upon Tyne Central (guest) and Gina Rippon (guest) (10 March 2014). WOW 2014 | Fighting The Neurotrash (Video). Southbank Centre via YouTube . Retrieved 20 August 2017. If you just want to read one book which is a classic example of neurotrash go for Louann Brizendine
  16. ↑ Rippon, Gina (December 2016). "The trouble with girls?". The Psychologist . British Psychological Society. 29 (12): 918–922.
  17. ↑ Fox, Genevieve (24 February 2019). "Meet the neuroscientist shattering the myth of the gendered brain". The Observer.
  18. ↑ "A Cognitive Researcher Explains How Male and Female Brains Aren't So Different". Time. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Hoyle, Antonia (15 August 2017). "What happened when a primary school went gender-neutral". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  20. ↑ John Humphrys (host), Robert Winston (guest), Gina Rippon (guest) (13 September 2010). Is neuroscience sexist? (Audio). Today. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  21. ↑ Gina Rippon (15 March 2019). Gina Rippon on the Myth of the Gendered Brain (Podcast). NOUS. University College London . Retrieved 16 March 2019.
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