Gender on the Brain: A Case Study of Science Communication in the New Media Environment

Abstract

Neuroscience research on sex difference is currently a controversial field, frequently accused of purveying a ‘neurosexism’ that functions to naturalise gender inequalities. However, there has been little empirical investigation of how information about neurobiological sex difference is interpreted within wider society. This paper presents a case study that tracks the journey of one high-profile study of neurobiological sex differences from its scientific publication through various layers of the public domain. A content analysis was performed to ascertain how the study was represented in five domains of communication: the original scientific article, a press release, the traditional news media, online reader comments and blog entries. Analysis suggested that scientific research on sex difference offers an opportunity to rehearse abiding cultural understandings of gender. In both scientific and popular contexts, traditional gender stereotypes were projected onto the novel scientific information, which was harnessed to demonstrate the factual truth and normative legitimacy of these beliefs. Though strains of misogyny were evident within the readers’ comments, most discussion of the study took pains to portray the sexes’ unique abilities as equal and ‘complementary’. However, this content often resembled a form of benevolent sexism, in which praise of women’s social-emotional skills compensated for their relegation from more esteemed trait-domains, such as rationality and productivity. The paper suggests that embedding these stereotype patterns in neuroscience may intensify their rhetorical potency by lending them the epistemic authority of science. It argues that the neuroscience of sex difference does not merely reflect, but can actively shape the gender norms of contemporary society.

Perils and pitfalls of reporting sex differences

“…The authors did not report the degree of overlap, but the reported T statistics and degrees of freedom indicate that the sexes overlapped by nearly 90% (figure 2d,e; see also [68]). Nonetheless, the study was hailed by both scientists and the media as strong evidence that male and female brains take two distinct forms [13,69]. News stories announced that 'men's brains go back to front, women's go side [55] are shown for comparison.…”

“…In an analysis of a highly covered study on hemispheric connectivity (mentioned above; figure 2d,e [43]), O'Connor & Joffe [13] found that dubious claims in the news stories were actually present in the press release. Some of the claims could be traced to the journal article itself.…”

“…All of these were picked up by the popular media, which added even more alleged sex differences supposedly explained by the findings. The small sex effects on connectivity detected in the study (figure 2d,e) were said to explain sex differences in emotional intelligence, intuition, athleticism, hunting, cleaning the house and endless other so-called gendered behaviours [13,71]. A typical headline stated, 'The hardwired difference between male and female brains could explain why men are 'better at map reading' [103].…”

A representação binária do cérebro “feminino” e “masculino” na ciência e nos meios de comunicação

“…No referido estudo é relatado que o cérebro "masculino" apresentou maior conectividade dentro do mesmo hemisfério, em oposição ao cérebro "feminino", que mostrou maior conectividade entre os hemisférios (Ingalhalikar et al, 2014). Os autores analisaram os seguintes conteúdos: o artigo original, o comunicado da imprensa institucional, os meio de comunicação tradicionais, os comentários de leitores online e as postagens de blogs (O'Connor & Joffe, 2014). A análise mostra que, embora os autores não tivessem coletado dados cognitivos e comportamentais, eles inferiram que a maior conectividade intra-hemisférica "masculina" poderia tornar o sistema mais eficiente para uma ação coordenada, enquanto que a conectividade inter-hemisférica "feminina" facilitaria os dois modos de processamento de informações entre os hemisférios.…”

His brain, her brain?

“…Brain-behavior correlations were not explored, nor was theoretical or empirical attention given to the possible influence of gendered differences in male and female participants' past experiences (hobbies, sports participation, and subjects studied, for instance) on brain and behavior. Thus, neurosexist interpretation of research that is taken as scientific proof of "hardwired" sex differences can support old stereotypes, which can obscure the actual findings ( 10).…”