Sexual Identity and Neurosexism: A critique of reductivist approaches of sexual behavior and gender

Abstract

This paper will unfold in two different critiques, first dealing with how neuroscience has sexed the brain, ignoring cultural elements of gender formation, and further focusing on the masculine bias of neuroscience research, which, we claim, adopts male physiological and social patterns as “normal”. In order to do so, we will start our investigation with some insights on the sex/gender debate and how it is of consequence for research on neurosciences of sexuality. Secondly, we will critic the way studies are focusing on differences rather than similarities between genders, and how such strategy re-enforces gender biases. Finally, we use contributions from social cognitivist theory and feminism to support a more complex view of body, identity and gender performance.