Neurofeminism and feminist neurosciences

Autor(en)
Sigrid Schmitz, Grit Höppner
Abstrakt

To date, feminist approaches to neurosciences have evaluated the debates surrounding practices of knowledge production within and research results of contemporary brain research. Consequently, neurofeminist scholars have critically examined gendered impacts of neuroscientific research. Feminist neuroscientists also develop research approaches for a more gender-appropriate neuroscientific research on several levels. Based on neurofeminist critique feminist neuroscientists aim to enrich neuroscientific work by offering methodological suggestions for a more differentiated setup of categories and experimental designs, for reflective result presentations and interpretations as well as for the analysis of result validity. Reframing neuro-epistemologies by including plasticity concepts works to uncover social influences on the gendered development of the brain and of behavior. More recently, critical work on contemporary neurocultures has highlighted the entanglements of neuroscientific research within society and the implications of 'neurofacts' for gendered cultural symbolisms, social practices, and power relations. Not least, neurofeminism critically analyses the portrayal of neuro-knowledge in popular media. This article presents on overview on neurofeminist debates and on current approaches of feminist neurosciences. The authors conclude their review by calling for a more gender-appropriate research approach that takes into account both its situatedness and reflections on the neuroscientific agenda, but also questions neurofeminist discourse in regards to uses and misuses of its concepts.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Journal
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Band
8
Seiten
1-10
Anzahl der Seiten
10
ISSN
1662-5161
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00546
Publikationsdatum
07-2014
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
504014 Gender Studies, 1070 Andere Naturwissenschaften
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Allgemeine Neurowissenschaft, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology, Neurology, Psychiatry and Mental health, Biological Psychiatry, Behavioral Neuroscience
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/99770840-0217-44f6-8a65-842045dd0053