Mars and Venus thinking theory is sexist prejudice, not fact, says scientist

THE idea that men and women’s minds are hard-wired in different ways is nonsense, says a leading scientist.

Professor Gina Rippon, an eminent expert on the brain, said the pop-psychology theory that the sexes are as different as alien races is a delusion driven by sexist prejudice.

The notion of the male or female brain was popularised in the best-selling book Men are from Mars, Women are from

Venus, by American writer John Gray.

But Aston University neuroscientist Professor Rippon believes that any differences are created by social norms. Professor Rippon, who is due to speak at the British Science Festival next month, said: “The latest evidence shows that we are all part of a spectrum, so dividing us into binary categories gives misleading results.

“I will be discussing new evidence that our brains and behaviour are mosaics of different characteristics and there is no such thing as a male or female brain.”

She will attack the numerous neuroscience papers suggesting there is a structural difference between men’s and women’s brains. Those studies have been used in attempts to explain why men are supposedly better at map reading while women are better at multi-tasking. Professor Rippon argues such studies are “neurotrash” which simply reflects the bias of researchers.

This type of research underpins Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The book, which is due to be made into a film starring Reese Witherspoon, even argued that housework benefited women by boosting their hormones.

“Sex differences in the brain have been extensively researched and enthusiastically believed, but modern brain-scanning techniques show there are few real differences – and the interpretations are born more of prejudice than of science,” she said.

“The brain is very plastic and shapes itself according to experiences. Growing up in a world that constrained men and women into particular roles would shape their brains.”