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is it sexist if it's based on a scientific study?

101 replies

QuestionMark99 · 29/09/2014 04:27

Hello all,

I'm doing some research on sexism/feminism and I came up with a kind of philosophical question (I'm a cis gendered male, btw, new here):

Let's say (hypothetically) that a scientific study was done on the difference in intelligence between men and women. Let's say the results showed that men are, on average, more intelligent than women. Would it then be sexist to make the claim "men are, on average, more intelligent than women" if it's based solely on this study? Would the scientists who conducted the study, in publishing the results, be sexist for publishing them?

I've always thought of sexism as an attitudea derogatory oneand not just a belief in certain differences between men and women if it's meant in or based on a scientific/objective context.

My personal opinion is that if the hypothetical study above was conducted and published and someone who had read it brought it up in a conversation (because it was relevant to the discussion), he/she would still have an obligation to be sensitive about it. It's still not an excuse to go around spouting out unflattering information just because it happen to be proved in a scientific journal. It's not a free license to say things like "men are, on average, more intelligent than women" without any concern for how that affects the listener emotionally. That's not to say I think it's sexist to bring a point like this up, just that it would be appropriate to say it in the right manner, something like:

"Now, I don't say this to be sexist, or to offend anybody, but it happens to be a proven fact that men are, on average, more intelligent than women. I only say this because it's relevant to the discussion and it's important for my point."

What do you think? Is it acceptable to bring up scientifically proven facts about certain differences between men and women (where one ends up seeming "superior" in some way to the other) if done in a respectful and polite manner?

OP posts:
AveryJessup · 29/09/2014 04:43

Is it acceptable to bring up scientifically proven facts about certain differences between men and women (where one ends up seeming "superior" in some way to the other) if done in a respectful and polite manner?

Almost an impossible question to answer because there is almost no sound 'scientifically proven' evidence that one gender is different to the other, certainly no evidence that one is 'more intelligent' than the other. You're showing significant gender bias already by setting forward the hypothesis in your question that this hypothetical study would hypothetically show that men are on average more intelligent than women.

That's why social sciences are difficult to find solid empirical yes/no data on because they are often plagued by confirmation bias and poor study design (The Bell Curve, anyone?). Most studies of 'intelligence' are based on IQ, for example, which is a very questionable measure of anything other than the ability to do IQ tests.

So your hypothetical scenario is pretty strained. What would lead you to think that there is hard, scientific evidence for gender differences to begin with and to set up a hypothesis that this evidence would show male superiority to females? That's the kind of question you should be asking yourself.

As a feminist and a woman, if I read a study that claims to show hard scientific evidence for the 'fact' that women are more intelligent or more empathic or more intuitive than men, for example, then I would take it with a pinch of salt because chances are it is not worth the paper it's written on. These are not qualities that can be easily defined and studied.