Fitsch Hannah
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Front Sociol. 2021 Jul 21;6:705106. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.705106. eCollection 2021.
This paper examines the role of technical, methodological conditions in functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) in the production of binary sex/gender differences. The aim is to investigate the scanning process with a focus on the statistical parameter of gendered markers within the technology, in order to make visible the problems entangled in typical research routines. It is especially important to elaborate this because the computer models currently being used and Big Data studies are reproducing and reapplying outdated and rigid concepts of sex/gender differences with the goal of improving science considerably. Therefore, the paper discusses the empirical methodologies and epistemic underpinnings of differentiation through statistics, and argues that counter-counting, weighing and sizing might not help to substantiate the idea of "equality" (not only for the sex/gender category) in brain studies. In relation to the topic of this special issue, I argue that in order to develop an interdisciplinary approach to criticizing dimorphism and differentiation by groups, a wider understanding of the technical and theoretical foundations used in brain research is needed.
本文探讨了功能磁共振成像（fMRI）中的技术和方法条件在产生二元性/性别差异方面所起的作用。目的是研究扫描过程，重点关注该技术中带有性别标记的统计参数，以便揭示典型研究流程中所涉及的问题。详细阐述这一点尤为重要，因为当前正在使用的计算机模型和大数据研究正在重现和应用过时且僵化的性/性别差异概念，以期大幅改进科学。因此，本文讨论了通过统计进行区分的实证方法和认知基础，并认为反计数、加权和量化可能无助于在脑研究中证实“平等”的观念（不仅适用于性/性别类别）。关于本期特刊的主题，我认为为了形成一种跨学科方法来批判群体间的二态性和差异性，需要更广泛地理解脑研究中所使用的技术和理论基础。
