If you have done some reading up on Aspergers, you have likely come across the description of it as ‘an extreme male brain’ syndrome. It is a ‘quick and easy’, one-phrase explanation that ‘makes sense’ to some people. I’ve often wondered if this theory is based more on the ‘men are bad at social skills, women are bad at math’ stereotype than on anything actually particular to Aspergers itself.
It seems I am not alone in being a little uncomfortable describing aspergers as ‘extreme male brain’…to the contrary, many suggest that this description of Aspergers arose because it was only studied in males. And only in a particular type of males, to boot!
Here is an extremely good rebuttal of that idea, written by Felinophile, a young woman who also happens to be an Aspie:
This theory that people with Aspergers have an extreme male brain is sexually-discriminatory, as it is based on studies of Aspergers males and people who fit the Asperger-male sterotype. It completely ignores the way Aspergers manifests in women, which is part of the reason it is seen as controversial.
…
Like a lot of Aspergers girls, though, I don’t fit the Asperger-male stereotype; while I have difficulty interpreting and expressing body language and facial expressions I have learnt over time to mimic others behaviour and responses, and to form a rough checklist for interpreting other people’s behaviour. While I have good spatial abilities, and do better than non-Aspergers girls in some areas of maths, I never had a gift for mathematics; instead, it was for language, as it is for some other Asperger girls
Read the rest here.
October 3, 2008 at 23:58
Thanks for the link.
It just really annoys me. Among other things, looking at Asperger means you ignore a whole segment of the Asperger population, and so how do you gain an accurate understanding of how it manifests, or possibly hope to understand why? It’s detrimental to understanding the disorder, as well as being sexist. The worst part is, the guy they talked to is an ‘expert’ who studies Aspergers.
October 30, 2008 at 22:23
It sounds to me like you’ve already decided in advance that the “extreme male brain” theory is sexist. A truly unbiased person would at least allow that some mental differences between men and women may be based on biology rather than dismissing such a possibility outright. Science shouldn’t let itself get hijacked by political correctness and fears of being offensive.
Note:
Perhaps my commentary did not make this as clear as I had hoped… I do agree that there are most definitely some biological differences between the male and female brains. For example, we do know that the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain is much stronger in women than in men. That is not in question.
What is being criticized here is that by identifying and concetrating on the external manifestations of symptoms of only a small portion of Aspies – and mostly male ones, the very biological differences between male and female brains are not being addressed by the ‘specialists’ who subscribe to the ‘extreme male brain syndrome’ of Aspergers. Therefore, the symptoms experienced by female aspies – specifically because our brain IS structured a little bit differently – are not being addressed….or, at times, even acknowledged.
Xan
March 10, 2009 at 16:32
[...] recess or lunch. Then again, my Aspergian tendencies mean that some people would class me as having a manly brain, which to me seems like just another way of dismissing whole classes of women who don’t fit [...]
June 17, 2009 at 09:42
“This theory that people with Aspergers have an extreme male brain is sexually-discriminatory”
This is asinine political correctness.
Xanthippa says:
I am extremely allergic to ‘political correctness’, in all its forms. And, while I agree that the way this sentence is phrased utilizes the language of ‘political correctness’, the message carried behind it is important.
The point this is trying to make is that many of the assumptions made by ‘professionals’ ABOUT people with Asperger syndrome are just WRONG…. They are based on not being able to interpret ‘Aspie behaviour’, in a similar way that Aspies have trouble interpreting ‘neurotypical’s behaviour’.
It is this ‘surface reading’ of some of the ‘outward presentation’ of Aspergers which has lead to diagnostic definitions which under-diagnose the occurrence of Aspergers in females. Thus, female Aspies do not receive the help they need to succeed in life… and THAT is a bad thing.
Plus, it sets up a circular, self-reinforcing system which, in the long run, ends up hurting all Aspies because it promotes serous misunderstandings of the condition.
Unfortunately, this is the reality we live with… and something I’d like to change!
Please, look past the language and to the message itself.
June 17, 2009 at 22:01
[...] Aspergers: not just ‘extreme male-brain’ syndrome REPOSTED FROM Xanthippa’s Chamberpot: [...]
February 21, 2011 at 11:16
I think that before you dismiss the ‘extreme male brain’ theory that you actually read Simon Baron-Cohen’s work. In full.
To claim it’s sexist is astoundingly stupid and demonstrates a profound ignorance of Simon’s work.
October 9, 2011 at 22:54
PC has no place in the arena of science. Still, I think that characterizing Asperger’s as the extreme male brain is misguided. Extreme male types who are neuro-typical (NT) tend to like to play or watch team sports, hunt, or do other stereotypically masculine things; Aspies I know don’t like sports at all. NTs resort to agression as a masculine response; I always did so only when backed into a corner or as part of a meltdown and my level of response was way out of proportion to what the situation called for. I would rather have avoided the whole situation.
My experience with AS makes me wonder if it might better be understood in terms of a hormonal imbalance in the brain. I took Tamoxifen, an androgen and anti-estrogen, for a problem completely unrelated to AS. I took 2 courses of trearment (3 mos. each) and have been off it for several mos. and am still reaping benefits from it. I have never felt so normal in my life. So much so that I joke that I am afraid they are going to take my diagnosis away. I have since seen that my symptoms still show up in new and stressful situations. I think that complete hormonal workups ought to be looked into as a potential part of the screening process.
Xanthippa says: what an neat perspective! Thank you.
May 7, 2012 at 02:35
Well, I took an Asperger’s Syndrome test and I scored 50/50, I have to say that I have some difficulties reading people’s facial expressions and am also socially awkward, insensitive, highly verbal and intelligent, loner with developed spatial intelligence. So as a female I also have a male brain. I was always told that I was different.
Xan says: Thanks for sharing!
January 23, 2013 at 13:42
Being born autistic (neither severe nor mild), having Aspergers but improving so much that I could relate to people, I think I do have something to say about this.
The extreme male brain syndrome is something that is a cute metaphor but not something that ought to fit within the standards of real scientific academic research.
A person with Asperger’s CAN be someone who is LIKE an extreme version of what traits are most commonly found in males. Doesn’t mean they are, though they may share some traits.
A person with Asperger’s CAN be someone who is LIKE a person who had too much to drink during a social interaction. Doesn’t mean that is a sufficient definition on what Aspergers is.
It’s a metaphor – not to be taken literally.
As for the sexist charge, there are common traits that more males have than females. There is enough deviation from that to make generalizations ignorant, but enough common ground to predict the probability of how a man would behave on some occasions.