The neurophysiologist Ruth Bleier (1923-1988), a pioneer in the feminist critique of science

M. Marco Igual
Neurosciences and History 2022;10(4):145-156

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

M. Marco Igual
Neurologist. Hospital Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.
This study was presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Neurology.

ABSTRACT

The neurophysiologist Ruth Bleier (1923-1988) became a pioneer in the feminist critique of the science of her time. Her studies on hypothalamic anatomy and physiology in different animal species led her to be considered one of the most distinguished figures in this area. She developed atlases of the hypothalamus of different animal species and made significant discoveries on the cells associated with the ependyma of the third ventricle, sexual dimorphism of some hypothalamic nuclei, and the role of sex hormones in the development of the brain. A political activist in her youth, she had serious clashes with the dominant McCarthyist doctrine of her time, and from the 1970s she dedicated her energy to the feminist struggle from her position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also studied the possible sex differences in the corpus callosum and denounced the androcentric biases in the positions of official science on the concepts of sex and genre. Her early death due to cancer truncated her career at a time of great intellectual creativity.

KEYWORDS

Ruth Bleier, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, hypothalamus, sexual dimorphism, feminist critique of science

Neurosciences and History 2022;10(4):145-156