Have we radically misunderstood the value of the body? In this issue of IAI News, we interrogate the significance of the human body from a host of different perspectives: feminism, neuroscience, technology and politics.

Professor of neuro-imaging Gina Rippon and feminist activist Finn Mackay both argue that the binary opposition between men and women is cultural, not natural. Mackay outlines the need to move beyond such dualisms to “recognise the unique potential of all human beings”. Similarly, Rippon believes that much modern research is still based on sexist assumptions. It’s time, she says, to rid science of toxic stereotypes.