Top prof apologises for showing class cartoon of female brain with 'headache generator' and 'I told you so gland'

5 September 2022, 14:07

A top professor has been forced to apologise after showing students a joke diagram of the female brain featuring a 'headache generator' and an 'I told you so gland'.

Professor John Paul Leach, a neuroscientist and professor at the University of Glasgow, showed students cartoon diagrams of both the male and female brains, MailOnline reports.

The diagram of the female brain showed large sections with labels including 'shoes', headache generator', 'talk, talk and more talk' and an 'I told you so gland'.

It also showed much smaller segments of the cartoon brain with labels including 'sex initiator gland', 'driving skills' and 'realisation of wants and needs'.

Meanwhile the diagram of the male brain included sections like 'sex', 'sleep' and 'sweet, sweet beer'.

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A spokesperson for the Scottish Feminism Network said the pictures went "way past banter" and they they could "cause serious long term consequences".

"How can female students expect to be treated with respect by peers or by lecturers if that is considered acceptable?" said the spokesperson.

"This goes way past 'banter' and could seriously undermine the confidence of the female students.

"This is insidious and can cause serious long term consequences."

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Professor Leach said he "apologised personally and unreservedly" for the use of the cartoons in 2017.

He also said he was actually making the point that there is no real difference in the anatomy of male and female brains.

He added that actual diagrams of both genders' brains were showed after the cartoons.

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A spokesperson for the University of Glasgow said the institution "condemns discrimination of any kind and is committed to promoting equality and diversity across its community and campus".

"The university treats all complaints seriously and investigates them appropriately," the spokesperson added.