Gender-Related Differences: Origins And Outcomes is the most complete and comprehensively accurate description of the roles that sex chromosomes and hormones do -- and do not -- play in modulating human sex differences in the brain and behavior. This book has recently been completely updated and rewritten to give its readers insight to tremendous recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the influence of genes and sex hormones. Despite the depth of coverage of biological variables, the text is balanced. It provides an equal depth of coverage to the roles that developmental processes, cultural socialization, stereotypes, prejudice, and the gendered nature of all of our environments play in the creation of sex differences. These origins of sex differences are discussed in depth, emphasizing an understanding of principles rather than a memorization of facts. The last unit discusses some of the possible outcomes of these origins, covering four areas of the largest sex differences in the current U.S. society.
Discover how men and women can interpret the same conversation differently, even when there is no apparent misunderstanding. Discover why sincere attempts to communicate are so often confounded, and how we can prevent or relieve some of the frustration. This fascinating, helpful, and controversial book--on the NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller list for two years!--explores, in depth the differing style men and women articulate, and how to work through it and get to the heart of the matter.
A chilling indictment on the state of the American family, and the recent drive to deny the fundamental differences between the sexes, Men and Marriage is "an outstandingly important and well-argued book, strangely moving in its combination of scholarly dilligence, common sense, courage, and devotion to the res publica of human civilization."--National Review.
In a critically acclaimed work, author Maggie Gallagher attacks sacred cows as she argues that the sexual revolution and the feminist movement are killing family, marriage . . . and even sex.
If men and women are equal, why have males been the dominant sex virtually throughout history? Here, geneticist Moir and BBC- TV writer-producer Jessel argue convincingly that the answer lies in the difference between the male and female brain. Writing with clarity and style, and documenting their data every step of the way, Moir and Jessel explain how the embryonic brain is shaped as either male or female at about six weeks, when the male fetus begins producing hormones that organize its brain's neural networks into a male pattern; in their absence, the brain will be female. Not surprisingly, there are endless variations in degree of maleness, and mishaps can lead to a male brain in a female body and vice versa. Moir and Jessel include a brain sex test that lets the reader discover just how masculine or feminine his (or her) brain is. For the nonscientist, they translate considerable research into the structural and organizational differences between male and female brains, demonstrating how these differences make men more aggressive and competitive and better at skills that require spatial ability and mathematical reasoning, and women more sensitive to nuances of expression and gesture, more adept at judging character. Women, it seems, are more people-oriented than men, who are more interested in things. Moir and Jessel assert that it is necessary to ``accept who we are before arguing about what we should be,'' and that denying gender differences means ignoring their value. A literate, entertaining, and, for some, surely wrath- provoking presentation of scientific data about the differences between the sexes.
One is tempted to say this book tells you everything you wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask--except that no one is afraid to ask these days, and we are all but surfeited by the amount of public telling. Indeed, sex scandals aside, the transit from scholarly journal to newsprint is such that hardly any nuance of sexual behavior of beast or human goes unnoticed. So the review that this husband-wife team provides (he is an evolutionary biologist, she a psychiatrist) is less a report on what's new than it is their perspective on the state of sex science today. As such, they are emphatic in stating that just because a behavior is common (e.g., male philandering) does not mean that it is to be condoned: What ``is'' is not to be construed as inevitable or as what ought to be. Having said that, the authors provide a comprehensive summary of the biological, neurological, and developmental differences between males and females, with due regard for the effects of hormones, genes, and culture. Barash provides many examples of animal and anthropological studies relating to courtship, male-male aggression, male violence against another male's offspring, and so on. Lipton draws upon her practice with numerous case studies, such as women who are conflicted or depressed about handling careers and motherhood. Indeed, part of the rationale for the joint authorship was to contrast the styles of the (female) therapist communicating one-on-one with patients with the more distancing perspective of the (male) evolutionary biologist theorizing about bluebirds.