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Hormonopoly |
| Section: BOOK WORLD / REVIEWS |
| Author: Beryl Lieff Benderly |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 9/1/1991 |
| Size: 2,299 Words, 14,440 Characters |
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BRAIN SEX
The Real Difference between Men and Women
Anne Moir and David Jessel
New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1991
228 pp., $17.95
La difference between the sexes is one of life's enduring mysteries. For the last generation or so, it has also been a burning social issue. Not since the early years of the twentieth century, when the first feminist revolt brought votes for women, has so much scholarly and popular attention been focused on what it means to be male and female. In these days of househusbands and military servicepersons, the social roles traditional in the West since the Industrial Revolution have begun to blur. But the deep dichotomy that separates the sexes' positions in society, as well as the assumptions that support it, still endure.
And so does the debate about the dichotomy's causes. Men and women, on average, act differently, perform different types of work, and exercise different amounts of power and authority. As with all other examples of social inequality, the discussion comes down to this: Do status and behavior reflect inborn or learned traits, physiology or culture?
In regard to racial inequality, we Americans have settled the question, in polite company at least, in favor of nurture. We agree that minority students, on average, perform academically less well than whites and minority adults achieve fewer positions of leadership in the general society because the...
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...all members of either gender by stereotypes derived from statistical averages.
In considering so complex and subtle a question as gender differences, we must combine the supposedly female talent for integrating information from a wide variety of sources and the supposedly male one for abstract thought and take all new findings under advisement. The final verdict is still a long way off.
(1,474 of 14,440 characters)
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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