Information about Brain Sex
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| Author | Anne Moir and David Jessel |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Social Science |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph (Penguin) |
| Publication date | 1989 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | viii+228+notes |
| ISBN | 9780718128845 (1st ed.) |
This article is about the book. For the subject, see Biology of gender.
Brain Sex (ISBN 978-0385311830) is a popular book about the biology of gender, the biological differences between men and women, by Anne Moir (geneticist) and David Jessel (journalist), first published by Michael Joseph (a division of Penguin) in 1989.
Moir and Jessel provide a great deal of evidence and discussion throughout the book. They conclude with a summary, which includes the following decisive statement.
"We find a political and social view — that men and women should be treated equally — somehow dependent upon a belief that men and women are the same. They are not. There is no longer any excuse, save mental indolence, to believe thatThis isn't a prescriptive book; it merely explains how the brains of the sexes are different, and attempts to link those differences with the observably different behaviour of men and women — which men and women have been celebrating or bemoaning for centuries."[2]
- :
'Many of the generally understood distinctions between the sexes in the more significant areas of role and temperament, not to mention status, have in fact essentially cultural rather than biological bases.'[1]
Quotes
- To maintain that [men and women] are the same in aptitude, skill, or behaviour is to build a society based on a biological and scientific lie.[3]
- Recent decades have witnessed two contradictory processes: the development of scientific research into the differences between the sexes, and the political denial that such differences exist.[4]
- There is no point ... in laws and educational theories which both deny the differences between men and women, and then seek to eradicate them.[5]
Contents
The sequence of chapters broadly follows the human life cycle — birth, maturity, reproduction ... sustained by work.- *Introduction
- Chapter One: The differences
- Chapter Two: The birth of difference
- Chapter Three: Sex in the brain
- Chapter Four: Childhood differences
- Chapter Five: The brains come of age
- Chapter Six: The ability gap
- Chapter Seven: Hearts and minds
- Chapter Eight: Like minds
- Chapter Nine: The marriage of two minds
- Chapter Ten: Why mothers are not fathers
- Chapter Eleven: Minds at work
- Chapter Twelve: Bias at work
- *Summary
- *References
- *Index
Summary
Chapter One: The differences
| The truth is that virtually every professional scientist and researcher into the subject has concluded that the brains of men and women are different. There has seldom been a greater divide between what intelligent, enlightened opinion presumes — that men and women have the same brain — and what science knows — that they do not.[6] |
Chapter Two: The birth of difference
| It is not until six or seven weeks after conception that the unborn baby 'makes up its mind', and the brain begins to take on a male or a female pattern. What happens at that critical stage in the darkness of the womb, will determine the structure and organisation of the brain: and that, in turn, will decide the very nature of the mind. It is ... a story largely unknown, but now, at last, beginning to unfold in its entirety.[8] |
Chapter Three: Sex in the brain
| What we are, how we behave, how we think and feel, is governed not by the heart, but by the brain. The brain itself is influenced, in structure and operation, by the hormones. If brain structure and hormones are different in men and women, it should not surprise us that men and women behave in different ways. Understanding the exact relationship between brain structure, hormones and behaviour would take us a long way to discovering the answer to some of humanity's most exasperating riddles.[13] |
Brain dimorphism, as observably distinct and complicated as it is, theoretically could be of as little significance for behaviour as, for example, eye-colour.[15] So additional material regarding correlations between brain structure and behaviour is actually the main feature of this chapter. Initial studies in this area came from observing people who had suffered brain damage. Correlations between which behavioural functions showed impairment and which regions of the brain showed damage led to early results regarding left and right brain hemisphere activity.[16] Although knowledge of this area is still far from complete, a great deal of refinement has been made possible with brain imaging technology and investment in research projects into human brain function.
One simplification of the results is that female brains (the result of default or "normal" developmental pathways) generally distribute processing across diverse regions of the brain. Male brains (testosterone modified versions of the female brain) are notably more "compartmentalized" and "focused" in their processing.[17] This is the science behind the popular language of women typically having a natural aptitude for "multi-tasking", and men seeming to generally adopt "single minded" behavioural strategies.
Chapter Four: Childhood differences
| Each sex has a mind of its own at birth. Innate differences in brain structure mean that from infancy and through childhood, the male and female paths increasingly diverge. Biology — accentuated by social attitudes which may themselves have a biological base — makes the destiny of men and women different, gives them different priorities, ambitions, and behaviour.[18] |
Although the chapter makes the case for objective, universal biological development of sex difference in behaviour, it is explicit in noting that socialization is also very much part of behavioural development in general. The first case study in the chapter is a report of the sad case of Susan Wiley, a girl who was raised in isolation and struggled to develop language ability.[22] The point of the chapter is that sexually dimorphic behaviours include biological influences that are resistant to socialization,[23] not that all behaviour or all dimorphic behaviours are purely biological. As the conclusion of the book makes explicit, its thesis is that purely social explanations of gender are inadequate, not that biological explanations are sufficient.
Chapter Five: The brains come of age
| With the onset of puberty, the human mechanism is past the blueprint stage. Now the hormones take on their second role, fuelling, powering, and informing the brain and our subsequent behaviour as human beings. ... Before puberty, in spite of all those infant sexual differences we have already documented, girls and boys have the same kinds of hormones circulating at the same levels in their bodies. Once the hormone levels increase, however, the changes are dramatic. In girls, at around the age of eight the level of female hormone begins to rise. ... The hormones of boys come on stream about two years later than girls.[24] |
Again this chapter features several case studies. It first considers the influence of female hormones on the behaviour of women.[27] The pronounced cyclic rhythm of female hormones, and their widely attested effects, is considered in detail. The case studies are extreme examples.[28] The influence of testosterone on men, especially with regard to aggression, is also noted in this chapter and extends to discussion of higher prevalence of social deviancy among men.[29] Although consideration of the extremes and the negative social impact of hormonal influence occupies the majority of the chapter, it concludes with aspects of dimorphic patterns of behaviour that are generally considered socially constructive, even if stereotypical.[30]
Chapter Six: The ability gap
| Just as puberty dramatically sorts out the girls from the boys in their behaviour and social attitudes, the hormones play their part in accentuating differences in mental abilities and aptitudes. We know that the chemistry largely dictates the structure of our brains and the disposition of the functions in it. It should not be surprising, then, to find that differences in the organ of thought affect the things we choose to think about, and how well we apply our minds to them.[31] |
Although there is evidence for measurable differences in performance of various cognitive and other tasks, the chapter focuses on these as an outcome of preference and strategy. It is not a question of seeking to demonstrate an overall superiority of one sex or the other, rather the evidence is evaluated for what it appears to support regarding biologically prompted alternative approaches to life challenges.[34]
The point of this is that men and women have preferences, not simply abilities. So external performance based selection of men and women may well lead to more women than men in certain roles (and vice versa). However, the evidence also suggests that men and women are just as likely to learn and pursue specific social roles in different proportions, by virtue of internal preferences and irrespective of external selection.[35]
The specific studies and numbers that are quoted in the chapter mainly focus on male advantages in abstract theoretical reasoning, in particular traditional theoretical mathematics.[36] The general picture presented is of a male preference to systematize, where the female preference is to sympathize.[37] These stereotypes are not new, it was the popularization of peer-reviewed study of them that was new.
Chapter Seven: Hearts and minds
| Physically, men and women are generally attracted to each other because of their differences. Ask any group of men from any culture to assess the attractiveness of a female, and they will tend to opt for the figure which curves where they are flat, is soft where they are strong and — though this may be a matter for aesthetic as much as scientific debate — swells where they are narrow. The same, in reverse, is true of women, who will tend to express a preference for men with broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips. ... Yet in every other respect, we expect the sexes to be attracted to each other because of their similarities. Any computer-dating questionnaire will try to match intellectual like with like.[38] |
Chapter Eight: Like minds
| The hormonal theory [of sexual deviancy] would explain why sexual deviancy is so much more common in men. Men have to go through a hormonal process to change their brains from the natural female pattern present in all of us, whatever our eventual sex, from the first weeks of our life in the womb; they have to be soaked in extra male hormone and restructured — so in the process of reconstruction the chance of mistakes is much greater than in the female, who doesn't need any reconstruction of her brain.[46] |
Chapter Nine: The marriage of two minds
| Our new knowledge of what makes us tick, and tick to different rhythms, is not of itself going to revolutionise the complex design of marriage — we will present no new marital blueprint. But we do believe that much of the stress in this most vital of relationships stems from the misconception that men and women are essentially the same people. The contradiction between this assumption and the facts can lead to exasperation, bitterness and recrimination.[48] |
Chapter Ten: Why mothers are not fathers
| Nothing is said to bring men and women closer to each other than the shared experience of parenthood. The truth more often is that, because of the different perspective each partner brings to it, few things more dramatically define the difference between men and women. However disappointing the fact may be to a devoted father, there is something unique in the relationship between a mother and a baby. No known society replaces the mother as a primary provider of care.[52] |
Chapter Eleven: Minds at work
| We live in a world where we are no longer surprised to find a female prime minister, a female judge, a female rabbi or a female pilot. But there are still remarkably few women in top jobs, considering the large increase in the number of well-educated women. That is likely to remain the case.[53] |
Chapter Twelve: Bias at work
| The Wall Street Journal once spoke of female careers being 'sabotaged by motherhood', demonstrating, in a few words, several misconceptions. First, many women do not see their retirement from the world of paid work as a disaster — home and family are a fulfilling and rewarding occupation. Secondly, motherhood is a career in itself, as any single-parent journalist will soon find out; and finally, even the most reluctant mothers, holding their new-born baby, find the notion that they have been somehow 'sabotaged' simply does not arise. If there is any question of sabotage, it is women who sabotage their own self-esteem. Too often they have defined career success and achievement in male terms.[56] |
References
The reference section of the book is divided into several sections: "General References" (a page-and-a-half), references by chapter (fifteen pages of bibliography), and twelve books described as "Summary References". These sections are followed by eight-and-a-half pages of citations for the end notes marked in the main text.Reviews
- "This book is a thoroughly good read, couched comfortably in layman's language and carrying the reader on at a spanking pace." — Glasgow Herald
- "For the past 30 years we have been told that men and women are interchangeable in every way. Now a sensational book explodes the myth of sexual sameness." — Daily Mail
| The genders are different because their brains are different. The brain is differently constructed in men and in women; it processes information in a different way, which results in different perceptions, priorities and behaviour. Men and women are equal only in their common membership to the same species, humankind. |
| Feminism holds that, except for obvious anatomical differences related to reproduction, men and women are essentially the same. Feminists argue that psychological differences — differences in interests, mental abilities, or emotions — are caused by social conditioning, not by genes. This book directly contradicts modern feminist theory, and it documents its conclusions with a myriad of scientific studies. |
See also
- Anne Fausto-Sterling
- David Reimer
- Defeminization
- Dihydrotestosterone
- John Money
- Leonard Sax
- Milton Diamond
- Ralph Holloway
- Sexual identity
- Simon Baron-Cohen
- Steven Goldberg
- Testosterone poisoning
- The Inevitability of Patriarchy
- Virilization
- Why Men Rule
References
1. ^ K Millet, Sexual Politics, (London: Virago, 1977), p. 28.
2. ^ Moir and Jessel, Brain Sex, (Mandarin, 1991): 177.
3. ^ Ibid., p. 5.
4. ^ Ibid., p. 12.
5. ^ Ibid., p. 190.
6. ^ Ibid., p. 9.
7. ^ Ibid., pp. 12ff.
8. ^ Ibid., p. 21.
9. ^ Ibid., pp. 21ff.
10. ^ Ibid., p. 24-25.
11. ^ Ibid., p. 25-29.
12. ^ Ibid., p. 29-37.
13. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
14. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
15. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
16. ^ Ibid., pp. 39ff.
17. ^ Ibid., pp. 42ff.
18. ^ Ibid., p. 53.
19. ^ Ibid., p. 55.
20. ^ Ibid., p. 56.
21. ^ Ibid., pp. 57ff.
22. ^ Ibid., p. 54.
23. ^ Ibid., p. 66.
24. ^ Ibid., pp. 68f.
25. ^ Ibid., p. 67.
26. ^ Ibid., p. 68-69.
27. ^ Ibid., pp. 70ff.
28. ^ Ibid., pp. 73, 75, 77, 78.
29. ^ Ibid., pp. 79ff.
30. ^ Ibid., pp. 85ff.
31. ^ Ibid., p. 88.
32. ^ Ibid., pp. 89ff.
33. ^ Ibid., pp. 91ff.
34. ^ Ibid., p. 98.
35. ^ Ibid., p. 97.
36. ^ Ibid., p. 89-91.
37. ^ Ibid., p. 95-97.
38. ^ Ibid., p. 99.
39. ^ Ibid., p. 99.
40. ^ Ibid., pp. 100f.
41. ^ Ibid., pp. 102f.
42. ^ Ibid., pp. 103f.
43. ^ Ibid., p. 102 and others.
44. ^ Ibid., p. 106.
45. ^ Ibid., p. 107 and others.
46. ^ Ibid., p. 117.
47. ^ Sigmund Freud, location not provided in Moir and Jessel.
48. ^ Ibid., p. 126.
49. ^ Ibid., p. 127.
50. ^ Ibid., p. 135.
51. ^ Ibid., p. 140.
52. ^ Ibid., p. 141.
53. ^ Ibid., p. 153.
54. ^ Ibid., p. 157.
55. ^ Ibid., p. 164.
56. ^ Ibid., p. 165.
57. ^ Ibid., pp. 166ff.
58. ^ Ibid., pp. 168ff.
2. ^ Moir and Jessel, Brain Sex, (Mandarin, 1991): 177.
3. ^ Ibid., p. 5.
4. ^ Ibid., p. 12.
5. ^ Ibid., p. 190.
6. ^ Ibid., p. 9.
7. ^ Ibid., pp. 12ff.
8. ^ Ibid., p. 21.
9. ^ Ibid., pp. 21ff.
10. ^ Ibid., p. 24-25.
11. ^ Ibid., p. 25-29.
12. ^ Ibid., p. 29-37.
13. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
14. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
15. ^ Ibid., p. 38.
16. ^ Ibid., pp. 39ff.
17. ^ Ibid., pp. 42ff.
18. ^ Ibid., p. 53.
19. ^ Ibid., p. 55.
20. ^ Ibid., p. 56.
21. ^ Ibid., pp. 57ff.
22. ^ Ibid., p. 54.
23. ^ Ibid., p. 66.
24. ^ Ibid., pp. 68f.
25. ^ Ibid., p. 67.
26. ^ Ibid., p. 68-69.
27. ^ Ibid., pp. 70ff.
28. ^ Ibid., pp. 73, 75, 77, 78.
29. ^ Ibid., pp. 79ff.
30. ^ Ibid., pp. 85ff.
31. ^ Ibid., p. 88.
32. ^ Ibid., pp. 89ff.
33. ^ Ibid., pp. 91ff.
34. ^ Ibid., p. 98.
35. ^ Ibid., p. 97.
36. ^ Ibid., p. 89-91.
37. ^ Ibid., p. 95-97.
38. ^ Ibid., p. 99.
39. ^ Ibid., p. 99.
40. ^ Ibid., pp. 100f.
41. ^ Ibid., pp. 102f.
42. ^ Ibid., pp. 103f.
43. ^ Ibid., p. 102 and others.
44. ^ Ibid., p. 106.
45. ^ Ibid., p. 107 and others.
46. ^ Ibid., p. 117.
47. ^ Sigmund Freud, location not provided in Moir and Jessel.
48. ^ Ibid., p. 126.
49. ^ Ibid., p. 127.
50. ^ Ibid., p. 135.
51. ^ Ibid., p. 140.
52. ^ Ibid., p. 141.
53. ^ Ibid., p. 153.
54. ^ Ibid., p. 157.
55. ^ Ibid., p. 164.
56. ^ Ibid., p. 165.
57. ^ Ibid., pp. 166ff.
58. ^ Ibid., pp. 168ff.
External links
Literature
- Kimura, Doreen. Sex and Cognition. MIT Press, 1999.
In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government.
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"Dieu et mon droit" [2] (French)
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The biology of gender is scientific analysis of the physical basis for behavioural differences between men and women. It is more specific than sexual dimorphism, which covers physical and behavioural differences between males and females of any sexually reproducing species,
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The biology of gender is scientific analysis of the physical basis for behavioural differences between men and women. It is more specific than sexual dimorphism, which covers physical and behavioural differences between males and females of any sexually reproducing species,
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Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include size, color, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks.
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man is a male human. The term man (irregular plural: men) is used for an adult human male, with the term boy being the usual term for a human male child or adolescent human male. However, man can refer to humanity as a whole.
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Penguin Books is a British publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. Lane's idea was to provide quality writing cheaply, for the same price as a pack of cigarettes. He also wanted them to be sold not only in bookshops but in railway stations, general stores and corner shops.
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worldwide view.
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Evidence in its broadest sense, includes anything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Philosophically, evidence can include propositions which are presumed to be true used in support of other propositions that are presumed to be falsifiable.
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Gender", in common usage, refers to the differences between men and women. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that gender identity is "an individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex.
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