Review: Sex in shades of grey
* 05 July 2009 by Deborah Blum
* Book information
* Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the myth of two sexes by Gerald N. Callahan
* Published by: Chicago Review Press
* Price: $24.95
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327151.700-review-sex-in-shades-of-grey.htmlI've always admired the way James challenged what he perceived as scientific dogma. In this case, he raised a conundrum we still wrestle with today. Science, with its love of classification, seeks to impose a strict order on the world around us. Yet life on Earth is (forgive the pun) by nature tangled, messy and, in James's words, "everywhere gothic".
This Jamesian perspective pervades Gerald Callahan's smart and compassionate book. Callahan's argument arises from the fact that human sexuality spans a slippery biological spectrum. The stereotypical view of two sexes - me Tarzan, you Jane - is not only cartoonish, it limits our understanding and appreciation of our own biology.
