New evidence revisits theories of gender and our brains
Researcher challenges some of our most basic views on gender and neuroscience in new book.
By Katherine ButlerWed, Aug 25 2010 at 10:04 PM EST
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/new-evidence-revisits-theories-of-gender-and-our-brains (http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/new-evidence-revisits-theories-of-gender-and-our-brains)
Little girls are sugar and spice, and little boy are snails and puppy dog tails – or so the saying goes. Gender is one of the most basic tenets of our society, but science has long held sometimes faulty views on its origins. The New York Times reports on a new book from Dr. Cordelia Fine which dismisses many of the answers claimed by neuroscientists examining gender.
"Delusions of Gender" is the latest book from Dr. Fine, who is a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from University College London. In it, she dissects some of the easy gender tropes in our society, such as "men are from Mars, women are from Venus." Gender inequities have a long history of being "explained" by science. The Victorians credited female inferiority to their delicate brains, smaller by five ounces. In 1915, neurologist Dr. Charles Dana claimed that a woman's smaller spinal cord explained why she should not be allowed to vote.