Newsweek has an interesting article about a new book that argues that the differences between men and women can be traced back to their brains.
For 20 years, first as a medical student at Yale, then as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, then as director of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at UCSF, Louann Brizendine’s been developing what she describes as a female-centered strain of psychiatry focusing on the complex interplay between women’s mental health, hard-wiring and brain chemistry. Now her first book, “The Female Brain,” which she describes as a kind of owner’s manual for women, is due in bookstores next month. Brizendine realizes she’s going to take some heat. “I know it’s not politically correct to say this,” she says, “and I’ve been torn for years between my politics and what science is telling us. But I believe that women actually perceive the world differently than men. If women attend to those differences, they can make better decisions about how to manage their lives.
If you’d rather not read the article, at least check out this graphic. It’s a good summary.
The article says this book is going to generate controversy among feminists. I’m not sure I understand why. Can any of my female readers (I know I have at least one–Hi Mom!) enlighten me?
If you’re wondering why a man with two sons finds this article interesting, then you’re obviously not married. Brizendine describes her book as a handbook for women to understand themselves. Might be helpful for guys too.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
What doesn’t upset feminists?
Bleh.
Item one: I am a feminist, and while I find Bryan’s comment obnoxious, it doesn’t upset me.
Item two: I do find it amusing that Wade thinks all feminists are female. I, for one, am male, but I consider myself a feminist under Nadine Strossen’s definition: a feminist is someone who believes that women are people, and ought to be treated as such. For most of human history, in most parts of the world, this has not been the case.
To shed some light on the issue at hand: one approach to feminism seeks to empower women by deconstructing the idea of gender. Gender, these feminists say, is merely what our society tells us it is. Attributes that a society considers “manly” or “womanly” have no roots in the actual biological differences between men and women, but are imposed and reinforced by various pressures in the society. Brizendine seems to suggest otherwise. Her research won’t cause a new debate within feminism, but it probably will stoke the debate about whether there are significant psychological differences between the sexes.
My question about Brizendine is: does her research truly inform our understanding of gender, or have her ideas about gender determined the outcome of her research?
Just a hunch, but I’m pretty sure God meant for us to be different than boys. If He meant for boys and girls to be the same, then one gender would be unnecessary. Just because the genders are different, doesn’t mean one’s better than the other. I’m happy leaving the heavy lifting, cooking, and ear hair to boys. (Okay, so the cooking part might just be specific to my house.) Parents who have both boys and girls can attest that their very nature and temperament are generally different from the very beginning. Different is good, right?
Who can live in relationships with men and women and not see that there are differences? The physical differences are accepted and celebrated. The emotional/social/hormonal differences have become the subject of taboo because they have been used in the past as a means to devalue or dismiss women. There is controversy because some interpretations of this research could reinforce stereotypes that took many years to overcome. I do not read the research as saying women are less than men, just different than men… to that I say, “Duh!”
However, I am on the heels of generations of women that fought to dispel myths about the inferior intelligence and abilities of women. I am not ignorant to the work that has been done on my behalf. As a woman born in the 70?s, I have had few instances in my life where gender differences have suppressed me and, when encountered, I have felt empowered to address them. Has the struggle to eliminate injustice moved past its primary purpose? Has the pendulum swung so far in the other direction that women cannot value themselves as different from men without being viewed as anti-feminist?
The feminist approach that seeks to deconstruct the idea of gender differences is not empowering to women. It is debilitating because it teaches women to deny the power of their uniqueness. I agree with Brizendine, to accept there are differences and use those to improve your life and relationships with others, male and female, can only benefit us all.
Well said, Andrea. I do think the pendulum has swung too far to the other side, and those that can appreciate the differences between men and women are unfairly labeled as being “anti-feminist.”
Am I different from the five males that live in my home? Yes, VERY. And praise God for it. We are, “fearfully and wonderfully made”. It is my hope that my boys will grow up to love and respect the women in their lives, and appreciate the differences as well.
Chef’s wife said
I?m happy leaving the heavy lifting, cooking, and ear hair to boys.
Hm. Isn’t it possible that this definition of gender is harmful to men as well as women? What about men who can’t lift that much weight, who aren’t terribly hairy, and who can cook? Are they less masculine?
Andrea said…
The feminist approach that seeks to deconstruct the idea of gender differences is not empowering to women.
I think I was wrong when I said that “one approach” to feminism operated by attempting to deconstruct gender. Actually, most approaches to feminism deconstruct gender, but to varying degrees. The ideas of subservience, of intellectual inferiority, of property, have all been associated with the female gender. Obviously, it would be good to deconstruct gender to the point that these associations go away. So maybe it would be better if you said that the approach that seeks to entirely deconstruct gender is harmful.
Also, it kind of bothers me that Chef’s wife goes by the name “Chef’s wife”. Maybe there’s a story behind that that I don’t know. =)
The “feminists” I was referring to do women more harm than good. Sadly, those women do not subscribe to Strossen’s definition. Instead, as someone has already commented, they seek to erase the lines of gender altogether, which is destructive and an insult to our Creator. These “feminists” have succumbed to what I call the Rush Limbaugh syndrome. They are so bent on attacking and fighting and arguing and promoting their agenda, they fight everything, good and bad about the other side, and end up losing any credibility they might have had and look silly, hence my comment, “What doesn’t upset feminists”. Different but equal seems right to me, whether it’s gender, race, age or culture.
I take it that Brezendine isn’t looking to become the next President of Harvard.
I use Chef’s wife because my husband is a chef and I am his wife. Hence the name. I’m also very proud of him and proud to be his other half. He leases the kitchen at Garnett for catering meals for the church and beyond.