Sexing The Brain (MAPS OF THE MIND)

In times past, women were regarded as being socially inferior to men on biological grounds. Science, allegedly, had proved that the mental capabilities of women were less sophisticated - a deficiency hard-wired into the brain. In Sexing the Brain, Lesley Rogers, a leading researcher in neuroscience and animal behaviour, provides a readable account of the science of sex differences in brain and behaviour. She shows how, in each age, scientific claims about sex and gender differences have reflected the culture of the time. Although the conviction has spread that genetics can explain everything, the author brings to light the role of culture and environment in the formation of behavioural traits, and so provides an important corrective to popular reductionism. Step by step, she surveys the findings of recent scientific studies. She addresses a variety of topical questions. Are there sex differences in how we think and feel? Is language processed in different parts of the brain in men and women? Do social relationships have a stronger influence on sexual behaviour than sex hormone levels? Is there a gay gene? She concludes that a greater appreciation of the complexities of biological and social contributions to behaviour can lead us to a better understanding of sex, gender and the brain.