Delusions Of Gender
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''Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference'' is a 2010 book by
Cordelia Fine Cordelia Fine (born 1975) is a Canadian-born British philosopher of science, psychologist and writer. She is a full professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Fine has written three popular science ...
, written to debunk the idea that men and women are hardwired with different interests. The author criticizes claimed evidence of the existence of innate biological differences between men and women's minds as being faulty and exaggerated, and while taking a position of agnosticism with respect to inherent differences relating to interest/skill in "understanding the world" versus "understanding people", reviews literature demonstrating how cultural and societal beliefs contribute to sex differences.


Contents

In the first part of the book, "'Half Changed World', Half Changed Minds", Fine argues that social and environmental factors strongly influence the mind, challenging a 'biology as fallback' view that, since society is equal now for the sexes, persistent inequalities must be due to biology. She also discusses the history and impact of gender stereotypes and the ways that science has been used to justify sexism. In the second part of the book, "Neurosexism", Fine criticizes the current available arguments and studies supporting sex differences in the mind, focusing on methodological weaknesses and implicit assumptions. Within neuroscientific investigations, these include small samples that give rise to unreliable, spurious results, and poorly justified 'reverse inferences' (claims of stereotype-consistent psychological differences between the sexes on the basis of brain differences). Fine also demonstrates how already weak neuroscientific conclusions are then grossly overblown by popular writers. Fine also discusses non-neuroimaging evidence cited as support for innate differences between the sexes. For example, she explains weaknesses in the work done by a student of
Simon Baron-Cohen Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
that has been widely cited (by the Gurian Institute, by
Leonard Sax Leonard Sax is an American psychologist and a practicing family physician. He is best known as the author of three books for parents: ''Boys Adrift'', ''Girls on the Edge'', and ''Why Gender Matters''. According to his web site, he is currently ...
, by Peter Lawrence, and by Baron-Cohen himself): one-and-a-half-day-old babies were tested for preference in sequence rather than being given a choice; were tested in different viewing positions, some horizontal on their backs and some held in a parent's lap, which could affect their perception; inadequate efforts were made to ensure the sex of the subject was unknown to the tester at the time of the test; the authors assume, without justification, that newborn looking preferences are a reliable 'flag' for later social skills that are the product of a long and complex developmental process. In the third part of the book, "Recycling Gender", Fine discusses the highly gendered society in which children develop, and the contribution of that to the group identity processes that motivate children to 'self-socialize'. This challenges the common belief of parents that they tried gender-neutral parenting, but it didn't work. An overall thesis of the work is the negative impact for sex equality of neurosexism (popular or academic neuroscientific claims that reinforce or justify gender stereotypes in ways that are not scientifically justified).


Reception


Popular press

In the UK, the book received positive reviews in ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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'' and ''
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''. ''
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'' and the ''
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'' each chose it as a Book of the Year. It was Book of the Week in ''
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
''. In Australia, the book received positive reviews in ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', ''
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'' and ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
''. ''Delusions of Gender'' received positive reviews in the United States in ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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''. ''
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'' chose it for a starred review and as a Pick of the Week. More positive reviews came from ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''Out in Perth'', ''The Fat Quarter'', ''Erotic Review'', ''The F Word'', ''Counterfire'', ''Neuroskeptic'' (at ''
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'' magazine). ''
Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
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'' singled the book out for their readers. *2013
Warwick Prize for Writing The Warwick Prize for Writing was an international literary prize, worth £25,000, that was given biennially for writing excellence in the English language, in any genre or form, on a theme that changes with every award. It was launched by the Univ ...
, shortlist *2011 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, shortlist *2011, Best Book of Ideas, shortlist *2010, John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, shortlist


Academic reception

Developmental psychopathologist
Simon Baron-Cohen Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
, whose research is criticized in ''Delusions of Gender'', reviewed the book in ''
The Psychologist ''The Psychologist'' is the monthly publication of the British Psychological Society. It provides a forum for communication, discussion and controversy among all members of the society and helps it promote the advancement and diffusion of a knowle ...
'', saying Fine was "fusing science with politics", and that "Where I – and I suspect many other contemporary scientists – would part ways with Fine is in her strident, extreme denial of the role that biology might play in giving rise to any sex differences in the mind and brain. ...(she) ignores that you can be a scientist interested in the nature of sex differences while being a clear supporter of equal opportunities and a firm opponent of all forms of discrimination in society." Fine responded in a published letter, stating "The thesis of my book ..is that while social effects on sex differences are well-established, spurious results, poor methodologies and untested assumptions mean we don’t yet know whether, on average, males and females are born differently predisposed to systemizing versus empathising." Former APA President
Diane F. Halpern Diane F. Halpern is an American psychologist and former president of the American Psychological Association (APA). She is Dean of Social Science at the Minerva Schools at KGI ( Keck Graduate Institute) and also the McElwee Family Professor of Psy ...
reviewed the book in the journal ''
Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
'', concluding that it was "strongest in exposing research conclusions that are closer to fiction than science... utweakest in failing to also point out differences that are supported by a body of carefully conducted and well-replicated research", stating that Fine largely ignores the latter body of research. Stanford neurobiologist
Ben Barres Ben A. Barres (September 13, 1954 – December 27, 2017) was an American neurobiologist at Stanford University. His research focused on the interaction between neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. Beginning in 2008, he was chair of th ...
stated in a review for ''
PLOS Biology ''PLOS Biology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of biology. Publication began on October 13, 2003. It is the first journal published by the Public Library of Science. The editor-in-chief is Nonia Pariente. In ad ...
'' that Delusions of Gender "should be required reading for every neurobiology student, if not every human being". McCarthy and Ball (2011) reviewed the book in the journal ''
Biology of Sex Differences ''Biology of Sex Differences'' is an online-only open access scientific journal covering the biology, biological basis of sex differences in humans and other animals. It was established in 2010 and is published by BioMed Central on behalf of the O ...
'', stating "Prompting laypeople to adopt a more critical view of overly simplistic views of complex data sets is a goal any scientist can support, and for that we applaud (Fine's) efforts." They suggested that Fine's book presents an oversimplified and seriously distorted characterization of neuroscience as applied to the study of sex differences. They expressed disappointment that Fine's book "...can be vexing in the ways the scientific study of sex differences in brain and behavior is portrayed and (how) the current state-of-the-art is presented". Evolutionary biologist
Marlene Zuk Marlene Zuk (born May 20, 1956) is an American evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist and Ethology, behavioral ecologist. She worked as professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) until she transferred to the Univ ...
, reviewing the book with
Rebecca Jordan-Young Rebecca M. Jordan-Young (born 1963), is an American feminist scientist and gender studies scholar. Her research focuses on social medical science, sex, gender, sexuality, and epidemiology. She is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and ...
's ''Brain Storm'', in the ''Quarterly Review of Biology'' wrote: "It is important to emphasize that neither author advocates throwing the gender-neutral baby out with its pink or blue bathwater ... The books are good ammunition for arguments with people who think science has incontrovertibly shown biological bases for gender differences such as mathematical ability. At the same time, they are not simply claiming that “it is all culture” or that science can play no role in understanding gender. Both Fine and Jordan-Young want better science, not less of it."


See also

*
Gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
*
Implicit stereotypes In social identity theory, an implicit bias or implicit stereotype, is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group. Implicit stereotypes are thought to be shaped by experience and ...
*
Neurosexism Neurosexism is an alleged bias in the neuroscience of sex differences towards reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes. The term was coined by feminist scholar Cordelia Fine in a 2008 article and popularised by her 2010 book ''Delusions of Gender''. ...
*
Sex and intelligence Sex differences in human intelligence have long been a topic of debate among researchers and scholars. Most psychologists now believe that there are no significant sex differences in G factor (psychometrics), general intelligence, although abili ...
*
Sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
*
Stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

* – *{{cite AV media , url=http://fora.tv/2010/10/02/Cordelia_Fine_Delusions_of_Gender , title=Cordelia Fine: Delusions of Gender , publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation , work=FORA.tv , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830142119/http://fora.tv/2010/10/02/Cordelia_Fine_Delusions_of_Gender , archive-date=30 August 2013 , url-status=dead , format=video 2010 non-fiction books English-language books Gender studies books Neuroscience books Gender-related stereotypes W. W. Norton & Company books Sex differences in humans