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Delusions of Gender "In Delusions of Gender Cordelia Fine does a magnificent job debunking the so-called science, and especially the brain science, of gender. If you thought there were some inescapable facts about women's minds - some hard wiring that explains poor science and maths performance, or the ability to remember to buy the milk and arrange the holidays - you can put these on the rubbish heap. Instead, Fine shows that there are almost no areas of performance that are not touched by cultural stereotypes. This scholarly book will make you itch to press the delete button on so much nonsense, while being pure fun to read."
"Cordelia Fine has a first-rate intellect and writing talent to burn. In her new book, Delusions of Gender, she takes aim at the idea that male brains and female brains are 'wired differently,' leading men and women to act in a manner consistent with decades-old gender stereotypes. Armed with penetrating insights, a rapier wit, and a slew of carefully researched facts, Fine lowers her visor, lifts her lance, and attacks this idea full-force. Whether her adversaries can rally their forces and mount a successful counter-attack remains to be seen. What's certain at this point, however, is that in Delusions of Gender Cordelia Fine has struck a terrific first blow against what she calls 'neurosexism.'"
Delusions of Gender is a vehement attack on the latest pseudo-scientific claims about the differences between the sexes. "a fabulous combination of wit, passion, and scholarship ... This marvelous and important book will change the way readers view the gendered world." "Delusions of Gender takes on that tricky question, Why exactly are men from Mars and women from Venus?, and eviscerates both the neuroscientists who claim to have found the answers and the popularizers who take their findings and run with them. ... What all this adds up to, she says, is neurosexism. It's all in the brain. But Dr. Fine persuasively argues that it is, in fact, all in the mind. ... Dr. Fine's research is well documented, with 82 pages of footnotes. ... it's not too late to read this book and see how complex and fascinating the whole issue is." "Like Robert Wright [author of 'The Moral Animal'] ... Fine's greatest strength is her accessible voice and clear structure. Weaving together anecdotes, dense research and quotes from numerous experts, she offers a well-balanced testament to the many ways in which cultural rules inform behaviors often mistaken as organic to our brains, as opposed to learned. ... well-rendered and lucid ..." "an admirably fluent review of a gazillion brain-science studies." "Fine debunks the myth that men's and women's brains are hardwired differently" North America (Norton) |
