Testosterone Rex
2017 • 272 pages
Ratings3
Average rating4
15
Ratings3
Average rating4
Challenges conventional beliefs about evolutionary factors that are used to justify gender politics, outlining arguments against cultural stereotypes, in a call for a more equal society that recognizes the potential of both sexes.
"Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental, diverging force in human development. According to this overly familiar story, differences between the sexes are shaped by past evolutionary pressures--women are more cautious and parenting-focused, while men seek status to attract more mates. In each succeeding generation, sex hormones and male and female brains are thought to continue to reinforce these unbreachable distinctions, making for entrenched inequalities in modern society. In Testosterone Rex, psychologist Cordelia Fine wittily explains why past and present sex roles are only serving suggestions for the future, revealing a much more dynamic situation through an entertaining and well-documented exploration of the latest research that draws on evolutionary science, psychology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and philosophy. She uses stories from daily life, scientific research, and common sense to break through the din of cultural assumptions. Testosterone, for instance, is not the potent hormonal essence of masculinity; the presumed, built-in preferences of each sex, from toys to financial risk taking, are turned on their heads. Moving beyond the old "nature versus nurture" debates, Testosterone Rex disproves ingrained myths and calls for a more equal society based on both sexes' full, human potential."--Dust jacket.
Reviews with the most likes.
So much research these days claims to find testosterone-this or hardwired-gender-difference-that. Risk-taking, competitiveness, ability, even childhood toy preference. Cordelia Fine somewhat exasperatedly follows up with crucial context—“the rest of the story,” if you will: yes, but this study didn't consider corticoid levels; yes, but that other study neglected such-and-such findings; and most crucially yes, but it's staggeringly difficult to isolate this effect from social and cultural factors. Nevertheless, she persiidentifies clever ways in which these issues have been studied, and the gist is: context matters. A lot.Science requires reproducibility. Reproducible results are best obtained when there are a small number of variables—hard to achieve with something as richly messy as a human life. Once one compensates for the factors overlooked in much research, plus publication bias, plus just plain built-in human bias, few effects survive scrutiny. Yes, we're different—deliciously so, in my view!—but not in any way that affects ability. Not even in the slightest bit.Fine writes with a sardonic bite that worked well to start with but grew tiresome. I was also highly disappointed in her somewhat off-context quoting of [a:Robert Sapolsky 187 Robert M. Sapolsky https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234040721p2/187.jpg]—a hero of mine—and her failure to acknowledge his groundbreaking work decades ago in [b:breaking down testosterone myths 20668 The Trouble with Testosterone and Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament Robert M. Sapolsky https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442520163s/20668.jpg 21856]. And, dear FSM, what has happened to proofreading? Much as I want to grant four stars, much as I think this is important work that needs to be read, I can only justify three. (Goodreads, could we have fractional stars please?)On a side note, I find myself fortunate to have read this just before and just after the 2018 Women's March where I was surrounded by thousands of strong, powerful, capable human beings of all genders and colors, many of whom are living under the culturally-imposed “oh, you just aren't able to do these sorts of things.” All of whom categorically reject that, as does Fine and as do I and, I trust, you. #resist.And on another side note: if you're interested in these sorts of gender issues, I urge you to listen to this episode of the Hidden Brain podcast in which two progressive parents attempt to raise their children free of gender stereotypes and much loveliness ensues.
