Sexing the Brain [Hardcover]

Lesley Rogers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231120109 | ISBN-13: 978-0231120104 | Publication Date: February 15, 2001 | Edition: 1

How much of sexual diversity is the result of nature versus nurture? Prevailing theories today lean heavily toward nature. Now a leading researcher in neuroscience and animal behavior shows how, in recent history, scientific claims about sex and gender differences have reflected the culture of the time. Although the conviction that genetics can explain everything is now widespread, the author demonstrates the interaction of culture and environment in the formation of behavioral traits. Sexing the Brain addresses questions such as: 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 influences have a stronger influence on sexual behavior than hormone levels? Rogers concludes that "our biology does not bind us to remain the same.... We have the ability to change, and the future of sex differences belongs to us."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The question of free will versus predestination is an old one in theology. It is a commonplace of science as well, emerging in recent years in claims that human sexuality is an expression of biological inheritance alone, that sexual orientation is genetically encoded and thus immutable.

In this slender, provocative book, a volume in the series Maps of the Mind, neuroscientist Lesley Rogers examines the evidence for and against gene-deterministic views of sex differences, ranging from 19th-century attempts to prove that women are intellectually inferior because their brains, on average, weigh 10 percent less than men's ("There is no difference between the sexes," Rogers observes, "when brain weight is adjusted for body size") to more recent efforts to isolate a "gay gene." Such research, Rogers holds, fails to take into account cultural reasons for sex differences in brain function, which "are manifestations of social values held at a particular time." Among those values are an apparent educational segregation that produces boys with superior mathematical and spatial abilities and girls with superior verbal skills--a differentiation that has no proven biological basis, just as, Rogers argues, "sexual preference is not likely to depend on a single gene, a single neurotransmitter, or a single place in the brain." Rogers's book is certain not to be the last word on the subject, but those who consider nurture to be at least as important as nature in shaping the self will find fuel for their arguments in Rogers's antireductionist views. --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal

Rogers, a professor of neuroscience and animal behavior at the University of New England (Australia), argues that the scientific basis for genetic explanations of sexual differentiation is shaky. She traces the history of thought regarding sexual differences, summarizes the latest techniques used to study such differences, and discusses factors that might account for sexual differentiation. While highly critical of simplistic explanations of sex differences in brain structure and function, Rogers urges scientists to develop well-controlled experiments that consider the complex set of social events that can affect behavior. Experience, the author believes, can alter the biology of the brain. An individual's development, moreover, is a complex interweaving of genetic, hormonal, and environmental processes. Rogers challenges claims for the existence of a "gay gene" and the ambiguous evidence pointing to sexual differences in brain lateralization. Her feminist perspective will undoubtedly raise hackles, especially when she suggests that politicians may use dubious scientific interpretation to justify social policies maintaining inequality. Appropriate for academic and large public libraries.DLaurie Bartolini, Illinois State Lib., Springfield
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press; 1 edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231120109
• ISBN-13: 978-0231120104
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,401,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars restoring a balance, July 30, 2009

By 

A. G. Plumb "Greg Plumb" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sexing the Brain (Paperback)

Lesley Roger's message is loud and clear - how we behave (as a community, as a male or female, as heterosexual or homosexual - even as asexual.......) is dependent on so many factors - environmental, cultural, hormonal .... Any attempt to reduce behaviour to one of these factors is misguided.

Consequently the book debunks or challenges much that has been investigated in a search to show the influence (and for some, determination) of biological factors such as hormones. Perhaps my biggest disappointment in the book is that so much of it attacks research results rather than use research results that support the message. And disappointment I did have in the book, even though I agree with much that I read (such as the criticism of Matt Ridley's 'The Red Queen').

But hormones do affect behaviour - of that there can be no doubt. Consequently men and women - as groups - will be different. What hormones don't do is dominate behaviour.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex biasing errors are surveyed, May 20, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sexing the Brain (Hardcover)

While scientific investigation is supposed to be dispassionate, in reality science's claims about sex and gender differences have more reflected cultural standards than objective research: that's the contention of Lesley Rogers' Sexing The Brain which shows how the interplay between culture, environment and behavior contributes to gender trends. Sex biasing errors are surveyed, with studies backing her probe.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars behind the headlines, July 25, 2007

By 

A. Kent (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sexing the Brain (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for anyone that has ever wondered whether there really is any difference between the sexes when it comes to mental capacity and mental processes.

The authors willingness to examine the research, data, and methodologies that sit behind the headlines is excellent. Also the links she draws between cultural belief and research methodologies is also insightful.

If you want to win sexist arguments, this book should be in your armoury.