Robin McKie: It’s time for brain science to ditch the ‘Venus vs. Mars’ cliche

[YoungDemCA]

The response of the press was predictable. Once again scientists had “proved” that from birth men have brains which are hardwired to give us better spatial skills, to leave us bereft of empathy for others, and to make us run, like mascara, at the first hint of emotion. Equally, the team had provided an explanation for the “fact” that women cannot use corkscrews or park cars but can remember names and faces better than males. It is all written in our neurons at birth.

As I have said, I have read this sort of thing before. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now. It is biological determinism at its silly, trivial worst. Yes, men and women probably do have differently wired brains, but there is little convincing evidence to suggest these variations are caused by anything other than cultural factors. Males develop improved spatial skills not because of an innate superiority but because they are expected and encouraged to be strong at sport, which requires expertise at catching and throwing. Similarly, it is anticipated that girls will be more emotional and talkative, and so their verbal skills are emphasised by teachers and parents. As the years pass, these different lifestyles produce variations in brain wiring – which is a lot more plastic than most biological determinists realise. This possibility was simply not addressed by Verma and her team.

Equally, when gender differences are uncovered by researchers they are frequently found to be trivial, a point made by Robert Plomin, a professor of behavioural genetics at London’s Institute of Psychiatry, whose studies have found that a mere 3% of the variation in young children’s verbal development is due to their gender. “If you map the distribution of scores for verbal skills of boys and of girls, you get two graphs that overlap so much you would need a very fine pencil indeed to show the difference between them. Yet people ignore this huge similarity between boys and girls and instead exaggerate wildly the tiny difference between them. It drives me wild.”

snip:

A major problem is the lack of consistent work in the field, a point stressed to me in 2005 – during an earlier outbreak of brain-gender difference stories – by Professor Steve Jones, a geneticist at University College London, and author of Y: The Descent of Men. “Researching my book, I discovered there was no consensus at all about the science [of gender and brain structure],” he told me. “There were studies that said completely contradictory things about male and female brains. That means you can pick whatever study you like and build a thesis around it. The whole field is like that. It is very subjective. That doesn’t mean there are no differences between the brains of the sexes, but we should take care not to exaggerate them.”

Needless to say that is not what has happened over the years. Indeed, this has become a topic whose coverage has been typified mainly by flaky claims, wild hyperbole and sexism. It is all very depressing. The question is: why has this happened? Why is there such divergence in explanations for the differences in mental abilities that we observe in men and women? And why do so many people want to exaggerate them so badly?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/08/its-time-for-brain-science-to-ditch-the-venus-vs-mars-cliche/

[arcane1]

1. "You throw like a girl"

[niyad]

2. can't use a corkscrew? it sure as hell has not been some y-chro opening my wine bottles all these

Last edited Sun Dec 8, 2013, 10:08 PM - Edit history (1)

years.

thanks for posting.

[xulamaude]

3. I can pound a beer, crush the can on my forehead

and burp really loudly afterwards.

Does that make me a man? Or just obnoxious and stupid?

[niyad]

4. wellll, since we do not live in a culture where it is considered good manners, and a compliment to

the host, to burp. . . .

[xulamaude]

5. Jokes aside, I am interested to read the article

and compare it to something I read recently (written by a 'newer' feminist blogger) on the same subject.

Thanks for posting the link

[ismnotwasm]

6. What I like about the study

Is scientists all over the place had to tell the Evo-psych crowd that they were drawing erroneous conclusions from it. It was hilarious

[seabeyond]

7. then men that have gone to embracing the evo are the ones not using religion. that is the only

difference. more than anything they need to create a distinction between the genders to maintain their dominance and control, as they watch it slipping thru their fingers.

[redqueen]

8. "...why do so many people want to exaggerate them so badly?"

Because those who like the way things are don't want it to change. Those who think women are "equal enough" are desperate to maintain the status quo.

We are seeing the backlash to increasing awareness of rape culture, street harassment, objectification, etc. manifesting in many ways.

The harder they push back, the louder we have to get, and the harder we have to fight.