Reviews for Why Gender Matters What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex ...

The average rating for Why Gender Matters What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex ... based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-03-03 00:00:00 Andrew Nagy This guy is nothing short of a neo-Nazi. His approach to gender and anthropology belongs in the nineteenth century--and has the same reasoning. For instance, he claims that the sizes of women's and men's brains are what contribute to each respective sex's intellectual inhibitions and/or talents. (i.e., men excell at math because they have larger brains; boys misbehave because they do not hear as well as girls; etc.) The claim that one sex performs better in one academic arena whereas the other sex excels at another is a problematic argument in itself to say the least. I know women who excel at chemistry and men whose ability to write and express themselves borders on the poetic. Dividing the entire population into such categories AND placating this argument on supposed "scientific" evidence is not only violent, but dangerous. This filth that is somehow regarded as "unbiased" gender analysis is disgusting in that Sax's arguments only reiterate his own biases--which he apparently has never explored nor even considered. His claim that EVERY "fact" he states in this book is based on "science" is but another indicator of Sax's subconscious and repressed prejudices. In other words, he feels that by hiding behind science he can state whatever he wishes without any threat of accusation. The irony is his very use of science and proclamation that science is unquestionable, indisputable is not only false, but just another indicator of how, frankly, stupid this man is. His arguments are essentialist and ignore the fluidity of gender; in fact, he sees no fluidity in gender! What makes no sense (among other things)is that he claims gender is not a social construction at all; he thinks everything (yes, everything) associated with gender is "natural" and "biological." His assessment and "cure" for homosexuality is equally offensive, claiming gay men can be "cured" by having sex with a woman but imagining her as a man. Yes, this makes perfect sense! I encourage anyone who found this book useful to read Sandra Harding. She claims that our concept of "science" is more respected because we associate it with being emotionless, analytical, unbiased, unarguable--all qualities we associate with masculinity. She says science is just as malleable and gray as any "feminine" discipline, such as English Literature. I state this because Sax claims his argument is the best because it is scientific, as though using "science" makes his claims indisputable. What nonsense. I am disturbed by how many people like this book or claimed they learned a lot from it. Sax is someone who would have seriously benefited from a Women's Studies class--or at least reading Foucault. This book could be very dangerous when in the wrong hands, and I denounce everything he claims. Let's not forget how the "science" of the nineteenth century which claimed slavery was justified because of the sizes of people's skulls affected our culture....

Review # 2 was written on 2015-06-10 00:00:00 Eko Hardjo Great information here on the current state of brain science with regard to the differences between boys and girls. Some fascinating stuff here. At the same time, Dr. Sax sometimes wanders off into telling some off-the-track pediatrician anecdotes. He also sometimes flinches when giving us the bottom line. He will say something like this: "I don't want to go back to the bad old days of woodworking for boys and home economics for girls. But we need to recognize that our society lost something . . ." Yeah, we lost woodworking for boys and home ec for girls. I don't know why he is so diffident in his conclusions when he is so courageous in stating the actual state of the research. Dr. Sax does not have a biblical worldview and so the end result is a mish-mash. But the mish in here is dazzlingly illuminating.