Delusions of Gender

How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference

De: Cordelia Fine

Narrado por: Maria Brendel

It's the 21st century, and although we tried to rear unisex children - boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks - we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay comfortably beneath it. And everywhere we hear about vitally important "hardwired" differences between male and female brains. The neuroscience that we read about in magazines, newspaper articles, books, and sometimes even scientific journals increasingly tells a tale of two brains, and the result is more often than not a validation of the status quo. Women, it seems, are just too intuitive for math; men too focused for housework.

Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Cordelia Fine debunks the myth of hardwired differences between men’s and women's brains, unraveling the evidence behind such claims as men's brains aren't wired for empathy and women's brains aren't made to fix cars. She then goes one step further, offering a very different explanation of the dissimilarities between men's and women's behavior. Instead of a "male brain" and a "female brain", Fine gives us a glimpse of plastic, mutable minds that are continuously influenced by cultural assumptions about gender.

Passionately argued and unfailingly astute, Delusions of Gender provides us with a much-needed corrective to the belief that men's and women's brains are intrinsically different - a belief that, as Fine shows with insight and humor, all too often works to the detriment of ourselves and our society.

©2010 Cordelia Fine (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Fine's] sharp tongue is tempered with humor.... Read this book and see how complex and fascinating the whole issue is." ( The New York Times)

Strongly backed up by research

The author was very effective in presenting copious research studies surrounding gender while keeping the overall narritive continuously interesting and engaging. Excellent book on the subject.

Great listen!

The book is interesting and full of well thought out research and arguments. The performance definitely adds to the story, it's probably one of the best I've heard. Would definitely recommend this book to friends interested in the topic!

Necessary reading

We like to congratulate ourselves often for living in an age of scientific objectivity, unclouded by gender stereotypes of past generations who used science to prove why men are superior to women. Fine, study by study, demonstrates why our self-congratulations is unfounded.

Valuable discussion of Gender but way too long

Message and ideas could have been delivered in a much more concise manner. While I was convinced message was aligned with my personal outlook. I don't think data is rigorous enough to convince a die hard neurosexist and way too repetitive for me... having said this I did find the ideas themselves worthwhile.

Great information, good narration

Great information, good narration, but not quite a 5 star book. The best parts are where the author debunks poorly designed neuroscience studies.

Informative, interesting, inspiring

This book was really informative, interesting, and inspiring to me. I feel like the studies cited were done thoroughly and well and I just found the content so intriguing, as I’m newer to these types of topics. I definitely recommend, it’s worth the read.

Very well written, highly informative

The author did a great job at pointing out the bad designs, poor scientific methodology, and outright fabrications of those who purport a difference in innate ability between the sexes. highly recommend.

I would have appreciated more about how gender stereotyping harms males though. It does take a primary focus on women. It would also be beneficial to include studies of trans and non-binary people's biology and lived experiences.

Brilliant discussion of gender myths

I’ve been waiting for this book all my life. I have long felt that gender stereotypes are harmful for everyone, particularly women, who are still perceived - subliminally if not overtly - as limited and less important to society than men. Such a waste of human potential and creativity! We’ve made inroads - it’s not 100 years ago anymore - but the ubiquity of gendered roles in our society continues to constrain people and justify a variety of prejudices against women that deeply affect our lives. Fine gives us everything we need to defy these stereotypes and help us create a world in which being human is the most important thing. Excellent narration as well.

Nuanced, fascinating review of science of gender

Cordelia Fine presents a balanced and surprisingly fascinating look at the research into the neuroscience and social psychology of purported "hard-wired" gender differences. While her agenda is obvious, her findings are significantly less so. She makes a legitimate effort to be unbiased and look at the relevant questions with critical thought and an eye for detail, and her resulting findings are insightful and nuanced, as well as very approachable. Maria Brendel does a fine job of the reading, and I found that I (who often bogs down in nonfiction) was riveted throughout the book.

Overall five-star rating notwithstanding, the book isn't perfect. Fine can be sarcastic, and sometimes comes off as a bit smug (and I don't think that was all the reader's interpretation). I can see this being off-putting to readers who are already wary of her premise. There are also a few instances in the book where I wished she had elaborated more fully on the studies discussed. When picking studies apart for overlooking details, it does not do to gloss over potentially relevant details oneself.

And it's worth noting that as a woman who has spent the last decade in a traditionally masculine field, I found parts of the book not just personally relevant, but actually kind of stressful and disheartening as I saw several of my own insecurities and patterns of behavior reflected in Fine's research. Fellow female readers, caveat lector.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this, highly. If you are at all interested in the scientific basis for gender differences, read this book. If you are at all interested in the social influences on gender differences, read this book. If you are a woman working in a male-dominated field, or working at all (paid or otherwise), or a man working with women in any field, or a parent considering how best to raise children who embrace diversity and equality, read this book. It has left me with considerable food for thought on all of these topics and more.

Very educational, balanced writing, eye-opening

Well researched, well argued, though I acknowledge that I already share the same views as the author and am biased as such. Good balance of technicality, anecdotes, and humor. I thought the author made a few digs at opposing researchers that were a little too ad hominem, but to be honest I can't blame her too much. Definitely raised my awareness of neurosexism and the concerning existence of "neuro-nonsense". Would recommend!