About book Delusions Of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, And Neurosexism Create Difference (2010)
I probably would have finished this book, but I had to return it to the library 2/3 of the way through. What I liked best was that the author used humor when discussing what otherwise might have been very dry material. However, I doubt this material will be earth-shattering for anyone who's had a few women's studies classes in college.On p. 91 she summed up the problems I have with some of the "complimentarian" views, especially those expressed in conservative religion:"When a child clings on to a highly desirable toy and claims that his companion 'doesn't want to play with it,' I have found that it is wise to be suspicious."It seems a little too convenient that the most powerful and prestigious positions in society just happen to be the kind of jobs that men are "made" to do. This book is an excellent read for anyone who wants to see the myths about the so-called biology of gender roles debunked - or for anyone who still believes in them. Fine builds a solid case against those myths, and proves that they are only supported by projections onto - sometimes dubious - scientific material of beliefs omnipresent in our society. It is very unlikely that gender dictates significant differences in interest and abilities, and it doesn't make sense to try to find any when an explanation is so much more readily found in the society we live in, pervaded as it is by expectations and stereotypes based on gender. I have, however, only given this books three stars because it is disappointingly heterocentrist and cissexist. When discussing gender roles in a familial context, it would have been logical to compare other-gender couples with same-gender ones. And, no, not all boys have penises, nor do only boys have penises, nor, for that matter, are boy and girl the only options. It also subscribed to a very unilateral view of feminism, that is to say, to the idea that women in typically "male" activities are laudable - whether we are talking about a little girl climbing trees or a grown woman who is a world-class surgeon - but most typically "female" activities are less worthy of praise for women, and in all honesty quite ludicrous for men. This aside, it was a very interesting book, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about how society and our own psychology interact to create gendered expectations as we know them today.
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everyone should read this! Such an eye-opener. Made me rethink how I see the world.
—coconad
