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1-Page Summary of Delusions of Gender
Overall Summary
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society and Neurosexism Create Difference is a book that seeks to debunk the idea that men and women have different brains. The author uses a thorough analysis of neurological studies and interviews with scientists to show how our minds are not as different as we think they are.
In Delusions of Gender, Fine takes a comprehensive look at the field of neuroscience and observes that there is sexism in this field. She also states that the gender stereotypes promoted by neurosexism have real-world consequences, such as holding women back in their careers. The author offers several suggestions for how to change gender biases in society.
The book is divided into three parts: the first part discusses the origins and persistence of gender stereotyping. The second part focuses on how stereotypes affect human behavior, as well as studies that have been done on gender differences in the brain. The third part examines how stereotypes are perpetuated through children’s lives.
Fine provides a wide range of studies and research that show how gender is not innate. She debunks many studies that purport to prove such differences, often discovering poor assumptions in their design and execution.
The book discusses how malleable human identity is. While popular discourse would have us believe that the brain is hardwired, with innate and unchangeable proclivities programmed in, Fine argues that it’s actually more nuanced than we think. On the basis of numerous studies that demonstrate how people adjust their self-perception, behavior, and capabilities to meet societal gender expectations, Fine maintains that sexist stereotypes are both self-perpetuating and far from inevitable.
Introduction
Fine begins her argument by stating that there is a history of “neurosexism” in which the brain has been explained as being different between men and women. She also notes that this way of thinking has been used to explain why certain jobs are dominated by one gender or another, and even why some people have more trouble dealing with their emotions than others. Fine states that since we’ve always made judgments about what makes men and women different, those judgments were based on whatever ideas of manhood or womanhood were culturally dominant at the time, and they often supported those predetermined conclusions.
Much of the research on brain differences between men and women has been flawed. The author writes about this in a book called Delusions of Gender.
Part 1, Chapter 1: “We Think, Therefore You Are”
Our self-concept is heavily influenced by gender expectations. Our perception of others’ perceptions of us can alter our personality and behavior without us realizing it.
In several studies, subjects who were asked to talk about gender stereotypes or note their own gender before assessing themselves took on the stereotypical characteristics of those genders. They also rated themselves higher in areas traditionally associated with their sex. For example, if a woman wrote as someone from another country and was asked about her math ability after that exercise, she would rate herself as more skilled at math than she had previously.
These changes in self-concept can be very slight, but they can change how we view ourselves and what we do. A malleable self-concept is useful because it helps us to wear the right hat for every occasion. It’s not hardwired like a lot of people think, just flexible and context sensitive.
