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I am currently reading this incredibly fascinating book called The Female Brain, which discusses the structural, chemical, and neurological uniqueness of women’s brains. It is not a ‘hard’ read; a lot of the stuff discussed in the book is based on things I was already aware of from reading various articles about biological gender differences. Of course it won’t be correct about everything it states, nor does it claim to, it is simply an over-view of the female brain structure.
Feminists don’t like this book.
This is a book that is written with a very positive, pro-women stance. It is written by a neuropsychiatrist with over twenty decades of training and research, with the purpose of helping mothers understand their daughters, and women everywhere understand our unique brains. It will certainly help men understand why women think less about sex than they do (less testosterone), and examines the behaviour of little girls using case studies. Because of the uniqueness of the female brain, women:
- are better at reading facial expressions and recognising emotional cues than men
- possess a strong emotional intelligence and high level of empathy
- can form close friendships faster and earlier than boys
- are better at social communication and forming teams and communities than men
- experience radical hormonal shifts during the month which rapidly effects our emotional state
- are more likely to remember small details of things, especially emotional events
- tend to use relational aggression and covert hostility rather than direct aggression (which makes it easier for girls to gang up on another girl without appearing outwardly cruel)
- are more motivated by relationships and family rather than pursuing a high-powered career (hence why many women who become pregnant leave their jobs or opt for part-time work)
Some of these things are neither good-nor-bad, but what they show is that, because of female hormones like oestrogen and oxytocin, and differences in brain structure (larger hippocampus and amygdala), women (ON AVERAGE) show strengths in empathy; communication, nurturing behaviour, friendship, memory, care-taking, as well as manipulation, passive-aggression, and neuroticism.
The book does not state that all women are like this, nor does it insist that biology determines our anatomy. It simply highlights the importance of brain differences AS WELL AS looking at how our environment shapes us. But the female brain shapes us and our environment moulds us, NOT the other way around.
Some of the reactions to this book by feminists are proof that the feminist movement IS NOT about highlighting and celebrating the uniqueness of being female. Feminists don’t care about women. They don’t care about the strengths that women possess in comparison to men, and how these strengths can be harnessed and nurtured. They want us to ignore biology and ONLY look at ‘socialisation’ of gender, without recognising that socialisation comes from our biological wiring.
Denying the biological roots of gender is similar to thinking that vaccines cause autism; the earth is flat, or the tooth fairy is real. Even transgender people are concrete proof that gender IS rooted in biology and brain structure (and I am sure many would admit as such, considering the fact that they HAVE TO TAKE HORMONES WHEN TRANSITIONING). When a girl plays with dolls and a boy plays with a firetruck, it is not ‘oppressive’. They are just behaving in their natural gender role.
Feminists typically view being ‘caring’ and ‘nurturing’ as weak, instead of celebrating feminine behavioural traits.
I was raised in a household with a younger brother and two parents, and I don’t at all remember them ‘socialising’ us to behave in a certain way based on our gender. My brother and I mainly played together with stuffed animals and snails and worms in the garden. I liked dressing up as a princess and my brother liked Thomas the Tank Engine. That one would call this ‘oppression based on socially constructed gender expectations’ is sheer utter nonsense.
I decided to take a look at the one-star reviews for a ‘counter’ text, titled Delusions of Gender. Unsurprisingly, the critical reviews were much calmer and more pragmatic of this text. That book was, naturally, written by a feminist, and pandered to the tiresome ‘gender is a social construct’ narrative that has been plaguing Western academia for ages now.
The irony of assuming that ‘gender is a social construct’ is that this ignores women’s strengths. When we appreciate the strengths and capabilities of women, and appreciate the female role, we actually empower women. Until feminists start appreciating and celebrating female behaviour, feminism will continue to remain a movement that, ironically, is the most misogynistic movement of all. Because it seems that the ones who claim everyone else hates women, are themselves the biggest haters of women. This shows in their hatred of the female brain.
