A fascinating, greatly contemplative discussion of sex and gender and the embedded societal expectations of both.
A cerebral assessment of gender, society, and sexuality.
Lighter and more readily accessible than her former tome on the differences between male and female brains, Delusions of Gender (2010), this book offers an impressively nuanced and balanced amalgam of research, case studies, and anecdotal material on how the hormonal monster of her title, with all its impulses and hard-wired biological processes, is an antiquated beast. In three lucidly rendered sections, Fine (Organized Psychology/Melbourne Business School) discusses outmoded principles of sexual selection based on tenets developed through early teachings of evolutionary biology, fruit fly observations, and the promiscuous male “reproductive success” paradigm espoused by British biologist Angus Bateman. Fine is most compelling when she addresses more progressive views of gender construction, the flexibility and dynamism of sex, gender socialization, and how the notion of sex differentiation encompasses much more than we previously thought. These theories are, of course, appropriately buttressed by new, eye-opening research that basically declares, “sex isn’t the basic, determining factor in brain development that it is for the reproductive system”—nor is it the same for male competitiveness or financial risk-taking. Throughout her book, Fine looks beyond sexuality and astutely argues that testosterone, formerly thought of as the built-in power source for top-down dominant behavior sets, is now challenged as “neither the king nor the king maker” and, in fact, readily and uniformly “reinforces an unequal status quo.” The author intelligently excavates this terrain to expose pointed truths about misled gender expectations related to child care and workplace hierarchies, and she dismisses the tropes and the societal dinosaurs keeping sexual inequality afloat today. A concluding chapter on the future looks forward to the prospect of gender equality through the lens of biological sex while noting that “words are nice, but often deeds work better.”
A fascinating, greatly contemplative discussion of sex and gender and the embedded societal expectations of both.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-393-08208-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.
Known for her often contentious perspectives, New York Times opinion writer Weiss battles societal Jewish intolerance through lucid prose and a linear playbook of remedies.
While she was vividly aware of anti-Semitism throughout her life, the reality of the problem hit home when an active shooter stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue where her family regularly met for morning services and where she became a bat mitzvah years earlier. The massacre that ensued there further spurred her outrage and passionate activism. She writes that European Jews face a three-pronged threat in contemporary society, where physical, moral, and political fears of mounting violence are putting their general safety in jeopardy. She believes that Americans live in an era when “the lunatic fringe has gone mainstream” and Jews have been forced to become “a people apart.” With palpable frustration, she adroitly assesses the origins of anti-Semitism and how its prevalence is increasing through more discreet portals such as internet self-radicalization. Furthermore, the erosion of civility and tolerance and the demonization of minorities continue via the “casual racism” of political figures like Donald Trump. Following densely political discourses on Zionism and radical Islam, the author offers a list of bullet-point solutions focused on using behavioral and personal action items—individual accountability, active involvement, building community, loving neighbors, etc.—to help stem the tide of anti-Semitism. Weiss sounds a clarion call to Jewish readers who share her growing angst as well as non-Jewish Americans who wish to arm themselves with the knowledge and intellectual tools to combat marginalization and defuse and disavow trends of dehumanizing behavior. “Call it out,” she writes. “Especially when it’s hard.” At the core of the text is the author’s concern for the health and safety of American citizens, and she encourages anyone “who loves freedom and seeks to protect it” to join with her in vigorous activism.
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-593-13605-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2019
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
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