Why gender matters reviews

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Definitely get the edition of this book. It's not, at least not fully. Culture extends biology. As we age, after puberty, the differences decrease. Boys often feel stupid in kindergarten as they're not ready to learn what used to be the first grade curriculum yet while girls are. It's often better to keep the boys in preschool another year.

Of course, the difference between the sexes is not a single dimension absolute, it's a range that is indicative. A harsh word was all the discipline the first needed while I sometimes thought a baseball bat wouldn't get through to the other.

Females have almost twice as much of their brain devoted to smelling than males. Boys don't hear as well, so a teacher generally has to speak about 8 decibles louder for them while fathers often have to make an effort not to speak so loudly to their teenage girls or else they seem to be shouting. Asking for more money is aggressive, risky behavior. Male primates from monkeys to humans are 10 times as likely to engage in risky behavior. I wish I'd read it way back when, but much of the data wasn't even available for the first edition of this book.

Again, read the latest edition! His take on violent video games was interesting, although it seemed a bit alarmist to me. Both sexes had issues, but especially the girl with social media. One was that MRIs have shown that females use more of the frontal cortex when aroused than men. In men, higher thinking often shuts down, which is in line with Robin Williams' assertion, "God gave man a brain and a penis and only enough blood to run one at a time.

He presents homosexuality really well using the example of left-handedness. Sax doesn't advocate single sex schools in this edition. He specifically says not in the appendix. He does use many as examples, though. He makes a great case for why gender does matter, but also discusses the outliers including gender reassignment with common sense approaches. View all 6 comments. Jan 22, Bridget rated it did not like it. I am going to write this review by taking this book on its word that the scientific research is accurate that is another debate - even with that assumption the arguments and conclusions made are very troubling and problematic: - Contrary opinions are presented as straw men, despite having their own scientific research to back them up.

View all 10 comments. Aug 24, Kaethe marked it as stricken. View all 14 comments. Feb 17, Aaron rated it it was ok. Worth reading, but Sax goes way too far with the gender essentialism arguments. Often he does not provide enough evidence for a reasonable person to agree with him. He also gets too finger-wagging about teenage sexual culture and makes implausible claims about the damage it does.

I found myself becoming increasingly skeptical of his claims towards the end of the book. He ends by making an absurd and unconvincing case for gender segregation in K education. The science of gender difference cert Worth reading, but Sax goes way too far with the gender essentialism arguments. The science of gender difference certainly shows us that teachers must construct their lessons carefully, so that both boys and girls' needs are met, but gender segregation would do more harm than good.

View all 4 comments. Apr 16, Lyn rated it it was amazing. This book was so good. The author provides a lot of advice on how to parent and teach boys vs girls and especially on some difficult topics such as drugs and sex. My mom would definitely approve on the section on discipline she teaches middle schoolers and we talk about this topic a lot This book was so good.

My mom would definitely approve on the section on discipline she teaches middle schoolers and we talk about this topic a lot - especially as it relates to her students!! In previous generations, parents didn't "consult" or "ask" or "suggest" that their children do things - they expected it. TV's in bedrooms, computer privileges, expectations of behavior because their child would get angry with them what?!

I obviously agree with the author - sometimes my implementation may be flawed, but I definitely agree!! One thing to note - I've seen over and over again where studies show that dinner time has a significant impact on how well children do. This author talks about that as well.

View 1 comment. Jan 30, Mel rated it did not like it Shelves: for-class. I wish I hadn't assigned this, I knew it had an essentialist position boys and girls are different, so they should be treated as though they're different but I had no idea this guy was so lacking in logic or critical thinking.

His conclusions are farfetched based on the evidence he provides, and he offers trite 'examples' which sound absolutely as stereotypical as possible, highlighting how absolutely different girls and boys and men and women can be I had no idea boys had to kill a Blech. I had no idea boys had to kill a living thing in order to feel self-esteem, did you? Will never use this in class again- wanted my students to use it for critical thinking and the bits of good research it provides, but I overlooked his ridiculous writing style and agenda.

Mar 24, Sariah rated it did not like it. I decided to read this because Sax's work was referenced in a very good NY Times Magazine article about single sex education I am glad to be informed of Sax's views, but I do not agree with many of them.

For example, Sax would view Owen as an "anomalous male" because he loves to cook and bake, and would encourage us as parents to deprive him of opportunities to be in the kitchen and instead sign him up for football, preferably tackle. This is in order to prevent "problems" for him in life late I decided to read this because Sax's work was referenced in a very good NY Times Magazine article about single sex education This is in order to prevent "problems" for him in life later.

Come on. Feb 07, Hannah rated it did not like it. Complete and utter drivel. Sax jumped from an interesting hypothesis: biological differences between the sexes matter to how we teach and parent kids to a gender essentialist platform filled with his own prejudices and speculation. Choice gems include an endorsement of spanking for boys only! Jun 12, Audrey rated it it was ok. I loved Dr. Sax's other book written after this one , Boys Adrift, but I really didn't care for this one.

The first few chapters WERE really interesting and contained information that the title led me to believe would be found within. Perhaps it is worth reading the book just for these very interesting chapters. But the rest of the book degenerated into a typical parenting book with lots of lectures and opinion, the focus on "difficult" children with "serious" problems.

Sax makes himself so I loved Dr. Sax makes himself sound like one of those doctors who knows best--his examples were rife with hapless parents who were either set straight by the good doctor OR who disregarded the doctor's advice and rued the day. Then there was the entire chapter teen sex and another on homosexuality in children, both troubling.

This book walks in alarmist territory and states unequivocally that bad behavior is widespread. It talks too much about managing bad children and not enough about raising good ones. And I have trouble getting past the impression that this book after the first few chapters is a collection of his opinions backed up by various research studies and we all know that research studies are out there to back up just about ANY opinion.

Sax was offering a point of view supported by research, naturally that the reader was free to believe or disbelieve. This book was much more opinionated. Didn't like that. Read Boys Adrift, though--it was great!

Jun 12, Jared rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction , This book is phenomenal. The author talks about the emerging research into the fundamental differences between boys and girls. He also debunks a lot of commonly believed false differences. It's really amazing that psychologists and teachers had to go through forty years of unisex philosophy, thinking that boys and girls are different only because we raise them that way, when any parent of more than one gender can tell you that there are very distinct mental and emotional differences between them This book is phenomenal.

It's really amazing that psychologists and teachers had to go through forty years of unisex philosophy, thinking that boys and girls are different only because we raise them that way, when any parent of more than one gender can tell you that there are very distinct mental and emotional differences between them. Even better than his explanations of the research, though, are his comments about how to apply the research to raising kids.

The studies that point out that boys and girls are more confident and happier when they have a firm sense of gender identity are fascinating. And I never expected to develop sympathy for the idea of gender-segregated schools, but his comments on the topic and why it's valuable make me wish that we had schools like that nearby.

View all 5 comments. I could not finish this book. The science is sketchy, and twisted to favor the authors very biased, sexist views. Avoiding this book would be an unparalleled act of self-compassion.

If you tried to read it but couldn't, treat yourself to icecream, you did good. I spent roughly I could not finish this book. I spent roughly twenty minutes on this conservative wet dream, and am highly annoyed I won't be getting those twenty minutes back. Leonard Sax's Why Gender Matters sets out to persuade that biology plays a significant role in how gender works, that we are not born androgynous blank slates that are molded by societal expectations and enculturation alone, and purports to back up his claims with data from scientific studies.

Also unsurprising, given Sax's ideological leanings, is his unsympathetic look at the allegedly growing eagerness of parents to support children who exhibit gender non-conforming behavior or experience gender dysphoria by wondering whether it means their child will someday have same-sex attractions or is transgender.

Sax is alarmed by the recent practice of "gender affirmation," which in Sax's view means that caregivers immediately interpret gender dysphoria as an unambiguous sign of being transgender and "change his name to a girl's name and send him to school in a dress" without a second thought. Irrespective of Sax's characterization of current practices, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health WPATH , in their Standards of Care , recommends, prior to the initiation of social transition or any hormone or surgical treatments, a careful investigation of each patient's history of gender dysphoria and a thorough discussion of the risks and potential benefits of social transition and gender-affirming medical procedures.

Sax may be reassured that even in our interesting era, jumping to conclusions is no one's idea of competent healthcare. It is in his discussion of gender-atypical children that Sax shows some of the personal vulnerabilities that seem to motivate his defense of parents who hope their children will conform to gender expectations.

This treatment led Sax to become a lonely and withdrawn boy. Sax assures us that "anomalous" or gender-non-conforming, males are physiologically distinct from normative boys and therefore ought not to be forced to adopt more masculine behaviors. Yet in the same breadth, Sax paradoxically suggests that some withdrawn boys could become normatively assertive men with a little urging from their parents. Sax wants to keep the world safe for parents who might want to do just that. Non-conformity, he argues, ought not to be valued for its own sake.

Of course, the psychotherapeutic retort to that is, "Why not? In the case of this embattled "anomalous male," it may be possible to see to the child's best interest without imposing any gender ideology, conformist or otherwise.

It seems a comfortably realist position to hold that individuals differ in their adaptation to gender-based expectations and sensible to recommend that children who are a poor fit for their context receive support to develop skills to cope with the additional stress they must bear. Copious reminders from the media and peers make it likely that most children already know that gender-conforming behavior is the customarily preferred kind, even if their parents fail to remind them.

For the current author, it is obvious that atypical behavior need not be praised or blamed but rather a child can and should be supported, empowered and protected, irrespective of their gender expression. Sax's book is a challenge for the progressive psychologist. At a time when we are all struggling to tolerate and learn from opinions that differ from our own, this book forces one to articulate the grounds on which we disagree. Conversely, it contains much ammunition for readers sympathetic to his cause.