Journal Entry 1 by Rivercassini from London , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, October 23, 2006

In times past, women were regarded as being socially inferior to men on biological grounds. Science, allegedly, had proved that the mental capabilities of women were less sophisticated - a deficiency hard-wired into the brain. In Sexing the Brain, Lesley Rogers, a leading researcher in neuroscience and animal behaviour, provides a readable account of the science of sex differences in brain and behaviour. She shows how, in each age, scientific claims about sex and gender differences have reflected the culture of the time. Although the conviction has spread that genetics can explain everything, the author brings to light the role of culture and environment in the formation of behavioural traits, and so provides an important corrective to popular reductionism. Step by step, she surveys the findings of recent scientific studies. She addresses a variety of topical questions. Are there sex differences in how we think and feel? Is language processed in different parts of the brain in men and women? Do social relationships have a stronger influence on sexual behaviour than sex hormone levels? Is there a gay gene? She concludes that a greater appreciation of the complexities of biological and social contributions to behaviour can lead us to a better understanding of sex, gender and the brain. 154 pages  

Journal Entry 2 by Rivercassini at To another Bookcrossing member in By Post, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, January 07, 2007

Released 5 yrs ago (1/7/2007 UTC) at To another Bookcrossing member in By Post, By Post -- Controlled Releases

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Sending this one on to a fellow bookcrosser. 

Journal Entry 3 by Caterinaanna from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Monday, January 15, 2007

Thank you Rivercassini. It actually arrived on Friday, but I have been somewhat slow to journal it, my apologies. 

Journal Entry 4 by Caterinaanna from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Saturday, January 26, 2008

Not a lot to add to Rivercassini's summary of the content. The author seems to be somewhat unsure of her target audience - it would be perfectly possible to develop the argument for a general audience without detailed brain anatomy, but much of the discussion is repetitive in the way that is not required to convince a scientifically literate reader. That and the manner in which some of the central chapters verged on polemic annoyed me, but I was encouraged by the end when it became clear that her main point was that in an organ as complex as the brain, in an organism influenced by so many aspects of environment as humanity, then a reductionist description of differences in sex and sexuality is entirely inadequate. 

Journal Entry 5 by Caterinaanna at Pen and Wig pub OBCZ in Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom on Saturday, January 26, 2008

Released 4 yrs ago (1/26/2008 UTC) at Pen and Wig pub OBCZ in Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom

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At the monthly Cardiff meet-up 

Journal Entry 6 by miketroll on Saturday, January 26, 2008

Picked up today at Pen & Wig meetup.