Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps—and What We Can Do About It

beth — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Given the heavy media coverage about studies that “prove” significant, inborn differences between males and females, it is no surprise that we excuse or accept certain behaviors depending on whether they come from a boy or a girl. We are often led to believe that it is natural for a boy to be athletic and for a girl to demonstrate more empathy because it is part of their biology and something that cannot be helped one way or another. If this were true, we would have to resign ourselves to our appropriate gender roles and stick to the activities and behaviors assigned to us by nature.

Not so, says Eliot. Right off the bat, Pink Brain, Blue Brain shows us that we must examine these studies critically in order to appreciate their message. Eliot goes through various popular studies with a fine-toothed comb and comes away with a vastly different interpretation of the data. Rather than proving innate differences between boys and girls, instead we see that these differences are really not as large as they appear and that the outcomes have been subtly manipulated and phrased in ways that present the results as far more provocative, and therefore popular with the media.

After a close scrutiny of the studies, Eliot goes on to investigate the various claims of the differences between boys and girls starting at conception and ending around puberty. Though she is a neuroscientist, Eliot provides well thought out sociological critiques along with useful explanations of biology. She fuses both the nature and nurture aspects of development to show that gender gaps are not just innate or taught, but oftentimes both. What nature instills, society tends to exaggerate. The consequences are that these gender stereotypes become self-fulfilling prophecies, and this hurts both boys and girls.

Particularly useful to those who strive to raise well-balanced children are the ideas and tips that Eliot includes at the end of nearly every chapter. For instance, she recommends pet care as a way to teach and encourage a sense of nurturing in young boys. Likewise, she suggests getting girls involved in chess in order to help foster a healthy dose of competition and to improve spatial analysis skills. We may have been dealt a specific set of cards at birth, but this by no means should limit us in what we achieve and how we excel.

Written by: Shana Mattson, January 4th 2011

The Vanishing Point

admin — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:30:00 +0000

By Mary Sharratt

Mariner Books

The Vanishing Point is the story of two sisters living at the end of the 17th century. The title comes from the point on the horizon where an object disappears from view. In this case, the sisters, May and Hannah have been separated by distance and marriage. May, the eldest daughter is beautiful and willful. From the age of 15 she has taken many lovers, earning her the reputation as a slut. Hannah, raised like a son by her physician father, is educated in medicine, but little else. The sisters are “as different as night and day.” When May is forced to leave their English village to marry an unknown distant American cousin, her sister Hannah is bereft. There is little correspondence between the sisters. However, by earlier agreement, Hannah is to travel to America to reside with May and her new husband, when their father dies.

A tiny mystery ensues when Hannah arrives and discovers that her sister has died along with her newborn daughter. Her sister’s widower, Gabriel, will not tell Hannah how her death occurred. Locked together in grief, Hannah and Gabriel fall in love. They have a son, and live alone on a rundown tobacco plantation in the wilderness. Trouble ensues for the two when questions arise from the townspeople concerning May’s death. There is a rumor circulating that Gabriel is her murderer. Hannah is driven to discover the truth to the detriment of her family. Unfortunately, the promised mystery can be solved midway by any reader.

The novel is well researched. However, some portions are clumsy. While the conversations are written in colloquial English, the written correspondence between the sisters is written in old English. Instead of becoming an insight into 17th century life, the passages are confusing. While attempting to alleviate questions and conflicts within the storyline the author resorts to cliché. Each of the sisters dreams about the other, while the housekeeper, Joan (and later, Adele), reads tarot cards (or bones) to uncover missing information.

The novel takes many genres and dumps them into a single work. It seems to have trouble deciding if it should be a history, a mystery, or a gothic romance. Still, if you want to read a story about women living unusual lives outside of mainstream society you may enjoy The Vanishing Point.

Written by: Teresa Y. Raines, February 25th 2007