Item: Testosterone Rex
Rating: 3.00
Author: wordrevel

by Cordelia Fine

Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental, diverging force in human development. According to this overly familiar story, differences between the sexes are shaped by past evolutionary pressures-women are more cautious and parenting-focused, while men seek status to attract more mates. In each succeeding generation, sex hormones and male and female brains are thought to continue to reinforce these unbreachable distinctions, making for entrenched inequalities in modern society.

In Testosterone Rex, psychologist Cordelia Fine wittily explains why past and present sex roles are only serving suggestions for the future, revealing a much more dynamic situation through an entertaining and well-documented exploration of the latest research that draws on evolutionary science, psychology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and philosophy. She uses stories from daily life, scientific research, and common sense to break through the din of cultural assumptions. Testosterone, for instance, is not the potent hormonal essence of masculinity; the presumed, built-in preferences of each sex, from toys to financial risk taking, are turned on their heads.

Moving beyond the old "nature versus nurture" debates, Testosterone Rex disproves ingrained myths and calls for a more equal society based on both sexes' full, human potential.

Initial thoughts: Some interesting observations but for a book that has such a focussed topic, Testosterone Rex didn't cover as much breadth and depth as I'd expected. Perhaps that's because the intent wasn't to provide an academic study for readers but rather to distill the essence of gender studies.

Much of the book was spent discussing the similarities between males and females and how the brains don't diverge as much as many believe. That biological assessment understandably mattered a great deal. With Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus guiding many beliefs about gender, it's definitely important to demonstrate the little scientific merit that message holds.

What was lacking for me was how do we account for the differences? If it's not testosterone (which the author took for granted as debunked), then what are the factors that contribute to the apparent differences based on sex and/or gender? The explanations offered were remarkably brief and didn't entirely answer the questions the book started out with in the preface.

Testosterone Rex

by Cordelia Fine

Reviewed by Joséphine on Jul 31, 2017

Reading updates