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Book-of-the-Month... April 2005 |
by Leonard Sax, Ph.D., M.D.
In the feminist conception of gender flexibility, no set rules apply: girls can play with trucks; boys can play with dolls. But pediatrician and psychologist Sax argues that our theories about gender's fluidity may be wrong and to apply them to children in their formative years is quite dangerous. Sax believes the brains of boys and girls are hardwired differently: boys are more aggressive; girls are more shy. And deliberately changing a child's gender—in cases of intersex (hermaphrodism) or accident (as in the case of David Reimer, who was raised as a girl after a hideous circumcision mishap)—can ruin a child's life. Sax also believes modern gender philosophy has resulted in more boys being given behavior-modifying drugs and more girls being given antidepressants. Much of his argument makes sense: we may have gone to the other extreme and tried too hard to feminize boys and masculinize girls. Sax makes a compelling argument for parents and teachers to tread lightly when it comes to gender and raises important questions regarding single-sex education, which he supports. His readable prose, which he juxtaposes with numerous interviews with school administrators, principals, scientists and others, makes this book accessible to a range of readers. From Publishers Weekly
Excerpts from Why Gender Matters... by Leonard Sax, Ph.D., M.D.
Not only do most of the books currently in print about girls and boys fail to state the basic facts about innate differences between the sexes, many of them promote a bizarre form of political correctness, suggesting that it is somehow chauvinistic even to hint that any innate differences exist between female and male. A tenured professor at Brown University recently published a book in which she claims that the division of the human race into two sexes, female and male, is an artificial invention of our culture. "Nature really offers us more than two sexes," she claims, adding, "Our current notions of masculinity and femininity are cultural conceits." The decision to "label" a child as a girl or a boy is "a social decision," according to this expert. We should not label any child as being either a girl or a boy, this professor proclaimed. "There is no either/or. Rather, there are shades of difference."(5) This book received courteous mention in the New York Times and the Washington Post. America's most prestigious medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, praised the author for her "careful and insightful" approach to gender.(6)
Go to Excerpts
MEN'S NEWS TICKER © 2000 - Click on headline for story details
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The Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males
presents
The Seventh Annual African-American Male National Conference
"Education vs. Incarceration"
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Columns, Articles and Men's Issues News... |
Guest Article... by Robert Glover
Are Men and Women Different?
Before my son Grant was born in 1985, I stated that regardless of his gender, I would raise him the same without socialized pressures to adopt either feminine or masculine traits. I bought him a Cabbage Patch Doll. I tried my best to make sure none of my expectations of him were gender based. I didn’t push him into sports and we tried to limit his contact with toy guns and violent video games.
Go to Article
Guest Article... by Glenn Sacks
Boys or Girls... Pick Your Victim
A new Duke University study on child well-being says one thing, but the university's press release and subsequent news articles say quite another. Because the study has the potential to shape the way things are done in classrooms — and, ultimately, affect hiring and workplace policies — knowing what it actually says seems rather important.
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Guest Article... by Martin Nemko, Ph.D
The New Double Standard
Organizations such as the National Organization for Women have helped women enormously. So much so that many men, including me, feel that men are now subjected to a double standard that results in their being treated unfairly.
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Men Facing End-of-Life Decisions... series by Charles Antoni, LCSW, RN
Health Care Planning
Charlie Antoni discusses the need for a Living Will and a Health Care Surrogate. This is a repeat of a 2003 article.
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COYOTE... monthly column by Dick Prosapio
A Little Saga
The Denver Psychic Fair was busy, much more so than usual, so by Sunday night we were (very well) done. The daytime temps had dropped from the 60's to the 40's by 9 Monday morning and there was a two-inch snowfall overnight. But the streets were clear and getting out of town was only the usual insanity Denver traffic tends to provide.
Go to Article Coyote Archive
JEFF'S LIFE... monthly column by Jeff Stimpson
Everybody's Friend...
"We've got to talk to Ned about when he thinks somebody has hurt his feelings," says Jill. "Hurt my feelings" is one of Ned's bedrock phrases, and it can mean anything from "Took a toy away from me" to "Bit me." We do have to teach him what do to in those moments. I will, too, just as soon as I learn myself.
Go to Article Jeff's Life Archive
TRANSITIONS... monthly column by Kenneth F. Byers
Whatever Happened to the Men's Movement?...
This may surprise many readers, but during the mid to late 1980's and for most of the 1990's there was a movement across America, Canada and much of Europe known as the Men's Movement. I remember it because I was very active in it. It was largely a response (rather than a reaction) to the Women's movement of the same time period and was largely supportive of it but far less vocal. Unlike the women's movement which had a fierce political agenda of equality and recognition, the men's movement was unled and issue fractured. It had many branches that spoke to many different issues such as custodial rights, parenting, addiction, abuse, friendship, veterans affairs, issues of male disability, spirituality, parenting, age discrimination, violence, prison reform, rites of passage, gay issues, step-parenting, health issues, career issues, and many more. Far and away the most popular format for addressing these issues came from the academic arena and became known as the "Mythopoetic" movement. It was led to some large degree by poet Robert Bly and based in the poetic and mythological interpretation of gender reality and guided by Jungian psychological theory and practice. It found its greatest support in the academic world, that was already having its own problems relating to society on an everyday basis. It's lack of longevity is probably laid to the fact that it is hard to explain to a man who has just lost his job, his wife, his passion for life, that the solution to his problems lie in examining the literary search for the holy grail.
Go to Article
DADS, DON'T FIX YOUR KIDS... monthly column by , M.A
Top Ten Ways to Teach Values to Your Kids
To spend two days wondering if your father will live or die brings you many things. It allows you to appreciate every moment of life. It fills you with memories, and it fills you with pain. It reminds you of something that can easily be forgotten as you run around in your busy life: life is incredibly fragile, and can be taken away in an instant.
Go to Article
TOWARD MANHOOD... A book in progress by Larry Pesavento
From chapter 9... A Second Father
 Sometimes the hope for good fathering seems hopeless. The unconscious generational betrayal in our society continues to this moment. Blind men seem to lead blind men. Blind fathers lead blind sons. Where are the older men who can see? Is there only one roll of the dice in the father game? Is there only one game? I believe not.
Read Chapter 9
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Men's Book Reviews by J. Steven Svoboda |
Go to Archive of Reviews & Interviews... by J. Steven Svoboda.
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Guest Books |
MILITARY HONOR ROLL... Pay tribute to the Veterans or Active Duty military in your life on our perpetual Military Honor Roll page
Go to Military Honor Roll
FATHERS HONOR ROLL... Pay tribute to your father (grandfather, great grandfather, etc.) on our perpetual Fathers Honor Roll page
Go to Fathers Honor Roll
VISIT
MENSIGHT Magazine is another free service of The Men's Resource Network, Inc. (MRN). It has grown out of the response that we have received from articles posted on TheMensCenter.com (TMC), our official web-site. The first issue went on-line on May 1, 2000. (Archive)
MENSIGHT is dedicated to publishing diverse articles for and about men. We believe that there are valuable lessons to be learned from the advocates of all the various men's issues.
MENSIGHT will publish articles, stories and information that will be welcomed by many and controversial to others. We offer the magazine for your edification but you are free to disagree or reject what you do not like. Be advised that we do not necessarily agree with every position that is expressed here.
We hope that you will be entertained, informed, educated, stimulated, and/or motivated by what you read here. We seek to empower men to be the authority of their own lives. We do not seek to tell men what to think or feel.
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