| Contemporary wisdom about the sexes, says professor Steven Rhoads, espouses no differences between men and women other than those that are socially constructed. Rhoads's book Taking Sex Differences Seriously collects data from several studies that disprove the conventional wisdom, demonstrating that differences between the two sexes have biological roots. Many people, Rhoads states, are eager to deny biological differences and to claim that men and women are androgynous. They fear that if they do not do so, women will be marginalized in the workplace and disrespected in their marriages. But by denying the differences and claiming androgyny, society is doing a disservice to women and itself: it is not valuing the work women have traditionally done in shaping society, nor is it acknowledging the nurturing they provide it. |
Taking Sex Differences Seriously (Encounter Books, 2004) |
