Sex on the Brain

The Biological Differences Between Men and Women

Go beyond the headlines and the hype to get the newest findings in the burgeoning field of gender studies. Drawing on disciplines that include evolutionary science, anthropology, animal behavior, neuroscience, psychology, and endocrinology, Deborah Blum explores matters ranging from the link between immunology and sex to male/female gossip styles. The results are intriguing, startling, and often very amusing. For instance, did you know that. . .

• Male testosterone levels drop in happy marriages; scientists speculate that women may use monogamy to control male behavior
• Young female children who are in day-care are apt to be more secure than those kept at home; young male children less so
• Anthropologists classify Western societies as "mildly polygamous"

The Los Angeles Times has called Sex on the Brain "superbly crafted science writing, graced by unusual compassion, wit, and intelligence, that forms an important addition to the literature of gender studies."
Introduction
1. Splitting the Lark: The Origins of Sex
2. Pinpointing the Difference: Comparing Male and Female Brains
3. Heart to Heart: Sex Differences in Emotion
4. Perfect Partners: The Monogamy Puzzle
5. The Second Date: Inquiries into Sexual Orientation
6. The Big T: Defining Testosterone
7. The Cycle Game: Biology and Estrogen
8. Counterstrikes: Love, Lust, and Rape
9. Once Divided: Power and Gender Biology
Notes
Index
© Mark Bennington

Deborah Blum is director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and publisher of Undark magazine, (undark.org). In 1992, she won the Pulitzer Prize for a series on primate research, which she turned into a book, The Monkey Wars. Her other books include The Poisoner's Handbook, Ghost Hunters, Love at Goon Park, and Sex on the Brain. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Wired, Time, Discover, Mother Jones, The Guardian and The Boston Globe. Blum is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a lifetime associate of the National Academy of Sciences.


View titles by Deborah Blum

About

Go beyond the headlines and the hype to get the newest findings in the burgeoning field of gender studies. Drawing on disciplines that include evolutionary science, anthropology, animal behavior, neuroscience, psychology, and endocrinology, Deborah Blum explores matters ranging from the link between immunology and sex to male/female gossip styles. The results are intriguing, startling, and often very amusing. For instance, did you know that. . .

• Male testosterone levels drop in happy marriages; scientists speculate that women may use monogamy to control male behavior
• Young female children who are in day-care are apt to be more secure than those kept at home; young male children less so
• Anthropologists classify Western societies as "mildly polygamous"

The Los Angeles Times has called Sex on the Brain "superbly crafted science writing, graced by unusual compassion, wit, and intelligence, that forms an important addition to the literature of gender studies."

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Splitting the Lark: The Origins of Sex
2. Pinpointing the Difference: Comparing Male and Female Brains
3. Heart to Heart: Sex Differences in Emotion
4. Perfect Partners: The Monogamy Puzzle
5. The Second Date: Inquiries into Sexual Orientation
6. The Big T: Defining Testosterone
7. The Cycle Game: Biology and Estrogen
8. Counterstrikes: Love, Lust, and Rape
9. Once Divided: Power and Gender Biology
Notes
Index

Author

© Mark Bennington

Deborah Blum is director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and publisher of Undark magazine, (undark.org). In 1992, she won the Pulitzer Prize for a series on primate research, which she turned into a book, The Monkey Wars. Her other books include The Poisoner's Handbook, Ghost Hunters, Love at Goon Park, and Sex on the Brain. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Wired, Time, Discover, Mother Jones, The Guardian and The Boston Globe. Blum is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a lifetime associate of the National Academy of Sciences.


View titles by Deborah Blum

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