Review by Choice Review
Written from the viewpoint of a feminist and a professional geneticist, this book is both a scientific and political statement. Fausto-Sterling examines up-to-date biological data on sex differences offered by mainstream scientific investigators of gender. She critically examines experimental designs, use of controls, extrapolations of animal behavior to explain complex human behavior, objectivity of experimenters, as well as inferences and conclusions based on inadequate data. Concentrating on recent research on intelligence, aggression, genes, hormones, and male and female evolution, she carefully explains basic biological phenomena and points out that many of the sexual differences could be explained by variables other than gender. She rejects the concept of a single fundamental biological cause of human behavior and argues for a more complex analysis in which individual capacities emerge from ``a web of interactions between the biological being and the social environment.'' Biology may condition behavior, but behavior can affect physiology. An appendix, notes, glossary, index, and a clear writing style make this book valuable to both the scientifically and nonscientifically trained student of gender. Recommended for college, university and public libraries.-J.B. Phillips, Drew University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
