3. Know what the neuroscientists think.
Neuroscientists who actually study male-female differences are privately amused by the notion that biological sex differences do not play out in some common gender differences between men and women. A few years back, I had the opportunity to interview one such neuroscientist, an eminent figure who is widely published and cited, and highly respected in the field. This expert asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly.
This neuroscientist said that many of the common differences we see between men and women “have some important, non-trivial foundation in brain wiring . . . That is the very foundation that the anti-sex-difference crowd is trying to say is not true. But they are wrong.”
When I asked why this is even still a controversy today, when sophisticated fMRI brain scans show so many meaningful differences, the neuroscientist said, “Refusing to acknowledge the possibility of sex differences is done out of fear. The fear that the statement ‘men and women aren’t the same’ is going to be interpreted as ‘men and women aren’t equal.’”
We can help lower that fear by building mutual understanding and respect, without giving into the idea that we have to be “the same” to do so. In Part 2, we will hear more from neuroscience and other sources to help us navigate this topic today.
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