The Sexual Paradox By Susan Pinker
Posted at 10:55AM Tuesday 30 Dec 2008
The Sexual Paradox
ISBN: 9781843548225
In the wrong hands, Susan Pinker's investigation into gender difference could become a very offensive weapon indeed. By arguing that evolution has primed women to make different choices from men - prioritising family over time-sucking careers, preferring work that involves people not things - the Canadian psychologist could thrust a told-you-so cattle-prod into the grasp of those who assert a woman's destiny is a gingham apron, not a business suit. Her book isn't about who has the "best" hormones, but why so many able, competitive women are forced into a system designed for men. Focusing on talented female students who later drop out of careers and "extreme" men who struggle at school with dyslexia or Asperger's syndrome yet excel in demanding jobs, she grapples with the very nature of prejudice, asking whether viewing women as victims of "discrimination" actually devalues their real desires. It's a dangerous game, but Pinker defends her point with good sense and, some might say, typically female empathy.
Guardian review
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