Why Gender Matters

Why Gender Matters, What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences, 2d Edition, by Leonard Sax, MD, PhD, HarmonyBooks 2017

Who cares whether a worker operates on estrogen or testosterone?  Do gender differences really exist and does it really matter?

According to Dr. Sax, failing to recognize and respect sex differences in child development, can do substantial harm.  Ignoring gender differences doesn't produce, according to Dr. Sax, virtuous gender-neutral "citizens", but ignoring gender often has unintended results:  more anxious girls who are obsessed with posting selfies, and more disengaged boy playing video games and surfing the web, for hours and hours.  

In the twelve years since publication of this book's first edition, Dr. Sax has gathered more perspective on new gender psychology developments, including:

*  the ability to see, hear, smaell and process physical information

*  the appraoch to sex and romance, including how male/female differences run much deeper than gay/straight differences

*  the culture constructs of masculinity vs. feminiity

*  the response to social media and video games such as Snapchat and Instrfram impact girls and boys differently relatie to anxiety and depression

*  the meaning of gender identity, especially among intersex and transgender individuals. 

Readers will be struck by the straight talk in Chapter 4 Aggression.  Sax tells the story of a fourteen year old moody, irritable, depressed young man, Jeffrey.  Jeffrey is on Ritalin, plus an anti-depressant.  He's in a private school getting more than the usual amount of attention.  But he hates his life, each school day is a struggle.  He's tired of it.

Jeffrey's father took a unique path and enrolled his sone for a two month stay in Zimbabwe where he worked as an assistant to a hunter/guide.  After three days with Jeffrey, Cliff, the hunter/guide told him to stop taking the pills.  "You don't need them," he said, and he was right in so far as Jeffrey's summer was spent hunting and trekking in the bush.  Jeffrey discovered that he could sit motionless in the tall grass for hours, waiting for prey to appear, just as his new Ndebele tribesmen friends did. 

In fact, the Ndebele hunters taught Jeffrey to use their hunting javelin.  The idea was to throw this wooden spear, roughly twice the length of a baseball bat, a good thirty yards distant.  After an hour of practice - his first javelin - Jeffrey informed the hunters that he was ready to hunt.  They chuckled and pointed at a grouse thirty yards away.  Jeffrey stood up, took his position, and hurled that javelin with all his newfound might.  The bird, transfixed by the spear, was killed instantly.  Everyone, says Sax, was amazed.   Except for Jeffrey. 

The rest of the story - Jeffrey finished his summer in Zimbabwe a different kid.  His depression lifted.  He felt confidenct and useful.

But, asks Sax, what if Jeffrey's parents had sent him off to Camp ADD.  Would he have grown up to be outgoing and ,,, or would he have remained the ADD kid, the boy with multiple personality deficiences that could only be handled by multiple prescriptions. ...You may not like the author's conclusions, especially in his gender observations in "Lessons from the Playground," but you will enjoy the read.  Gender differences - yes or no?

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Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com, tricia@patriciaemoody.com,