Biologi og konstruktion

Socialpsykologerne Wendy Wood og Alice H. Eagly benytter sig i denne artikel af kulturelle forskelle i kønsadfærd fra forskellige samfund til at undersøge årsagerne til kønsforskelle i menneskelig adfærd. De konkluderer, at “sex differences derive from the interaction between the physical specialization of the sexes, especially female reproductive capacity, and the economic and social structural aspects of societies. This biosocial approach treats the psychological attributes of women and men as emergent given the evolved characteristics of the sexes, their developmental experiences, and their situated activity in society.”

Denne artikel er et såkaldt consensus statement af psykologen Diane F. Halpern og en række andre psykologer, der arbejder med psykologiske kønsforskelle. Deres overordnede konklusioner er:

“Males are more variable on most measures of quantitative and visuospatial ability, which necessarily results in more males at both high- and low-ability extremes; the reasons why males are often more variable remain elusive. Successful careers in math and science require many types of cognitive abilities. Females tend to excel in verbal abilities, with large differences between females and males found when assessments include writing samples. High-level achievement in science and math requires the ability to communicate effectively and comprehend abstract ideas, so the female advantage in writing should be helpful in all academic domains. Males outperform females on most measures of visuospatial abilities, which have been implicated as contributing to sex differences on standardized exams in mathematics and science.

An evolutionary account of sex differences in mathematics and science supports the conclusion that, although sex differences in math and science performance have not directly evolved, they could be indirectly related to differences in interests and specific brain and cognitive systems. We review the brain basis for sex differences in science and mathematics, describe consistent effects, and identify numerous possible correlates. Experience alters brain structures and functioning, so causal statements about brain differences and success in math and science are circular.

A wide range of sociocultural forces contribute to sex differences in mathematics and science achievement and ability—including the effects of family, neighborhood, peer, and school influences; training and experience; and cultural practices. We conclude that early experience, biological factors, educational policy, and cultural context affect the number of women and men who pursue advanced study in science and math and that these effects add and interact in complex ways. There are no single or simple answers to the complex questions about sex differences in science and mathematics.”

Sexolog Milton Diamond og overlæge Keith H. Sigmundson undersøger i denne artikel sagen om David Reimer, der blev født som mand, men hvis penis blev ødelagt ved omskæring. Herefter blev han opfostret som kvinde, men identificerede sig tidligt som mand og levede som mand fra 15-års-alderen. Han levede med svær depression og gjorde opmærksom på sin sag i offentligheden, men begik selvmord som 38-årig i 2004 (efter denne artikels udgivelse).

Psykologen Steven Pinker argumenterer i denne artikel for, at debatten om “nature and nurture” – biologi og konstruktion – ofte ender i en uhensigtsmæssig ‘middle of the road’-position, der siger, at adfærd i alle tilfælde skyldes både gener og sociale konstruktioner. Pinker sætter i stedet for en domæne-specifik position, hvor visse dele af menneskets adfærd – eksempelvis hvilket sprog man taler – tilskrives rent kulturelle faktorer, mens andre dele – ex. evnen til sprog – er genetisk medfødt hos alle mennesker.

I introduktionen til Simone de Beauvoirs Det andet køn præsenteres et eksistentialistisk og socialkonstruktionistisk syn på forholdet mellem kvinder og mænd, som foregriber Beauvoirs vidt publicerede diktum “man fødes ikke som kvinde, man bliver det”.

Den engelske filosof John Stuart Mills opråb for kvindernes frigørelse fra 1869 krævede først og fremmest formel ligestilling mellem kønnene, men den var også et angreb på socialisering og herskende billeder af kvinder som naive, uskyldige væsener, der ikke kan tage vare på sig selv, som Stuart Mill mente påvirkede kvinders adfærd og tilbøjelighed til at kræve deres frigørelse:

“All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite to that of men; not self will, and government by self-control, but submission, and yielding to the control of other. All the moralities tell them that it is the duty of women, and all the current sentimentalities that it is their nature, to live for others; to make complete abnegation of themselves, and to have no life but in their affections. And by their affections are meant the only ones they are allowed to have — those to the men with whom they are connected, or to the children who constitute an additional and indefeasible tie between them and a man.”

I denne tekst gennemgår psykologen Steven Pinker kritisk radikal-feminismens syn på kønnet som overvejende socialt konstrueret og fremsætter i stedet et argument for, at mange gennemsnitlige kønsforskelle i adfærd ikke overvejende skyldes kultur, normer og konstruktioner, men også biologiske forskelle mellem mænd og kvinder, som er opstået gennem hundredetusinder af års evolution, der har selekteret for forskellige egenskaber hos mænd og kvinder.