Is Language Gendered?

you'll recall that we discussed the possibility that males and females generate language differently as a direct result of their maleness or femaleness. here's a new book that i just saw advertised in the new york times:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0767927532/

this is a follow-up to the author's previous book

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0767920104/

and, though i have not read either of them, they form part of an already-enormous literature on gender and neuroscience. here are reviews [from amazon.com] of both books:

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THE FEMALE BRAIN

From Publishers Weekly
This comprehensive new look at the hormonal roller coaster that rules women's lives down to the cellular level, "a user's guide to new research about the female brain and the neurobehavioral systems that make us women," offers a trove of information, as well as some stunning insights. Though referenced like a work of research, Brizedine's writing style is fully accessible. Brizendine provides a fascinating look at the life cycle of the female brain from birth ("baby girls will connect emotionally in ways that baby boys don't") to birthing ("Motherhood changes you because it literally alters a woman's brain-structurally, functionally, and in many ways, irreversibly") to menopause (when "the female brain is nowhere near ready to retire") and beyond. At the same time, Brizedine is not above reviewing the basics: "We may think we're a lot more sophisticated than Fred or Wilma Flintstone, but our basic mental outlook and equipment are the same." While this book will be of interest to anyone who wonders why men and women are so different, it will be particularly useful for women and parents of girls.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, explores groundbreaking issues in brain science with mixed results. Critics debate the author's presentation and research; some extol her many and varied sources and the book's accessibility, while others take her to task for relying too heavily on anecdotal evidence and "dumbing down" the text (Robin Marantz Henig cites the author's repeated use of "cutesy language" and slang). Despite the critical ambivalence, the author certainly has the credentials to write this book. Brizendine graduated from the Yale University School of Medicine and draws on research done at the Women's and Teen Girls' Mood and Hormone Clinic, which she founded at UCSF in 1994. So the question is, do you require step-by-step proof for conclusions some consider controversial, or are you willing to take her word for it?

THE MALE BRAIN

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this utterly fascinating follow-up to her bestselling The Female Brain, Harvard neuropsychiatrist Brizendine leads readers through the lifespan of a man's brain, using lively prose and personable anecdotes to turn complex scientific research into a highly accessible romp. Among other salient info, readers will learn why it is what young boys seem unable to stay still (they are learning through "embodied cognition"); why behaviors may change so suddenly during puberty (among other changes, testosterone increases 20-fold); the nature of irritability in teens ("boys' hormones prime them for aggressive and territorial behaviors"); and the ways in which chemicals, physical touch, and play bond fathers with their children. With clearly detailed scientific explanations for how characteristics like anger expression, analysis of facial expression, and spatial manipulation differ between the sexes, Brizendine's review of brain and behavioral research should net a broad audience, from parents of boys to psychology students to fans of her first volume. Brizendine also includes an appendix regarding the brain and sexual orientation, as well as lengthy endnotes and an exhaustive reference list.

Review
"In this utterly fascinating follow-up to her bestselling The Female Brain, Harvard neuropsychiatrist Brizendine leads readers through the lifespan of a man's brain, using lively prose and personable anecdotes to turn complex scientific research into a highly accessible romp. Among other salient info, readers will learn why it is what young boys seem unable to stay still (they are learning through "embodied cognition"); why behaviors may change so suddenly during puberty (among other changes, testosterone increases 20-fold); the nature of irritability in teens ("boys' hormones prime them for aggressive and territorial behaviors"); and the ways in which chemicals, physical touch, and play bond fathers with their children. With clearly detailed scientific explanations for how characteristics like anger expression, analysis of facial expression, and spatial manipulation differ between the sexes, Brizendine's review of brain and behavioral research should net a broad audience, from parents of boys to psychology students to fans of her first volume. Brizendine also includes an appendix regarding the brain and sexual orientation, as well as lengthy endnotes and an exhaustive reference list."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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-- so it is possible that one or both of these books addresses the question of whether sex [and/or gender] affects linguistic expression.

bear in mind, as you read not only these reviews but the books themselves, that the thinking on such topics changes almost daily. thus, though the author holds an M.D. and speaks with the authority of 'science,' all such books are a mixture of fact, hypothesis, considered opinion, conjecture, and -- as always -- rhetoric.

Spiderman and the Monomyth

The MONOMYTH is, as we have discussed, a narrative template of unusual power and resonance. The idea, which is clearly an ancient one, received its first modern scholarly study in Joseph Campbell's 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Campbell borrowed the term from Joyce's Finnegans Wake).

You can find more information about Campbell's ideas, and my adaptation of them, by clicking here.

In class yesterday the question was raised: is the SPIDERMAN legend (specifically as we see it in the SPIDERMAN films) a Monomyth? Put another way: is Spiderman a Monomyth hero?

Bear in mind that this question grew out of a previous one: can the 'faithful sidekick' turn into the 'adversary' in a Monomyth narrative?

Discuss.

New Blog for Class Discussions

Hi all. I've decided that the best way to organize our discussions is by starting a new blog: this one. So please make a note of this URL because we'll be coming back to it with fresh ideas!