The Female Brain
by Louann Brizendine M.D.
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Book Reviews of The Female Brain
Book Review: Before you consider buying this book...
Summary: 1 Stars
... please read Dr. Mark Liberman's critique of its scholarship, which recently appeared in the Boston Globe. I also work in academia, and am galled by Dr. Brizendine's sloppy research and dismayed that the publisher did not do more fact-checking before agreeing to publish her book.
"The Female Brain" does have a nice, breezy style common in many pop-science works; Dr. Brizendine writes well. This makes it all the more unfortunate, however, that she bases many of her arguments on "facts" and statistics that are not backed up by scientific literature.
Sadly, this is yet another in a long line of books that trumpet the neurological basis of gender differences with little attention to the complexity of the issues. Yes, innate gender differences almost certainly exist, but the truth is that we don't yet know enough about how the brain works to really tease out such differences. I am always disappointed when authors, especially scientists, gloss over these difficulties in an attempt to draw more attention to their work. I realize that it's more exciting to claim "I know how the female brain works! Women think this way!" rather than to admit that one has some preliminary findings and hypotheses about male vs. female tendencies, and that individual differences are often greater than male vs. female differences. But it's also disheartening to think that many people will believe Dr. Brizendine's claims without realizing that they are principally overgeneralizations, peppered with outright inaccuracies.
Book Review: Dumbed Down, But Still Helpful
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to agree with other reviews that state this book is written in a somewhat dumbed-down style. I also agree that the author puts lots of clinical focus on dysfunctional women.
HOWEVER - as one such "dysfunctional" woman, the book brought me some of peace of mind. I suffer from terrible PMS; I finally stopped my period by continually taking birth control pills. Now that I am 45+, and getting closer to menopause, even the birth control pills seem to be failing me a bit - as a result, I am on antidepressants. Let me point out that my moodiness is no small issue - I have come very close to commiting assault out of sheer frustration and irritation - simply due to "hormone withdrawal". I become very agressive and easily irritated - making relationships at work and home problematic. Once I get things "corrected" via prescription drugs - my mood changes completely - it is almost like I am a totally different person! I always knew that the hormone drop was the reason for my Jekyll and Hyde personality, but this book taught me how estrogen and other hormones are related to brain chemicals such as serotonin.
So while some reviewers were alarmed by her frequent mention of Zoloft - I was rather relieved and felt quite validated that I was on the right path as far as keeping my moods more level, and feeling a lot more "sane".
Finally, the notes and references at the end of the book provide all anyone needs for further study...and is worth the price of the book, IMHO.
Book Review: A Gift of Liberation
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has gotten lots of knocks---some deserved, like her constant use of the unfortunate phrase about the brain being "marinated" in hormones or praising orgasm like a bad Whitman, "O! Climax!". But at its core it is valuable.Its Big Idea: our actions are often dictacted---even compelled---by hormones that get released because of basic human wiring developed over tens of thousands of years. Hard to control teen age daughter? Her brain is flooded with hormones that get released as she bonds with other teen age girls---she gets a high like a drug rush---and when cut off from them by being grounded, she goes into withdrawal and acts sullen and is difficult to control.Can't explain why a female friend goes for the good looking guys and not the nice ones? She is hard wired to pick the handsome man(handsome being a function of symmetry) which her wiring tells her will give her better orgasms and the best orgams are the ones most likely to draw the sperm inside and impregnate her. There is more---discussion of smells in attraction, a possible gene to explain why some males are more faithful than others, how birth actually changes a woman's brain. In short, we are animals. And knowing that is not an excuse for conduct but an explanation for conduct. Sure, some of the ideas are still being developed, some bound for confirmation, others the dust bin. But the book, at its best, is a gift of liberation.
Book Review: The Female Brain
Summary: 5 Stars
I became interested in this book when I read a passage in a review by Newsweek that seemed to describe my wife's recent behavior. I had been reading several other relationship books and I have a friend deeply interested in neurobiology, so this seemed to be a useful extension of what I had learned.
Brizendine writes in a breezy style that's not too ambiguous and is easy to read. I was able to zip through the book but it was packed with information. As a man, I found her explanations of how women think enlightening (and glad that I'm NOT a women with all of those thoughts and feelings coursing and changing all the time--I like my stability!) I was much better able to understand my wife, and other women.
I was also struck by how women go through quite distinct life phases, while men experience them much more gradually, even puberty. Certainly at my age, I haven't, and don't expect, to experience a sharp demarcation in how I feel with middle age, but I'm fairly sure that my wife has had that experience. I suspect these shifts in women are why men see women as erratic, and women see men as immature because even middle aged men can relate to being teenagers.
Another book I found insightful was "For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women" [...]. It's within the "Christian" literature, but does not have a heavy dose of "follow God."
Book Review: Not only does the author make up facts, she fails to account for huge areas of research
Summary: 1 Stars
I am a psychiatrist and I don't understand why this author wrote this book. How much did someone pay her to write a book that is a professional embarrassment to her?
Cognitive therapy was developed in the 1960's. It showed that we could teach people (that is to say, we could change their brains), so that they were protected from future depression.
Psychiatrists also learn, at least I did, that many factors influence the developing brain after birth. Role models, what behavior is encouraged, nutrition,exercise, and many other things.
So, for any study to say that there are unlearned biological differences between men and women, that study has to control for all those learned factors, and the unlearned factors (i.e. diet and exercise, to name just two factors that influence brain development but are not learned). Almost none of the studies used to cite differences between men and women can meet these criteria.
But even given the problems with basing conclusions on the studies that DO exist, this author has gone further. She is basing her conclusions on studies that DO NOT exist!
She is doing her reputation, and a whole lot of people, a huge disservice. Doesn't she remember the Hippocratic oath--the oath she had to take to become a doctor?
First, do no harm.