Well, actually, this is a pretty established fact. Biologists, I think, have observed for a while that the brains of males and females are structured somewhat differently in pretty much every species that has males and females. When they say "male brain/female brain" I assume they're talking about "male/female brain *structure*". Now don't ask me what those structural differences are, exactly...I'm no biologist. I've always assumed they have to do (at least) with things like hormone reception (which would make a heck of a lot of sense, wouldn't it?)...but possibly with other things as well.
not really though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusions_of_Gender lecture Cordelia Fine did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgE8p6n9Z7o
Last time I checked down there, Im not a girl. And if a man was not exposed to enough testosterone at birth to turn them male, would that inherently make all humans female at birth until they receive hormones? I think not. Even though this guy may not be a religious nut, hes kinda ignorant; especially for a scientist. This theory make no sense, considering you can see genetalia forming within the womb using a sonogram
Mmm, I'm not impressed. I am *completely* open to the argument that differences *in ability* between the sexes could be entirely societal. But to say there is *no* difference between male and female brain structure is just silly (and while the experts seem to give Fine her due on the social issues and implications, they also seem unimpressed with her denial of science). I maintain that at the very least our hormonal receptors must be quite different. Again this says *nothing* about the difference in our ability to do math or be analytical (I say this speaking as a card-carrying overly analytical bitch), or men's ability to be sensitive or caring. It just says there are differences.
What Fine is arguing is there is no statistically significant evidence to support the assertion that sexual dimorphism exists neurologically in humans and the evidence presented by various neuroscientists is either based on faulty research or is severely exaggerated. She is not denying science, she is criticizing the science that has seeped into the giest indicating neurological sex differences as poorly done, exaggerated, and otherwise flawed. Criticizing results and putting things to peer review is part and parcel of science, it is not "denying" science. is my brain neutral? you also don't see how this could walk you down a path which you'd rather not? the "neurological dimorphism do real" arguments are all too similar to the scientific racism of old for my liking. ---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 07:58 PM ---------- genitals =/= gender
You know what relevant to a previous statement, gay men probably do have female structured brains, because having a female structured brain does not mean you are not masculine or a man. I think most people are confusing this with gender. Gender is a bit different to structure. Gay Men will still have testosterone released in the brain as the gender is male, Here is a bit of an example women's brains are smaller than men's brains, the female brain has stronger language function than the male brain, navigation is harder for females as the male brain has a feature that functions during navigation while the same feature does not for the female brain. The male brain is better at mathematics and geometry than the female brain. Women can identify emotions and control emotions better than men(I can actually relate this to a gay man being closeted, we control our emotions much better than other men). Skill related activities are simply more easy to change for eg. If a woman took part in football and sport at a young age, she would have good spatial ability, meanwhile if a man was pushed in a female direction, he may be better at writing. From a lot of this information, it pretty much says a lot about me, I certainly do have a fairly feminine brain as with directions I often get confused with east and west and south and north and focus on landmarks more often, I also am so much better with language than other guys, I definitely have language focused relationships, where I talk and then I listen. I can absolutely catch on people's emotions, I am definitely good at controlling emotions as well. (What does this tell you) I have a female brain and I am a man. I am using a source here that details some of what researchers have found. Also you guys just remember female brain doesn't mean you are feminine, it just means you do things differently to a straight man. I personally admit I do have a female brain. But it doesn't mean I'm a Trans woman or a Trans Man, that's gender which is different to gay men have a female brain. Just think about what you think like and maybe to school life on what you are best at. Find you are a proficient writer without having any former skill(maybe you have a female brain). Sorry for the long post, I had to find scientific information to help me prove this and it all fits together in a perfect piece for me certainly as I have always thought like a woman. (I Feel Like a Woman is the perfect song for this post) Also hormonal receptors have a lot more to do with gender probably like I certainly have testosterone, deep voice-check, broad shoulders-check, other puberty related things-check. Female brain structure-completely different doesn't affect what hormone is released, just affects what side of the brain is used when doing certain things as well.
They are always trying to come up with some reason why we are the way we are, I have gotten to the point of, Like who cares already ?.. I have struggled with the "WHY?" for all my life, sick of trying to be the person I am not, I am the way I am just because I am this way, Do I have a female mind ? Ummm Noooo, I am a guy who likes guys & I like girls too, SO I am half gay & half lesbian then... LMAO
In relation to my previous post: I could actually follow a different theory I have formed based off information. (Note that the previous post is a theory in name and I just said I had a female brain as proof to prove the point, but some of that is true). The second theory is that as we grow our brains develop based on environment. A good example is a gay teenager who is friends with women, he is around women a lot more than men and so his brain fires a chemical message to develop more female brain features(for e.g. the language skills and using both sides of the brain when talking to people). He also may develop the ability to identify and control emotions easier than a male would. This happens because he has been around girls all the time and so therefore the environmental directly impacts on his development. A similar thing can happen to a girl in that imagine her environment is a really sporty one, she will develop better spatial ability based on her brain's signals. She then might grow up being around guys, therefore thinking more like a man and her brain's development might just go the opposite direction. I honestly think that the environment theory is a bit more accurate than say being born with a female brain and you might be saying, didn't you say this at the end of the post that said that gay men have female brains. Well I did but I decided to expand on the idea to help you guys understand how the author may have gotten to this idea of the gay man having the structure of a female in his brain. Personally I can make a couple of other theories, but I would be up all night coming up with theories as to why a Gay Man may have a female brain. I would say it's more environment related for a Gay Man/Lesbian/Bisexual/Asexual and more birth relevant to a Trans Woman or Trans Man. So that means I could honestly say that although I do have those female traits, it is simply because the main person who brought me up was my mother and therefore environmentally I may have a few female behaviours ingrained into my brain. On the other hand, you may have been raised by your father or brother and therefore you have male behaviours ingrained into your brain. Any questions from you guys would be welcomed (note I live in Australia but tomorrow your questions may be answered if you post them tonight or early in the morning, please don't expect an answer straight after you've posted it)
There isn't really much evidence that these structural similarities are innate though. I think it is likely there is a large element of socialization going on - gay men traditionally socializing with women as they are "safer" and this leading to similar brain areas being activated - "synchronizing" if you will! Its a bit like an accent - you pick up what is around you. As above its logical that if a gay man has spent a lot of time around women, and those women follow the trend of talking and using language more than men (see here for more on that) then that gay man would be "practised" in talking - thus having a language centre of the brain similar to a woman. Now I myself am not a talker - I find talking and conversations very tiring and generally prefer silent company. I'm also good with maps and can memorize them quickly, and passed my maths courses quite easily so I'd be surprised if the areas did match up in my case. Yes I think gay men are more emotionally and socially aware due to factors like you've said (self-awareness, being closeted) - I don't think this is something we are born with though - simply a product of our environment. I think if you put a gay male kid in a society with no repression and no issues with sexuality he would probably have a lower emotional intelligence than perhaps we do today. Its the same with studies on gay intelligence (supposedly above that of straight people). I think that is very much down to the things like a. repression causing us to turn to other interests such as academia as a distraction, b. having an exaggerated desire to prove ourselves due to past traumas (for instance working harder at goals), c. having a more open view of the world after suffering discrimination (seeing two sides of things, the "bigger picture"), d. as above having experience with the opposite gender and mimicking their own strengths (e.g. language and emotional strengths in women). Strip these things away and put us in a fully tolerant society and I think statistically we'd very much match straight people on intelligence.
I have actually read a theory about the "formation" of homosexual men, where it says that, in the womb, the fetus doesn´t receive enough testosterone, ending up with too much estrogen in the process and "creating" a gay dude. I actually find it plausible, since we don´t know much about this area of Biology in specific, but that book seems a little fishy to me (not to mention the title :eusa_doh . Aren´t gender identity and sexual orientation different? That theory just doesn't seem to make any sense, and it also seems kinda offensive :dry:
It's actually true that homosexuals have brains that resemble the opposite sex. It's not an exact match, but there are some similarities. And guys, they are able to see this through MRI scans, so it's legit. Homosexuality and transexuality work in similar ways in the brain. ---------- Post added 12th Nov 2014 at 07:52 PM ---------- And honestly, I can't see why so many people on this thread are disputing this claim. So what if your brain is more like the opposite sex? Be happy that scientists are coming closer to answering how homosexuality works.
Most of my female cousins and male cousins were very boyish and I was very feminine so I kinda fit out of this theory
That's ridiculous. Also I don't think you can trust a book who's title can be answered in a single sentence. Men don't iron because society doesn't expect them to because of sexism and stupid made up gender roles.
I've actually read a book that said that gay men were exposed to a larger amount of testosterone in the womb which had a paradoxical effect of making the child gay. Perhaps this explains why gay men have penises that are half an inch larger than straight mens' on average. That just goes to show that there are competing hypotheses out there.
I would offer a further interpretation: this would seem as if the brain hemispheres could be accessed in an individual spectrum, going from more logical/rational to emotional/intuitive. Sounds like an advantage to me. Oh and if you want to synchronize hemispheres, I read an article saying bird singing would help in that... possibly different species, with different singing. There are cd's available with nature's sounds.... and it would explain why taking a stroll or sitting in the garden is so relaxing for some people...
I think this is all very interesting. We shouldn't be dismissing research just because it leads to conclusions that we don't like. Does it invalidate our sexuality as gay men if it has indeed been found that we have a tendency to share certain brain patterns with straight women? Of course not. However...I suspect the author of the book is skewing and cherry-picking the facts to fit his theory, which is not at all scientific.
If it used the language of "heterosexual women share similar brain structures with homosexual men", then it might be less questionable than framing it in a way that makes the assumption that women are all heterosexual and makes it along a gender essentialist line, instead of saying probably far more correctly that there are similar brain structures in people attracted to certain genders. It also doesn't make sense in the way that it makes a claim that would make bisexuality make no sense were it true. Perhaps a deliberately false oversimplification for the sake of sales and public interest? And please forgive the awful writing style; on mobile.
