Gendercentric

March 2021

Chromosomes

Chromosomes. This is not a book to judge by its title which suggested, to me at least, that it would be exploring the latest thinking on the biological roots of gender differences.Though it belatedly crossed my mind that this may be a clever pun on the reality show. As it turns out the XX Factor

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The New Feminism

The New Feminism. What does feminism’s new celebrity look like? Most obviously, it looks like Emma Watson and the queasily-named HeforShe campaign(2). Other celebrities -Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Karl Lagerfeld to take just three examples – have also publically espoused the cause…. with varying degrees of credibility and public acclaim (3). There are seemingly hundreds

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Santa Baby

It’s that time of year again when Santa is busy stuffing his sack with gender-inappropriate…or appropriate …toys. Opinions differ on the role of toys and play in inculcating gender stereotypes at an early age; and, indeed, on whether there are really any problems with helping children get into the ‘natural’ frame of mind from the start?

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Unkindest

In her recent book ‘Cut It Out: The C-Section Epidemic in America’ Theresa Morris sets out her thesis that the number of c-sections being performed in the States – 32.8 percent of women who gave birth in 2011 had a c-section – has reached epidemic proportions- in fact this amounts to double the number considered by the World Health Organization to be the maximum. This gives the States a profile similar to poorer countries where health care might be expected to be less adequate.

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Attitude

This is a book – High Altitude WOMAN: From Extreme Sports to Indigenous Cultures –Discovering the Power of the Feminine by Jan Reynolds [1]- that can be read as an amazing story of high altitude climbing, skiing, ballooning and biathlon: and as a commentary on the Great Questions of Our Time, relative to gender stereotyping, nature/nurture and work/life balance.

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