by Madeleine Bunting @ SMH 16 Nov 2010 [click here to read full article].
'Type "men" and "hardwired" into Google and you tap into a wonderfully absurd catalogue of assertions about male behaviour. Men are "hardwired" to cheat, ignore their wives, suspect infidelity, overspend, love money, pursue women and achieve supremacy in the workplace. Women are "hardwired" to worry about their weight and dump cheaters. All include the magic phrase "scientific studies show".
It is a snapshot of how science is being used and abused to legitimise gender stereotypes. It would be laughable if it did not signify how a form of biological determinism – the claim that differences between men and women have a basis in innate biological characteristics – has re-emerged and acquired popular currency."
"Good science will challenge the tendency to stereotype. The danger, though, is what Cameron refers to as "stereotype threat". If you tell women that women do less well in maths tests, they will do less well, confirming the claim. Do not tell them, and they do better. Stereotypes are dangerous; they become self-fulfilling."
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