Biological Perspectives on Gender Difference

I. The Search for Gender Differences

· Sexually dimorphic traits

II. Biological Explanations

· Biological reductionism

· Biological determinism

1. Evolutionary perspectives

2. Brain perspectives

3. Hormonal perspectives

II. Problems with Reductionist/Deterministic Explanations

a. Intersexed individuals

b. Cause/effect issues

c. Lack of alternative explanations

d. Differences between smaller than differences among

III. Why so appealing/popular/pervasive?

a. Conceptually tidy

b. Consistent with our view of the world

c. Comforting