So reading this chapter, I thought of one of my friends who is expecting a girl this summer. . I think one of my favorite parts in this chapter is when Brizendine says that, no matter how hard a child's parents try, "There is no unisex brain." (12) "Girls arrive already wired as girls and boys arrive already wired as boys. Their brains are different by the time they're born, and their brains are what drive their impulses, values, and their very reality." (12)
It was so interesting to read about just how sensitive baby girls are to communication and emotion...in what I remember from Human Development classes, I was taught that all babies studied faces--but Brizendine says that this is not so, in fact, it's female infants that study faces while male infants will focus rather on objects. Which, considering the trouble I go to to catch the attention of my cousin's four month old boy--I'm very ready to believe.
Throughout this chapter, Brizendine focuses on the intense need that infant, toddler, and young girls have for communication and emotional calm, as well as validation. I found myself sinking into a fuzzy, pale pink blanket, hoping I never have a boy--but then, I called myself out of the book and looked at what girls that age are like in real life--yes, they are so cute in all their affection and stories and such, but cross them the wrong way and little girls, rather than physically fighting, they can be bossy, manipulative little brats. And really, I kind of wish that she had spent more than just two pages on a girl's "aggression in pink." (29) Because, I want to be able to understand that part of the little female brain a little better.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Introduction and Chapter 1
Because i'm not really sure how we are setting this paper up yet, i have been highlighted anything i find interesting in the introduction and first chapter. And there is a lot. I think i may have stumbled upon a type of hypothesis, though since i haven't read the whole book i can't be entirely sure. it's on page 3 where Brizendine states:
"If a woman's reality could change radically from week to week, the same would have to be true of the massive hormonal changes that occur throughout a woman's life. I wanted the chance to find out more about these possibilities...looking at women's brain states, and how neurochemistry and hormones affect their moods."
One thing i especially like about this book so far, is that Brizendine not only talks about the female brain, she compares it to the male brain. I think this is very important for our ed. psych class since we are looking at all students. i really liked the section in chapter one which talks about boys being physically aggressive and girls being more verbally and emotionally aggressive; it's important to note that both sexes can be aggressive at times, just in different ways. And i loved that she referred to female aggression as "pink aggression" (p. 29)!!
i like the language of this book. I was worried when i started it that i wasn't going to be able to make heads or tails of all of the scientific processes that go on in neural development or puberty, but Brizendine does a fantastic job of relating everything in very easy to understand metaphors. My favorite so far is:
"Male brains are larger by about 9 percent, even after correcting for body size. In the nineteenth century, scientists took this to mean that women had less mental capacity than men. Women and men, however, have the same number of brain cells. The cells are just packed more densely in women - cinched coresetlike into a smaller skull" (p. 1).
okay, i guess that's all for now. i'm excited to read more :D
"If a woman's reality could change radically from week to week, the same would have to be true of the massive hormonal changes that occur throughout a woman's life. I wanted the chance to find out more about these possibilities...looking at women's brain states, and how neurochemistry and hormones affect their moods."
One thing i especially like about this book so far, is that Brizendine not only talks about the female brain, she compares it to the male brain. I think this is very important for our ed. psych class since we are looking at all students. i really liked the section in chapter one which talks about boys being physically aggressive and girls being more verbally and emotionally aggressive; it's important to note that both sexes can be aggressive at times, just in different ways. And i loved that she referred to female aggression as "pink aggression" (p. 29)!!
i like the language of this book. I was worried when i started it that i wasn't going to be able to make heads or tails of all of the scientific processes that go on in neural development or puberty, but Brizendine does a fantastic job of relating everything in very easy to understand metaphors. My favorite so far is:
"Male brains are larger by about 9 percent, even after correcting for body size. In the nineteenth century, scientists took this to mean that women had less mental capacity than men. Women and men, however, have the same number of brain cells. The cells are just packed more densely in women - cinched coresetlike into a smaller skull" (p. 1).
okay, i guess that's all for now. i'm excited to read more :D
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Introduction
While I'd love to have something brilliant to say, I really don't right now, so I think I'll just jump into a summary for starters.
Before even beginning the that though, I guess I should remind you that this is all about that wonderful organ, the female brain. Coincidentally, that also happens to be the name of the book Laura and I are reading, The Female Brain, by Louann Brizendine, M.D.
Back to the summary though, Brizendine begins with an illustration of the brain and the various parts that make up the brain--at least the parts that come in as important for her work--with a brief and lay-(wo)man's definition of what each part does.
Immediately following, she has a few pages dedicated to the "cast of neuro-hormone characters." This section is helpful but I found parts of it confusing--which I think I'll get into later.
After that, she has a chart of the phases of a female's life--from fetal to postmenopause--noting the major hormone changes, "what females have that males don't," female-specific brain changes, and how those changes affect the female at that point in her life.
Introduction: What Makes Us Women
Brizendine begins by affirming that the male and female genetic coding are over 99% the same--however that .01% makes all the differences we see between men and women. She goes over the practical applications that looking at women differently than men brings physiologically and such. She brings up some immediate differences in how men's and women's brains work and sets up the book to look at women's brains as they develop, how hormones effect her brain, as well as how the brain changes as she ages.
And that's really how the book is set up. Each of the chapters focus on a phase of the female life span. I'm looking forward to getting into it!
So now that I totally went overbord on the summary, I'll get into my thoughts--The first thing I have highlighted in here is Brizendine's comment on how deeply the female brain is effected by hormones:
" What we've found is that the female brain is so deeply affected by hormones that their influence can be said to create a woman's reality. They can shape a woman's values and desires, and tell her, day to day, what's important. "(3)
I found this so interesting because, while hormones and emotions are not synonomus, most people, will use emotional and hormonal interchangably--it's also not a positive term in a lot of cases--in my expereince, if a woman says she's hormonal or emotional, it's appologetically--is that kind of on track? Anyway, the fact that the female brain is centered around hormones is really a relief to me.
And yeah, I'd agree that this is the thesis-like page.
Like the two of you, I also appriciate the fact that Brizendine does not examine the female brain exclusively--she often brings up the male counter to the female aspect--but I also appriciated that this aspect of understanding isn't all she focused on--Brizendine didn't just set up a list of the ways the female brain was different from a male's--and I feel like that added to the independence of the book.
One quote in the intro that really stuck with me was, "Females perform all the cognitive functions males perform--they just do so by using different brain circuts." (5) the example she gave here was mathmatics. A reason she suggests the field of sciences and mathmatics is so dominantly male isn't because males are smarter in those areas, but rather, the female brain finds human communcation so essential that even when the woman excells in a certain subject, it might not be fullfilling enough for her to pursue it.
--Mary
Before even beginning the that though, I guess I should remind you that this is all about that wonderful organ, the female brain. Coincidentally, that also happens to be the name of the book Laura and I are reading, The Female Brain, by Louann Brizendine, M.D.
Back to the summary though, Brizendine begins with an illustration of the brain and the various parts that make up the brain--at least the parts that come in as important for her work--with a brief and lay-(wo)man's definition of what each part does.
Immediately following, she has a few pages dedicated to the "cast of neuro-hormone characters." This section is helpful but I found parts of it confusing--which I think I'll get into later.
After that, she has a chart of the phases of a female's life--from fetal to postmenopause--noting the major hormone changes, "what females have that males don't," female-specific brain changes, and how those changes affect the female at that point in her life.
Introduction: What Makes Us Women
Brizendine begins by affirming that the male and female genetic coding are over 99% the same--however that .01% makes all the differences we see between men and women. She goes over the practical applications that looking at women differently than men brings physiologically and such. She brings up some immediate differences in how men's and women's brains work and sets up the book to look at women's brains as they develop, how hormones effect her brain, as well as how the brain changes as she ages.
And that's really how the book is set up. Each of the chapters focus on a phase of the female life span. I'm looking forward to getting into it!
So now that I totally went overbord on the summary, I'll get into my thoughts--The first thing I have highlighted in here is Brizendine's comment on how deeply the female brain is effected by hormones:
" What we've found is that the female brain is so deeply affected by hormones that their influence can be said to create a woman's reality. They can shape a woman's values and desires, and tell her, day to day, what's important. "(3)
I found this so interesting because, while hormones and emotions are not synonomus, most people, will use emotional and hormonal interchangably--it's also not a positive term in a lot of cases--in my expereince, if a woman says she's hormonal or emotional, it's appologetically--is that kind of on track? Anyway, the fact that the female brain is centered around hormones is really a relief to me.
And yeah, I'd agree that this is the thesis-like page.
Like the two of you, I also appriciate the fact that Brizendine does not examine the female brain exclusively--she often brings up the male counter to the female aspect--but I also appriciated that this aspect of understanding isn't all she focused on--Brizendine didn't just set up a list of the ways the female brain was different from a male's--and I feel like that added to the independence of the book.
One quote in the intro that really stuck with me was, "Females perform all the cognitive functions males perform--they just do so by using different brain circuts." (5) the example she gave here was mathmatics. A reason she suggests the field of sciences and mathmatics is so dominantly male isn't because males are smarter in those areas, but rather, the female brain finds human communcation so essential that even when the woman excells in a certain subject, it might not be fullfilling enough for her to pursue it.
--Mary
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