Sax, L. Why Gender Matters

An annotation

Sax, L. (2005)  Why gender matters: What parents and teachers need to know about the emerging science of sex differences.  New York, NY: Random House.

This is the most interesting and informative book I have read on sex differences between boys and girls.  It summarizes scientific studies to show the very real physical differences between boys and girls.  From different cells in the eyes, to sensitivity to touch, to hearing ability, this book breaks down and explains boys’ and girls’ behaviors in terms of how the sensory experience is filtered and interpreted by the different sexes.

Some of the most interesting information is related to how boys and girls process emotion and link it to language.  As it turns out, in boys/men the area of the brain that processes emotion is not often linked well to the area of the brain that processes language.  These areas are much closer and better linked in a female brain.  This is why boys often have a much more difficult time talking about their feelings.