Same Difference: How Gender Myths are Hurting Our Relationships, Our Children, and Our Jobs - Tapa dura

A landmark demonstration of how groundless beliefs about "natural" differences between the sexes have harmed both women and men-with a hopeful vision based on up-to-the-minute research. From respected academics like Carol Gilligan to pop-psych gurus like John Gray, the message has long been the same: Men and women are fundamentally different, and trying to bridge the gender gap can only lead to grief. Generations have bought into the idea that women are uniquely primed to be "relational," men innately driven toward achievement-even when these "truths" are contradicted by what's happening in our daily lives.The time has come, argue the authors of this groundbreaking book, to liberate ourselves from biological determinism. Drawing on years of exhaustive research, Barnett and Rivers reveal how a toxic mix of junk science, pop psychology, and media hype has profoundly influenced our thinking and behavior, causing us to make poor decisions about how we choose our mates, raise our children, and manage our careers. It is power, not gender, that makes a difference; in fact, there are more differences among women (or men) with varying degrees of power than there are between women and men. I

Caryl Rivers is a Professor of Journalism at Boston University and is a nationally known columnist, author, journalist, and media critic. She has written for the New York Times, The Nation, Ms., Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, and Dissent. She lives in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Rosalind Barnett, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at Brandeis University and Director of its Community, Families, and Work Program. She is the author of six books and her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles. Times, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today, among other publications. She lives in Weston, Massachusetts.