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1.5.13Male Brain vs Female Brain: The Meaning of Gender Roles and Cognitive Specializations in Evolution
Over millions of years of evolution, male and female hominids have experienced different selective pressures, resulting in differences perceived gender roles: behaviour, interests, and preferences.
Although men and women are equally intelligent, male and female brains are wired differently. Males and females are also on different drugs, males on androgens, females on estrogens, that sort of thing.
Empirical evidence of male vs female cognitive differences contradicts the dogma that cultural and social influences account for all differences in behaviour, skills, and predispositions by sex. Contrary to wishful thinking and political correctness, differences in male-female preferences are hardwired from day one of life. For example, the stereotype that small boys prefer to play with trucks and mechanical objects whereas small girls prefer to play with dolls happens to be true. The great majority of female children, given the choice, select dolls over trucks; male children select trucks—without being taught, and long before they even know what sex they are.
This also occurs in our close primate relatives. For example, young vervet monkeys have no concept of “boy-appropriate” or “girl-appropriate” toys. Yet, given a selection of toys, they show the same stereotypical differences in preferred toy choice by gender as human children show.