housework, 63, 124
HRT, 165
humour, 109
hunter gatherers, 8–9, 40–2, 140
hunting, 41–2, 126
Hyde, Ida Henrietta, 112–13
Hypatia of Alexandria, 111
hyperactivity, 161–2
hypochondria, 157
hypothalamus, 47, 51–2, 61, 78, 90, 92
imitation, 134–5
impotence, 77
imprinting, 22, 160–1
incest, 36–7, 83–4
India, 9, 12
inferior parietal lobule, 117
infertility, 153
influenza, 169
Ingalhalikar, M., 47
insomnia, 163–4
intelligence, 53–4, 116, 125–6, 176, 177–8
intraparietal region, 117
intuition, 136
Iroquois people, 9
Islam, 12
Israel, 84
jealousy, 102
Jennings, J. L., 127
Jerome, St, 12
jokes, 109
Jordan-Young, Rebecca, 47–8, 56, 159–60
juggling, 54
Kay, K., 179
Keltner, D., 108
Kidman, Nicole, 28
Klinefelter syndrome, 153
Knickmeyer, R., 99–100
Koran, 12
Kösen, Sultan, 26
Kret, M. E., 104
Kuschel, R., 96
labour see work
lactation, 42–3
language skills: and the brain, 52, 53–4, 126, 138–9, 142–3; in children, 57, 58, 140–2, 146; conversation styles, 146–7; and evolution, 140, 150; identifying a writer’s gender, 145; language use, 144–50; learning to talk, 57, 141; male–female communication problems, 149–50; mothers talking to children, 56–7, 58–9; sexual differentiation, 138–50, 178; and social conditioning, 178; verbal fluency tests, 143–4; which sex talks more, 148–9; word learning, 148
larynxes, 26–7
laughter, 108–9
lawyers, 123
learning, 54
learning difficulties, 161–2
left and right, differentiating between, 130
left-handedness, 22, 88
Liberman, Mark, 148
Lieberman, Debra, 84
lifestyle: and andropause, 77; and female interest in the sciences, 121, 123; and health, 152, 168; and male strength, 26
listening skills, 147
Lippa, Richard A., 66, 128
loneliness, 171
longevity, 172
love, falling in, 102; see also relationships
lung capacity, 26
lying, 100–1
McCarthy, M. M., 161–2
Maguen, S., 155
malaria, 169
Malebranche, Nicolas, 15
malnutrition, 163
Mangbetu people, 82
map-reading see mental rotation; spatial orienting
marital fidelity, 83
Marmot, Professor Sir Michael, 171
marriage, 39–40
masturbation, 35, 71, 76
mathematics, 53, 110–24, 126, 178–9
mating see sexual activity
matrilineal societies, 9
Mead, Margaret, 76, 84–5
medicine and doctors, 111–12, 121, 123; see also health
Meghalaya, 9
Mehl, M. R., 149
memory: and ageing, 172; and the brain, 51, 52, 138–9; declarative, 131; emotional memories, 51, 106; episodic, 127, 178; and hormones, 131; landmark, 178; object-location, 128, 132, 177–8; and schizophrenia, 157
Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus, 6
Mendrek, A., 131
menopause, 77, 155, 172
menstrual cycle, 129–30, 158
mental ability see cognitive functioning
mental health: anxiety, 38, 51, 71, 100, 106; depression, 69, 106, 107, 154–6, 164; sexual differentiation, 151, 154–7, 160–1, 161–2
mental rotation see visuospatial abilities
Merit Ptah, 111
Merkel, Angela, 17
Mesopotamia, ancient, 9, 30
mice, 5
microelectrodes, 112–13
midwifery, 111
migraine, 158
mimicry, 106
mitochondria, 167–8
Money, John, 6, 67–8
monogamy, 83
mothers see parents and parenting
motor skills, 56, 127, 129, 134–5
MPs, 13
Muhammad, prophet, 12
multiple sclerosis, 46, 152, 167
multitasking, 54, 136–7
music skills, 135
My Fair Lady (musical), 1
myelin, 45–6
mystical beliefs, 107–8
mythology, 28–9
Nadkarni, S., 164
Napoleon Bonaparte, 55
natural selection, 29; see also evolution
navigation, 52
Nazzi, T., 147–8
Needham, B., 153
nervous system, 20, 45–6, 105
Nettle, Daniel, 38
neurons, 45–6, 48, 159, 171–2
New Guinea, 84–5, 87
New Zealand, 13
nightmares, 107
nipples, 22, 43
nudity, 82–3
obedience, 58–9
obesity, 79, 166–7
oestrogens: and ageing, 171; and eating disorders, 163; and emotions, 103; and gender identity, 65; and health, 152, 159, 164–5, 170; and memory, 131; and mental health, 157; and puberty, 25
Ohrmann, P., 95
old age, and health and well-being, 170–2
orbitofrontal cortex, 52
orgasm, 35, 75, 76, 78
O’Rourke, P. J., 151
osteoporosis, 151, 170
ovulation, and the senses, 27
oxytocin, 75, 103
Ozçalişkan, S., 141
Padaung people, 82
paedophilia, 84, 90, 92–3
pain, 141, 157–8, 164
Pandora, 10
Pan-ku, 28–9
Papua New Guinea, 84–5
parents and parenting: becoming a father and hormone levels, 92; and gender identity development, 59–60, 63–4, 65; grandmother hypothesis, 77; mothers’ relationships with children, 56–7, 58–9; parental altruism, 42; postnatal depression, 154–5
parietal lobe, 117, 172
Park, Mungo, 14
parking, 135
Parkinson’s disease, 151, 158–9
Patros, C. H., 166
Pease, Allan and Barbara, 6
penis envy, 16
penises, 43–4, 74–5
Perry, Alice, 112
Peters, M., 128
phobias, 162–3
piercings, body, 82
Pinker, Steven, 6–7
platypuses, 42
play writers, 146
playing see toys and play
polygyny, 35
pornography, 73
postnatal depression, 154–5
post-traumatic stress disorder, 151, 155
praxis system, 135
prefrontal cortex, 95
Prentice, P. R., 166
pride, and attractiveness, 81
primates: buttocks, 43; female fertility, 77; food acquisition, 36; and incest, 37; penile bone, 43; relevance of studies to human biology, 5; sexual activity, 34–7; sexual differentiation, 56, 64–5, 97; social structure, 34
primitive societies: division of labour, 8–9, 13, 40–2; sexual orientation, 87
problem solving, 126, 136–7
progesterone, 130
progestins, 64
pronunciation, 147
property laws, 13
Proverbio, A. M., 97, 99
Provine, Prof. Robert, 108
psychologists, 124
puberty, 25, 68–71
pulling faces, 106
rape, 83, 92
recreation see toys and play
&nb
sp; reading, 142, 161
reflections, looking at own, 106
relationships: books about, 6; sexual differentiation, 63, 71, 75–6, 99–100, 102, 107, 145
religion: Christian church, 11–12, 28; Islam, 12; religious beliefs, 107–8
reproduction: as cause of sexual differentiation, 31–40, 176–7; childless women statistics, 73; optimum female age for, 80; relationship with sexual activity, 72–3
reviewers, 146
risk, 103
Rome, ancient, 10–11
rotifers, 32
Scherb, J. E., 38
schizophrenia, 156–7
Schulte-Rüther, M., 101
science, engineering and technology, 66–7, 110–24, 178–9
SDN see sexually dimorphic nucleus
self-control, 107
self-esteem, 63, 71, 107
selfishness, 100
senses, the, 27, 56, 140
sensitivity, 100, 101–2
sentence construction, 147
sex: as distinct from gender, 5–6; embryonic development of sexual differentiation, 21–5; myths about origins of men and women, 28–9; overview of differentiation, 25–7; reasons for differentiation, 2, 28–44; single-sex animals, 32
sexual abuse, 8, 83, 84, 90, 92
sexual activity: age at which sexual feelings develop, 71; and ageing, 172; breasts’ function, 43; of chimpanzees, 34–7; the double standard, 39; and evolution, 31–2, 33–40; frequency statistics, 74; history of copulation, 33; human lack of penile bone, 43–4; partner choice, 36, 38–9, 78–83; partner numbers statistics, 74; relationship with reproduction, 72–3; sex drive and the brain, 19, 78, 86, 177; sexual differentiation, 72–93, 176–7; signalling interest, 81
sexual arousal, 76, 86, 171, 177
sexual differentiation, overview, 173–9
sexual fantasy, 83, 85–6
sexual fidelity, 83
sexual harassment, 178
sexual jealousy, 102
sexual orientation, 3, 86–92, 177
sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN), 51
Shanley, D. P., 77
Shipman, C., 179
shopping, 41
similarities hypothesis, 4–5
single-mindedness, 124
skills, 125–37, 176; see also language skills; motor skills; sociability and social skills; visuospatial abilities
sleep, 55, 163–4
smell, sense of, 27, 56
smiling, 106
Smith, Betty, 173
Smithsonian Institute, 124
smoking, 153, 169
sociability and social skills, 37–8, 59, 99–100, 127
social conditioning and experience: and the brain, 47–8, 49–50, 54, 67, 176; and eating disorders, 163; and health, 153–4; and homosexuality, 86, 90; and language, 178; and sexual differentiation, 2–4; and skills, 130; studied through children, 56–7, 58–9, 59–64, 65–8, 176; and women working in mathematics and science, 113–14; see also stereotyping
Solomon Islands, 96
spatial orienting see visuospatial abilities
speech abilities see language skills
spelling, 143
Spencer, Herbert, 15
spiritualism, 108
sport: gender tests, 70–1; sexual differentiation, 66, 133–4
SRY gene, 21–2, 46–7
Stephen, Robert, 40–1
straight gyrex, 52
strength, 26, 56
stereotyping: and gender identity, 60, 66–7; and mathematics, 113–14, 179; and sexual differentiation, 3–4; and skills, 130, 179
stress, 63, 69, 101–5, 151, 155, 166
stria terminalis, 51
stroke, 152, 168–9
Strong, Jenny, 157–8
stuttering, 142
suffrage, women’s, 13
suicide, 155–6
Sumer, 9
Summers, Lawrence, 114–15
superstition, 107–8
suprachiasmatic nucleus, 172
Swaab, D. F., 80
Swami, V., 81–2
Sweden, 112, 137
Symons, Donald, 39
sympathy, communicating, 108
systemising, 64, 98–9, 175, 177
Tahiti, 93
Taliban, 12
talking see language skills
Tannen, Deborah, 145
Tchambuli people, 84–5
teachers, 114, 123; see also education
teamwork, 66, 133
technical skills see science, engineering and technology
Tenenbaum, H. R., 146
tensor imaging, 49, 133
Tertullian, 11–12
testosterone: and ageing, 171; and autism, 160; and career choice, 121; and children’s play, 57–8, 65, 176; and eating disorders, 163; and emotions, 95, 99, 100; and eye contact, 55–6; and falling in love, 102; in female bodies, 25; and gender identity, 69–70; and health, 152, 165; and language, 144; and learning difficulties and hyperactivity, 162; levels in later life, 77; and mental health, 157; and puberty, 25, 68; role in human development, 50; and sexual differentiation, 21–2, 22–4, 174; and sexual orientation, 88–9, 90, 177; and skills, 129, 131, 132, 135; and strength, 26; and stress, 103
Thatcher, Margaret, 17
Thompson, Helen Bradford, 5
Thornhill, R., 79
threatening signals, 104–5
throwing, 56, 133, 134
Tomasi, D., 53–4
tools, 40, 134
touching, 108
Tourette’s syndrome, 159
Tovée, M. J., 81–2
toys and play: gender stereotyping, 62, 63, 66, 176; sexual differentiation, 57–9, 64–5, 116, 175–6; Swedish gender-neutral experiments, 137
Trabzuni, D., 47
transcription factors, 19
transsexuality, 90–2
Trobriand Islands, 13
tuberculosis, 169
Turner syndrome, 21, 69, 153
Twain, Mark, 18
twins, 89, 92, 128, 141, 156, 163
UFOs, 108
UK: ageing and well-being statistics, 171; average height, 25–6; cancer statistics, 169; cardiovascular disease statistics, 164; childless women statistics, 73; female Parliament membership, 13; female doctors, scientists, engineers and technologists, 110, 112, 121, 123; homosexuality statistics, 86; male–female education performance, 113, 117, 118; obesity statistics, 166; psychologists, 124; rape statistics, 92; teachers’ sex, 114, 123
USA: average height, 26; beliefs about origin of men and women, 28; creative writers’ gender statistics, 146; discrimination in academic careers, 16; female business owners, 123; female Congress membership, 13; female doctors and scientists, 110, 112–13, 121, 123; male–female education performance, 113, 117–18, 122; parenting styles, 65; property laws, 13; sexual differentiation in mathematics tests, 116–17; teachers’ sex, 114; veterans’ mental health, 155
Van den Brink, D., 147
verbal skills see language skills
veterans, 155
Vigil, J. M., 96, 107
violence, 95, 96, 178; see also aggression
virgin birth, 32
visual cortex, 126
visuospatial abilities: auditory-spatial abilities, 128–9; and the brain, 52, 53–4; and evolution, 126, 128; and experience, 130; mental rotation, 118, 127, 129, 130, 132–3, 177; sexual differentiation, 127–9; spatial orienting, 52, 53–4, 130–4, 177; spatial targeting, 126, 128; and stereotyping, 130
voices, 27
Volkow, N. D., 53–4
Voltaire, 125
Waddell, J., 161–2
Wadlow, Robert Pershing, 26
weaving, 40–1
weight: and attractiveness, 81–2; obesity, 79, 166–7; and stress, 103
Wernicke’s area, 138
West, C., 146–7
Wheelwright, Sally, 97–8
white matter, 46, 52–3, 91, 126, 170, 176
Whitton, Charlotte, 110
Why Men Don’t Listen and Women
Can’t Read Maps, 6
windscreen wipers, 112
Winkelmann, Maria, 112
witchcraft, 108
Woolf, Virginia, 8, 16, 72
work: academic careers, 16; division of labour, 8–9, 13, 40–2; female attitude, 124; female choice of career, 119–20; gender pay gap, 110, 123; and health, 153–4; male–female aptitudes, 4; male–female attitude to workplace competitiveness, 121; women employed in science, engineering and technology, 110, 112–13, 121, 123
World Health Organisation, 6
writing, creative, 145–6
Yao Defen, 26
Zakriski, A. L., 58–9
Zimmerman, D., 146–7
Zündorf, I. C., 129
Zosuls, K. M., 61
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