Cordelia Fine – författare

'Excellent and incredibly timely' Caroline Criado-Perez, author of Invisible Women'You should read this book' Philippa GregoryThe most lucrative industries are male-dominated - yet half of men think they're the ones being discriminated against.Post #MeToo, we're all committed to stamping out sexual harassment - but not to changing the conditions that foster it.Women work more hours than men and accumulate less wealth - while many children want more time with their dad.Inequality in the workplace impacts all areas of our lives, from health and self-development to economic security and family life. But, despite the world's richest countries' long-avowed commitments to gender equality, there is still so much to fix - and so much we don't see.With perceptive and razor-sharp insight, award-winning author Cordelia Fine reveals how the status quo - Patriarchy Inc. - is harming us all, in our working lives and beyond. Drawing on social and cultural history, examples from hunter-forager societies to high finance and the latest thinking in evolutionary science, she dismantles the existing, inadequate visions for gender equality and charts an inspiring path towards a fairer and freer society.

The brain's power is confirmed and touted every day in new studies and research. And yet we tend to take our brains for granted, without suspecting that those masses of hard-working neurons might not always be working for us. Cordelia Fine introduces us to a brain we might not want to meet, a brain with a mind of its own. She illustrates the brain's tendency toward self-delusion as she explores how the mind defends and glorifies the ego by twisting and warping our perceptions. Our brains employ a slew of inborn mind-bugs and prejudices, from hindsight bias to unrealistic optimism, from moral excuse-making to wishful thinking—all designed to prevent us from seeing the truth about the world and the people around us, and about ourselves.

VINNARE AV 2017 ÅRS ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE FÖR BÄSTA VETENSKAPSBOK Könshormonet testosteron brukar figurera flitigt i debatten om biologins betydelse för människan i allmänhet och könsskillnaderna i synnerhet – så flitigt att man nästan kan börja undra vad man inte skulle kunna förklara med dess hjälp. Psykologen Cordelia Fine kallar sin bok Testosteron rex just av det skälet. Och syftar på hela den numera välbekanta berättelse om kön och samhälle som väver ihop ett antal påståenden om evolutionen, hjärnan, hormonerna och vårt beteende till en till synes plausibel helhet. Varje gång vi diskuterar könsskillnadernas betydelse eller samhällets brist på jämställdhet menar sig Testosteron rex ha tolkningsföreträde. Det tolkningsföreträdet finns det emellertid allt starkare vetenskapliga skäl att ifrågasätta. Dagens evolutionsbiologiska forskning har nämligen kullkastat grundsatser som tidigare ansågs giltiga i hela djurriket, enligt vilka hårt kämpande, låginvesterande hannar konkurrerar om skygga, vårdande honor. Den naturliga könsordningen har istället visat sig vara överraskande mångfacetterad. Våra unikt mänskliga egenskaper komplicerar dessutom berättelsen om den sexuella selektionen. Och inte heller det omtalade sambandet mellan testosteronhalt och manligt riskbeteende håller streck: könsskillnaderna i riskbeteende är små och beror i hög grad på omständigheterna. Det här är en bok om verkligheten bortom Testosteron rex. "Testosteron rex" belönades 2017 med det prestigefyllda Royal Society Science Book Prize för årets bästa vetenskapsbok. ”Fine är en säker vägvisare när det gäller vetenskapen och klarar att skriva om komplexitet utan att bli obegriplig. När man har läst färdigt har hon helt och hållet skingrat all ens kvardröjande tillit till att hormoner påverkar vårt beteende på ett enkelt dosrelaterat vis.” /Sarah Ditum, Guardian ”Föreställningar om män och kvinnor är lika gamla som mänskligheten själv, men Fines roliga och vassa bok inger en förhoppning om att vi har hört Testosteron rex ryta för sista gången.” /Annie Murphy Paul, New York Times Book Review ”[Fine] demonstrerar på ett övertygande och underhållande vis att egenskaper som risktagande, tävlingsiver och förmågan att ta om hand inte – alla stereotyper till trots – är mer centrala för det ena könet än för det andra.” /Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American

It’s the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children—boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks—we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay comfortably beneath it. And everywhere we hear about vitally important “hardwired” differences between male and female brains. The neuroscience that we read about in magazines, newspaper articles, books, and sometimes even scientific journals increasingly tells a tale of two brains, and the result is more often than not a validation of the status quo. Women, it seems, are just too intuitive for math; men too focused for housework.Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Cordelia Fine debunks the myth of hardwired differences between men’s and women’s brains, unraveling the evidence behind such claims as men’s brains aren’t wired for empathy and women’s brains aren’t made to fix cars. She then goes one step further, offering a very different explanation of the dissimilarities between men’s and women’s behavior. Instead of a “male brain” and a “female brain,” Fine gives us a glimpse of plastic, mutable minds that are continuously influenced by cultural assumptions about gender.Passionately argued and unfailingly astute, Delusions of Gender provides us with a much-needed corrective to the belief that men’s and women’s brains are intrinsically different—a belief that, as Fine shows with insight and humor, all too often works to the detriment of ourselves and our society.

Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental force in human development. According to this false-yet-familiar story, the divisions between men and women are in nature alone and not part of culture. Drawing on evolutionary science, psychology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and philosophy, Testosterone Rex disproves this ingrained myth and calls for a more equal society based on both sexes’ full human potential.

Work remains much as it always has: men occupy the vast majority of leadership roles and are overrepresented in positions from engineer to plumber. We see many jobs as “male” or “female,” with women dominating in healthcare and childcare professions. Pretending that this is the natural state of things—or that, instead, both sexes should submit to working 24/7—is just not right.In Patriarchy Inc., Cordelia Fine examines with razor-sharp and quick-witted analysis why gender inequality is embedded in the workplace and why it has to change. Drawing on theories from evolutionary science, psychology, economics, and sociology, she examines two of the most prominent movements in the corporate world. The Different But Equal viewpoint espouses that women are in the jobs they want despite their lower status and salaries. In the meantime, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) has become a slogan that emphasizes productivity and profit, not fair play. Fine shows how both are wrong and the bad effects on everyone when men are still stuck in traditional breadwinner roles and women are having to fight for their due.Offering perceptive and much-needed insight into the current state of work, Patriarchy Inc. explores how we can get closer to achieving equality, even if it means upturning business as usual.

WINNER OF THE 2017 ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZEWhat the judges said: 'Every man and woman should read this book on gender bias ... an important, yet wickedly witty, book.' 'Fine's entertaining and thoughtful book is a valuable addition to the discussion about gender.' Ian Critchley, Sunday Times'In addition to being hopeful, Fine is also angry. We should all be angry. Testosterone Rex is a debunking rumble that ought to inspire a roar.' Guardian'A densely packed, spirited book, with an unusual combination of academic rigour and readability ... The expression "essential reading for everyone" is usually untrue as well as a cliché, but if there were a book deserving of that description this might just be it.' Antonia Macaro, Financial TimesTestosterone Rex is the powerful myth that squashes hopes of sex equality by telling us that men and women have evolved different natures. Fixed in an ancestral past that rewarded competitive men and caring women, these differences are supposedly re-created in each generation by sex hormones and male and female brains.Testosterone, so we're told, is the very essence of masculinity, and biological sex is a fundamental force in our development. Not so, says psychologist Cordelia Fine, who shows, with wit and panache, that sex doesn't create male and female natures. Instead, sex, hormones, culture and evolution work together in ways that make past and present gender dynamics only a serving suggestion for the future - not a recipe.Testosterone Rex brings together evolutionary science, psychology, neuroscience and social history to move beyond old 'nature versus nurture' debates, and to explain why it's time to unmake the tyrannical myth of Testosterone Rex.For fans of Fine - whose Delusions of Gender 'could have far-reaching consequences as significant as The Female Eunuch' (Viv Groskop, Guardian) - and thousands of new readers, this is an upbeat, timely and important contribution to the debate about gender in society.

'Excellent and incredibly timely' Caroline Criado-Perez, author of Invisible Women'You should read this book' Philippa GregoryThe most lucrative industries are male-dominated - yet half of men think they're the ones being discriminated against.Post #MeToo, we're all committed to stamping out sexual harassment - but not to changing the conditions that foster it.Women work more hours than men and accumulate less wealth - while many children want more time with their dad.Inequality in the workplace impacts all areas of our lives, from health and self-development to economic security and family life. But, despite the world's richest countries' long-avowed commitments to gender equality, there is still so much to fix - and so much we don't see.With perceptive and razor-sharp insight, award-winning author Cordelia Fine reveals how the status quo - Patriarchy Inc. - is harming us all, in our working lives and beyond. Drawing on social and cultural history, examples from hunter-forager societies to high finance and the latest thinking in evolutionary science, she dismantles the existing, inadequate visions for gender equality and charts an inspiring path towards a fairer and freer society.

'Excellent and incredibly timely' Caroline Criado-Perez, author of Invisible Women'You should read this book' Philippa GregoryThe most lucrative industries are male-dominated - yet half of men think they're the ones being discriminated against.Post #MeToo, we're all committed to stamping out sexual harassment - but not to changing the conditions that foster it.Women work more hours than men and accumulate less wealth - while many children want more time with their dad.Inequality in the workplace impacts all areas of our lives, from health and self-development to economic security and family life. But, despite the world's richest countries' long-avowed commitments to gender equality, there is still so much to fix - and so much we don't see.With perceptive and razor-sharp insight, award-winning author Cordelia Fine reveals how the status quo - Patriarchy Inc. - is harming us all, in our working lives and beyond. Drawing on social and cultural history, examples from hunter-forager societies to high finance and the latest thinking in evolutionary science, she dismantles the existing, inadequate visions for gender equality and charts an inspiring path towards a fairer and freer society.

THE BRILLIANT AND HUGELY INFLUENTIAL BOOK BY THE WINNER OF THE 2017 ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOKS PRIZE'Fun, droll yet deeply serious.' New Scientist'A brilliant feminist critic of the neurosciences ... Read her, enjoy and learn.' Hilary Rose, THES'A witty and meticulously researched exposé of the sloppy studies that pass for scientific evidence in so many of today's bestselling books on sex differences.' Carol Tavris, TLSGender inequalities are increasingly defended by citing hard-wired differences between the male and female brain. That's why, we're told, there are so few women in science, so few men in the laundry room - different brains are just suited to different things.With sparkling wit and humour, Cordelia Fine attacks this 'neurosexism', revealing the mind's remarkable plasticity, the substantial influence of culture on identity, and the malleability of what we consider to be 'hardwired' difference. This modern classic shows the surprising extent to which boys and girls, men and women are made - not born.