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DOI: 10.1177/0361684312461775
2012 36: 504 Psychology of Women Quarterly
Nicole Meredith Else-Quest
Book Review: Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences

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Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Rebecca M. Jordan-Young
Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2010. 408 pp., $35.00 (hardcover). ISBN:
9780674057302
Reviewed by: Nicole Meredith Else-Quest, University of Maryland,
Baltimore, MD
DOI: 10.1177/0361684312461775
For several decades, many undergraduate and graduate
psychology textbooks have presented brain organization the-
ory as fact. Broadly, the theory argues that the brain (viz., the
hypothalamus and corpus callosum) and reproductive
structures undergo sexual differentiation as a result of prena-
tal sex hormone (viz., testosterone) exposure. Testosterone
masculinizes the brainhow exactly, and to what effect,
remains unclearas well as the internal reproductive struc-
tures and external genitalia. The female pathway of external
genitalia and internal reproductive structures has been pre-
sented as the default in development; that is, unless fetal tes-
tosterone is present and detected by the body, natures
impulse is to create a female. Without adequate prenatal
exposure to testosterone, an individual develops a clitoris
instead of a penis, labia instead of a scrotum, the sexual and
romantic attraction to men instead of women, preference for
dolls instead of football, and communication skills instead
of spatial skills.
Evidence from intersex individuals, particularly genetic
females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), genetic
males with androgen insensitivity, and genetic females
exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) prenatally has provided
the foundation for this theory because these cases serve as
quasi experiments on the effects of atypical sex hormone
exposure during prenatal development. My training in
developmental psychology taught me to be skeptical of
claims that any one event could produce sweeping effects
in traits or behavior; insofar as the human brain is plastic
and psychological development is shaped by multiple fac-
tors, it is often an oversimplification to claim that a single
factor could result in major, permanent changes. Sure, pre-
natal development is a unique period in the life span, and the
human brain is also very sensitive at this time, as we know
from evidence of teratogens and birth defects. Thus, I
eagerly read Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex
Differences, in which Rebecca Jordan-Young reviews and
evaluates the decades of research on brain organization
theory and attempts to provide some comprehensible con-
clusions from the findings.
About midway through this book, it becomes clear that the
goal of producing such conclusions is a lost cause, not
because Jordan-Young does a poor job (just the opposite, in
fact) at reviewing the evidence, but because the state of the
literature is so heterogeneous and disparate that one begins
to think the task involves comparing apples, oranges, and
bananas. For example, in reviewing the evidence that prenatal
testosterone might result in more masculine interests and
traits, Jordan-Young describes in detail considerable incon-
sistencies in operational definitions of masculinity and femi-
ninity that have been largely ignored by those within the
field. How researchers examined, measured, and tested the
effects of prenatal sex hormones rested on their definitions
and conceptualizations of masculinity and femininity, which
were described to Jordan-Young by several researchers as
common sense (p. 58). Of course, femininity and masculi-
nity have undergone tremendous evolution since this research
began, prior to the Sexual Revolution and second Wave of
feminism. In particular, Sandra Bems (1974) pioneering
model of gender, which presented masculinity and femininity
as orthogonal dimensions rather than as a unidimensional
bipolar construct, forced a shift in what constituted masculi-
nized and feminized behaviors. Beginning around 1980,
defeminized was no longer the same as masculinized, and
demasculinized was no longer the same as feminized.
Yet, researchers continued to interpret behaviors such as
higher sexual activity, erotic dreams, and orgasmic experiences
and greater number of sexual partners among women
whether DES-exposed, CAH, or typical-developingwith
the goal of supporting brain organization theory. That is,
such behaviors were sometimes provided as evidence of
masculinizationwhich follows logically if one believes that
femininity involves being more romantically inclined than ero-
tically inclinedand sometimes as evidence of feminization
but only if the sexual behavior involved penilevaginal
intercourse, which was held up as proof of heterosexuality.
These conflicting constructions of masculinity and femininity
obfuscate the meaning of any differences found between nor-
mally developing women and DES-exposed or CAH women,
who would be more masculine according to the theory.
It appears that this methodological flaw stems from several
factors, including an acceptance of outdated sexist and hetero-
normative stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, as well as
a lack of theoretically grounded and empirically supported
understanding of gender differences in sexuality based on
Psychology of Women Quarterly
36(4) 504-511
The Author(s) 2012
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normative samples throughout the decades of research
reviewed. We now understand that there are many domains
of sexuality in which men and women are quite similar (e.g.,
frequency and incidence of intercourse), some in which they
are quite different (e.g., masturbation incidence and pornogra-
phy use), and others in which they are becoming more alike
(e.g., attitudes about premarital sex; Petersen & Hyde, 2010).
Sexuality is not purely based on sex hormones; it is, to a large
extent, socially constructed and extremely plastic. Unfortu-
nately, the lack of coherent and consistent methodologies in
brain organization research is but one of the many challenges
in interpreting the decades of data. Brainstorm documents the
numerous methodological flaws in this literature in over-
whelming detail, including interviews with key researchers
in the field (most of whom remained anonymous for the book).
In addition, Jordan-Young thoughtfully presents the
sociopolitical context of this research and its implications
early in her book, maintaining that the stakes involved in
prematurely promoting this theory to a fact of human devel-
opment are high, both for the advancement of science and for
social debates that draw on science (p. 3). Researchers must
always consider the social, cultural, and political meaning
and relevance of their findings and present them carefully
so that they might not be misinterpreted or misused in ways
that contribute to the marginalization or discrimination of
certain groups or individuals. Although many of us have been
taught otherwise, science is not value free.
Lest we throw out the baby with the bathwater, what can
we reasonably conclude about the data on brain organization
theory? At the very least, we can conclude that we need higher
quality research. We can also conclude (if we have not
already) that gender differences are shaped by a combination
of interacting hormonal, genetic, social, cultural, and
cognitive factors. Finally, we can conclude that we ought to
revise our textbooks and lectures on brain organization theory.
References
Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155162.
Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of
research on gender differences in sexuality: 1993-2007.
Psychological Bulletin, 136, 2138.
Bio
Nicole M. Else-Quest is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She conducts research
in adolescent development and gender differences in math attitudes,
and teaches courses in the psychology of women, research methods,
and developmental psychology.
Joan C. Chrisler (Ed.)
Reproductive Justice: A Global Perspective. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger,
2012. 318 pp. $58.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-313-39339-6
Reviewed by: Linda J. Beckman, Alliant International University,
Alhambra, CA
DOI: 10.1177/0361684312461352
This excellent edited volume is not for the faint of heart. It
covers many weighty topics, in the process demonstrating
that reproductive justice for women has a long way to go.
There is much to be learned from the book, even for those
who already consider themselves knowledgeable about
womens reproductive health.
Its international focus is one of the strengths. American
psychology has been rightly criticized for its emphasis on
U.S. and other English-speaking populations. The book
provides a glimpse into the experiences, cultural contexts, and
reproductive health of the other 95% of the worlds women
recognizing the economic, physical health, legal, and
educational disparities of women from different countries and
regions and the associated variations in gender roles, values,
behaviors, and cognitions (Arnett, 2008). Authors also
highlight the problematic aspects of globalization on women
and girls, including the increase in human trafficking and
economic exploitation. Chapter 3 (on power in relationships)
and Chapter 5 (on sexual trafficking) are especially compelling
because of vignettes describing womens actual experiences.
The book broadly defines womens reproductive health.
In addition to chapters on sexually transmitted infection pre-
vention, sexual assault, contraception and abortion,
infertility, and prenatal care, it covers topics such as choice
of marital partner, female genital cutting, sexual exploita-
tion, birthing, breastfeeding, and female infanticide.
Authors adopt a feminist approach that understands that the
establishment of reproductive justice requires that we
address broader socioeconomic inequalities, as well as sex-
ual and racial/ethnic discrimination.
A concisely written, masterful introduction presents
important ideas that are woven through many of the chapters.
Chrisler asserts that the conventional rhetoric that assumes
that a womans body is her own to control is individualistic
and culture-bound. Whereas a few privileged women in
Western countries may enjoy reproductive choice, most
womens power to control their own bodies is greatly
limited by poverty, racism, sexism, and lack of access to
resources. Even a decision that appears to involve an
individual choice may be largely contextually determined; for
example, the termination of a pregnancy because a woman
cannot afford to raise a child. More egregious are instances
where women clearly have no choice, where they are forced
Else-Quest et al. 505
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