Book Review: The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon

Do you have a female brain or a male brain? Or is that the wrong question? We live in a gendered world where we are bombarded with messages about sex and gender. On a daily basis we face deeply ingrained beliefs that your sex determines your skills and preferences, from toys and colours to career choice and salaries. But what does this constant gendering mean for our thoughts, decisions and behaviour?

I saw Professor Rippon give a talk about this book a few months ago, and have been itching to read it ever since.

It's a weighty tome - and deservedly so. It takes in the full history of neuroscience and attempts to understand whether men and women have different brains, different physical structures, and different abilities.

It is rigorous and compelling. Not exactly an easy read - and it feels like it tackles the same subjects repeatedly. But then again, the same old rubbish keeps popping up.

If you'd like to buy the hardback, I can recommend popping in to the Vagina Museum shop in London.