Louann Brizendine "The Male Brain" ja "The Female Brain"

Need kaks raamatut on nagu rist ja viletsus mul kaelas juba umbes augustist saati. Osaliselt on selles süüdi kaaskirjutaja Janika, sest ta soetas omale "The Female Braini", mis minus huvi tekitanuna pani mind ostma "The Male Braini". Esiteks lugesin meestest, siis naistest, kuigi ilmumisjärjekord oli neil vastupidine. Pärast mõlema lugemist sain aru, miks - tundus, et autoril õnnestus naiste ajust kirjutades hulganisti feimi ja füüri kokku ajada ning otsustas siis sama skeemi meeste ajude peal proovida. Tulemuseks teos, mis torkas silma meeldivama kujunduse, reljeefsema kaane ja õhku täis sisu poolest (teosest moodustab suure šriftiga sisu ainult poole, ülejäänu on märkused ja viited).

Kuid paari sõnaga ka autorist ja raamatute sisust. Louann Brizendine'i elulookirjeldus on täis aukartustäratavaid koole ja tiitleid (Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, neuropsühhiaater jne), mis lubab justkui uskuda, et tegu pole niisama soolapuhuja või eneseabiguruga. Oma uurimustes on ta keskendunud naiste tujudele ja hormoonidele ning sellega seoses on ta University of California, San Francisco juures asutanud Women's Mood and Hormone kliiniku. Sellest kliinikust saame omajagu lugeda ka kahest ajuraamatust, kuna mõlemad teosed on üles ehitatud nii, et autor refereerib sõbrannatsevas stiilis oma patsientide juhtumeid ja probleeme ning seejärel katsub neid siis selgitada, lähtudes meeste ja naiste ajude neuroloogilis-bioloogilistest eripäradest. Pidevalt selgub, et ainus kindel lahendus on hormoonasendusravi (mida juhtumisi pakub ta oma kliinik). Kaht raamatut kõrvutades jääb lisaks mulje, nagu meeste ja naiste näol oleks tegu kahe erineva loomaliigiga, kes oma tegudes on võimelised juhinduma ainult bioloogilistest impulssidest. Jah, see vist ongi täpselt see põhjus, miks need raamatud mulle lõpuks eriti ei meeldinud. Lisaks tundus, et autor tahtis justkui head teha ja rahvavalgustajana mõjuda, aga iganenud stereotüüpe süvendades (mehed kui peenisajud, naised kui tujutsevad ratsionaalse mõistuseta kanaemad) tegi ta karuteene nii meestele kui naistele.

Pärast lugemist mitmeid arvustusi sirvides selgus ka, et Brizendine pole oma teostes faktitäpsusega hiilanud, vaid moonutanud mitmeid allikmaterjale vastavalt vajadusele melodramaatilisuse suunas. Järgnevalt mõlemast teosest (tegelikult küll põhimõtteliselt vaid ühest, sest teise kohta ei viitsinud ma märkmeid teha) mõned tsitaadid, mis konktekstist välja kiskudes kõlavad nagu Elu24 teadusuudised.

The Male Brain

A study in Sweden found that men with the long version of the vasopressin receptor gene were twice as likely to leave bachelorhood behind and commit to one woman for life. So when it comes to fidelity, the joke among female scientists is that "longer is better," at least when it comes to the length of the vasopressin receptor gene.

When men live alone and become isolated - which they do more often that women - their daily routines can become repetitive habits that get deeply engraved into their brain circuits. Soon, if someone disrupts their routine, they get irritated because their brain's social-flexibility circuits are weakened from disuse. This is the story of grumpy old men.

Voraceck 2006 found that the ultimate goal of the female physical attractiveness is to elicit male sexual arousal. They found that males focused more on waist-to-hip ratio in women they saw moving and more on bust size who were stationary.

Hughes 2008 and Pipitone 2008 found that a woman's voice attractiveness varies across the menstrual cycle.

Savic 2001b found that men are most attracted to the scent of women who are genetically different from them. And according to Lundstrom 2006, women who are on the "pill" or hormonal birth control do not make the same pheromones or have the ovulatory-phase rise in testosterone derivatives like androstenedione that stimulate the sweat glands to produce those feminine "come-hither" pheromones.

Little 2007 and Burriss 2006 found that men sense a preference shift in their female partners toward more masculine men at ovulation.

Parkar 2009 found that when a man was described as "unattached," 59 percent of the single women were interested in pursuing him, but when that same man was described as "being in a committed relationship," over 90 percent of the women expressed interest in the guy.

Cox 1999 found that angry men are also judged to be more competent; angry women are judged to be less competent.

Smith 2009 found that marriage factors and health differ for men and women throughaout the life span because being married shortens a woman's life by 1.4 years but lengthens a man's by 1.7 years. The study found that bad marriages, with lots of arguing and negative feelings, make both sexes stressed but cause physical illness only in wives. The men in bad marriages reported stress and reported being depressed, but their physical health didn't seem to be affected.

The Female Brain

We know enough to see that the fundamentally misconceived nature versus nurture debate should be abandoned: child development is inextricably both. (Kuigi jäi mulje, et Brizendine mõtles omaette, et tegelikult pole kasvatus ja kultuur üldse tähtsad, sest ei mehed ega naised suuda oma kehalisi vajadusi kuidagi taltsutada... Vähemalt selline mulje jäi.)

Pean lõpetuseks mainima, et aeg, mis kulus nende raamatute lugemisele, neist mõtlemisele ja nende arutamisele, oleks vähemalt osaliselt võinud kuluda millelegi mõistlikumale.

Arvustus ajakirjas Nature.