The Female Brain

Very Amusing but no academic value whatsoever

You know an author is out to prove something when she states that she attended Harvard, Yale, and Berkeley within the first page of her book. Furthermore, you know she wants to be taken seriously when she keeps repeating this claim to fame every few pages and also reminds you of all the thousands of cases she has seen while working at her clinic. What you don't know, however, is why someone who claims to be so experienced relies solely on anonymous studies and personal anecdotes about herself, unidentified friends, and nameless patients (besides one biochemistry professor who was a pole dancer in college) as the basis for generalizations for the behavior of ALL women and men.

Brizendine spends the majority of her book discussing such stories. When she tries to support her claims with scientific data, she is very specific; for instance, a Swiss experiment proved that oxytocin acts as a pleasure stimulant for the brain. Who conducted this experiment? When was it conducted? How many subjects were tested? Such information is conveniently left unmentioned throughout the book in order not to trouble readers' minds with cumbersome facts. Well, if that's the case, then an experiment conducted in NY proved that the brain is actually located in a person's neck and not the head. Brizendine did provide over 70 pages of notes and references, but readers are sure to be able to take the time to match anecdote with reference number when the references are alphabetized without any mention to the chapter they support.

Many of the "facts" this books provides are also very questionable. Men think about sex once a minute while women think about it a maximum of three times per day? Do these chaste women turn on the television, ever? And I'm sure every teenage boy thinks about sex two hundred forty times during the four hours that he spends taking the SAT. (And yet, some boys STILL get perfect scores. They must be great prodigies indeed.) As another example, Brizendine states that women speak an average amount of 20000 words per day while men only speak 7000, a fact that Brizendine obtained from a self-help book written in 1997 called "Talk Language: How to Use Conversation for Profit and Pleasure." I'm sure years of meticulous research were made to prove THAT hypothesis.

Overall, on an academic scale of 1-10, I would give this book a 3. The basic premises of the book is that women and girls seek acceptance and are remarkably intuitive due to possessing low testosterone levels, while men are domineering, aloof, and incapable of reading other people's body language when it does not indicate a direct threat to them. On an entertainment scale, however, I would give it an 8. I had such a great time watching Brizendine try to get me to take her seriously and every few pages evoked quite a few laughs. Some great quotes presented in this literary masterpiece:

"Testosterone has been shown to decrease talking as interest in socializing---except when it involves sports or sexual pursuit."

"Their [adolescent boys'] reluctance to talk to their parents comes out of magical thinking that grown-ups will read between their spoken lines and the look in their eyes and know that the subject of sex has taken them over, mind, body, and soul."

"Activities such as caressing, kissing, hugging, gazing, and orgasm can replenish the chemical bond of love in the brain."

17 out of 23 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I'm not a huge fan of this book, and probably few males are. Honestly, it seems like thinly veiled male bashing, and I've read that some of the references cited by the author are questionable. For example, the 20000 female spoken words per day versus 7000 male words per day claim. I'd like to meet the person, ANY person, who on average speaks 20000 words a day. That number seems more than a bit high unless you're an auctioneer, not to mention the supposed 3:1 ratio in words between women and men. Another problem I have with this book is that it uses vague generalities to describe supposedly prototypical women and men, without acknowledging the vast differences in personality and behavior between individuals within each gender. There is also an overemphasis on sex hormones versus neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine, where such neurotransmitter systems probably play a prominent role in encoding many of the characteristics the author ascribes to hormones. On the other hand, the author is good at conveying complex subject matter in simple language, and has a pleasing style of writing. I also think she genuinely cares about her patients, and this comes through in her writing. Overall, worth taking a look.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

If you are a woman and/or love your women...read it!

This insightful book gives us a look into what makes women women. Yes, almost all of our genes are the same, human genes, but the difference between that X and Y chromosomes affects us immensely. It may be confusing to understand, but this book makes it all so much clearer. It shows how the female brain is truly constantly fluctuating. We go through momentous changes at different times in our life, ie. motherhood, that may completely alter our views of the world.

How? Good question. I wondered too, then I read the book.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

A Disagreement

While this book brings focus to many differences between men and women, it does concentrate on a lot of stereotypes which have been empirically proven not to be real. The book is unjustified in many of the stereotypical assumptions it confirms, for example, that men cannot recognize emotion while women can. It oversimplifies situations instead of allowing for multiple explanations for certain trends. It is a good read to understand what many people will believe to be the problem however, as long as one maintains critical thinking throughout reading this , then one will find this book far more useful.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Every Parent with a Daughter, Every Married Man should Read This and Apply It

As a widower wishing to understand relationships this is the most informative read to date.

I tear up in that I have made many mistakes in previous marriages. In Dr. Bizendine's book I heard echos of the very conversations (hurtful many times) from my previous relationships.

I would have benefited from this book in raising daughters.

Not the easiest read, but well worth the effort.

-rem-

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Paul J Fitzgerald wouldn't understand anyway.

Mr. Fitzgerald's negative review of a book about how women work is understandable. After all, he is a man, not a woman. And as the book review states, the majority of data on brain function is based on the male brain. The female brain is the key to balanced views - seeing both sides and allowing both sides to exist simultaneously rather than pooh-poohing the view that is not agreed with. It is the future of peace in the world and the salvation of the human race. The male of the species who can subjugate their ego will be part of humanity's future. I doubt Mr. Fitzgerald will be one of those.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!

This is is very well-written. It is easy to read for beginers and to understand. Brizendine used several examples, some of which were funny. It is extremely interesting and captivating. Not only women should should this but men as well, you might learn a thing or two!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A NO-BRAINER

I find this book very unflattering to women, mildly informative and beleaguered with sweeping generalizations. What do we know? Yes women are moody ¿ emotional roller coasters ¿ wired to blow their fuse at the drop of a misperception or doubt and are emotionally out of control. Now women, who for centuries have been accused of having no accountability and sense of reason, are being told by this researcher that all they need to do is to pop a pill and they will be contented and complacent. We will all be able have acceptable female friends, female partners, wives, waitresses and window washers, albeit stoned Stepford Wives. The tears will be replaced with calm and cool, and we will be capable of getting on to the next level of business without the fearsome Carries and Camilles. With regard to women¿s intuition and keen sense of perception, clearly the author leaves out the proposition, that woman by nature (as she herself supposes) are nurturing, and needing of approval and acceptance, and are looking harder and longer for anything that would smack of approval or disapproval, and in vigorously doing so are going to find a flaw or inconsistency. Let¿s not confuse trouble making with table tapping. I think this book does an injustice to the centuries of social pressure and brainwashing put upon women who have become convinced that, without drugs, they have no control over their emotions. It underplays the role of drugless self-analysis and confidence building. On the subject of the male brain, she suggests that that is ¿another book¿. Okay somebody, get with it and let¿s even the playing field. Perhaps a more balanced comparative study would make for better sense of this issue.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I disagree

As a woman I have to disagree with the many generalizations in this book. I found many of them to be very untrue. I don't think the author has taken into consideration that many of these behaviors come out in women who are very unhappy. Drugging themselves isn't going to solve the problem, although it may make them feel better. I have not read the male version of this book, and I don't think I will either. It will likely excuse all their behaviors with testoterone, hormones and other brain activity. This book did not take into consideration environement at all either. I give it three stars, because I think that's about how much of the overall answer to women's behavior that it contained. a good 2 stars worth was missing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend!

I read it to my wife, and we winced and laughed as we came to some recognition of events over our 45 years of marriage. Thank you Dr. Brizendine! This is a must read for husbands and wives, fathers and mothers!

Captivating and informative

This book provided so much information and insight. use this as a reference for all stages of the female life, from conception to post menopause. I couldnt put it down and finished reading in three days.

A must read!

This book helps explain many of our thoughts and actions even when you don't understand them yourself. I wish it focused more on relationships and less on menopause, but I still recommended it as a very informational read.

Awesome book!!

Very interesting, well written and super informative! Highly recommended! Great author

Changed how I view myself and other women!

I can't say enough good things about this book. It details the differences of male and female brains chemically, physicallly and emotionally in a relatable way. Personally I now understand menopause better now and what to expect. I also better understand relationships I've had in my own life from my mother to friends and co-workers. Another helpful part of this book is better understanding the differences in the male brain, and I'm not just talking from the cosmo like please a man angle. I mean how they are hard wired to think differently. In short this book can change the way you handle yourself with men and women of all ages.

Female Brain

This should be a mandatory read for all high school and college students, and again for parents and those getting married! I can't wait to read "The Male Brain" now!!
Brizendine does a wonderful job of explaining technical, medical ideas into language I can understand and re-state to others. This isn't a "Men are from Mars, Women from Venus" type slosh. This book made me understand scientifically why I think the way I do, and why my husband does what he does. It doesn't give excuses, but the facts.
Add this to "Women, Weight, and Hormones" and you've got a dynamic duo about and for women!

This book made my life make sense

Great book, easy to read and explains so many things women NEED to know about their brains so that they don't just jump to the conclusion that they are crazy. Talking to a psychologist with training in hormone therapy and with a good understanding of neuroscience, as well as this book are LIFE SAVERS!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Female Brain

I found this book to be very compelling, revealing, and affirming.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Super Brainy

This book combines a lot of information I have read about female hormones and the science of the brain; it presents scientific studies supporting how the female hormones and the brain work together to make us who we are. This book is not just for women but also for the men in their life. I loved this book so much I have bought three more to share with friends!

Well maybe Mr. Fiztgerald

Maybe your not a fan because your a guy! There's a bright idea. Maybe this book was meant to go out to more females then men. I don't mean that offensivly at all, but who'd more interested in what a girl does and thinks and progresses in life? Probably girls more then men. And I talk more then 20000 words a day, trust me. She's not trying to be negative, she's explaining. She is not byest in the slightest, and its sounds like your saying she is. You seem to get offended, but men would have probably wrote that girls can't think for themselves and follow others. It's just a book, no need to get worked up. In my opinion personally, I thought this book was interesting. But each to their own.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Gives women serious superiority complex!

This book will leave you truly fascinated with the female brain. Provides good read for everyone. You don't have to be a women's studies major, a man looking to score women, or a neuroscience lover to like this book.