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Mari Ruti
Mari Ruti
Self-Help

Enough with Evolutionary Biology: Follow-Up

Is self-help "science" a justification for gender stereotyping?

Since my previous post created so much controversy - something I expected - let me clarify a few things:

I know there is a lot of high-quality evolutionary biology being produced by scientists. I don't have a problem with this. What I'm attacking is our general cultural tendency to run wild with evolutionary biological gender models that cannot possibly be proven in any real scientific sense. More specifically, what bothers me is that evolutionary biology is being used to "justify" some of the most entrenched gender stereotypes of our culture, as if resorting to biology somehow made these stereotypes okay. Even more specifically, what drives me nuts is the self-help variety of evolutionary biology: self-help authors who have absolutely no scientific training and who use evolutionary models to advocate ridiculously outdated ideas about men and women. I suggest that those of you who are so upset by my previous post browse the self-help section of Barnes & Noble to see just how horridly evolutionary biology is being twisted to sell us a caveman version of masculinity and a 1950s version of femininity!

My question to the defenders of such models is: why is it acceptable to use "science" to perpetuate gender stereotypes in a culture that is otherwise doing its best to move away from stereotypical thinking (about race, ethnicity, religion, etc.)? I think most of us understand that stereotypes limit our lives, making it impossible for us to relate to individuals as complex beings rather than as caricatures. And we understand that stereotypes are hurtful and unfair. We (rightly) get upset about racial profiling. And we (rightly) think twice about making judgments about a specific person based on income, nationality, or religious affiliation. Why, then, are we so wedded to gender profiling? And why is gender the one thing that biology is supposed to "explain" in its entirety when we readily resort to social explanations for pretty much everything else.

What distinguishes the genuine evolutionary biologists - the ones who actually are true scientists - from the way that we as a culture, and particularly as a self-help culture, use evolutionary biology is that they understand the limits of science; they understand that "science" that merely replicates social prejudice is a mockery of science (and I really appreciate the response to my post written by the female professional in the field - thanks!). Trust me, I don't have a problem with real science. I respect the ability of science to investigate the laws of nature and the mysteries of the universe. I just don't think that the folks writing self-help books and magazine articles about human romantic behaviour know much about real science. They are merely using a corrupt version of science as "prove" the validity of some of the most outrageous gender stereotypes of our culture. I don't think any real scientist would endorse this. And neither do I.

Also, a lot of the commentators to my previous post seem to assume that I advocate a feminism that pits men and women against each other in some sort of a battle of the sexes. This couldn't be further from the truth. In my recent writings I have argued that gender stereotypes hurt men almost as much as women. And I have been defending modern men, pointing out that many of them are NOT the misogynistic cavemen that many self-help authors portray them to be (which makes it all the more ironic that I seem to have inadvertently awakened a whole hoard of precisely such cavemen). My goal is to liberate all of us - men and women alike - from stereotypes that can only impede our capacity to relate to each other in genuinely loving ways.

More on gender and our self-help culture to come, so stay tuned!

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About the Author
Mari Ruti

Mari Ruti, Ph.D., is a professor of Critical Theory at the University of Toronto. She is the author of The Case for Falling in Love and The Summons of Love.

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