Mapreaders & Multitaskers: Men, Women, Nature, Nurture

by Gavin Evans

In Mapreaders and Multitaskers, Gavin Evans argues that male and female minds do not emerge from different planets, and that our emotional and intellectual capacities are moulded more by culture than biology.



A great many of the supposedly innate gender differences between men and women have been invented or exaggerated by evolutionary psychologists and self-help authors. Evans offers fresh insight on gender roles through proposing unconventionally wide and flexible definitions of what it is to be masculine and feminine, from a firm biological base.



This book challenges ideas rooted in conventional wisdom, including the idea that 'male brains' are fundamentally different from 'female brains'; that men have evolved to be inherently more promiscuous than women; that women have evolved to spend more time in front of the mirror; that there are more male geniuses and more idiots, that maternal instinct is 'hard-wired', and that men are better at mapreading and women at multitasking.

Genres: Nonfiction

338 pages, Paperback

Published January 12, 2017

Reviews

[Bridget Pitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing read this is, after years of being bombarded with the ‘innate gender polarity’ assertions that have long dominated the pop psych narratives. I can strongly recommend Gavin Evans highly intelligent book, Map readers and Multi-taskers. A worthy compliment to Black brain, White brain, the book develops a compelling argument, solidly backed by evidence, that while men and women obviously have physical differences, gender is primarily a social construct.

Evans thoroughly debunks the studies that claim to prove the existence of “hardwired” gender determined differences, such as a preference for the colour pink, a passion for shopping or gossiping, and inability to be a natural genius. He exposes these studies as based on spurious conclusions, poor research protocols, and fanciful speculation regarding the behaviour and thought patterns of our hunter gatherer ancestors. Evans explores the some times harmful implications of the mythology created by this pseudo-scientific body of work in the spheres of education, child development, sexuality and parenting, and demonstrates just how poorly it stands up to scrutiny. He reveals how popular media’s enthusiasm for these studies has given them a weight far beyond their merit, and contributed to grafting these ideas onto popular notions of what distinguishes men and women.

Despite its scholarly underpinnings, the book is an easy, entertaining and often amusing read. It is essential for anyone who has ever questioned the assumptions underlying biologically determined gender identities – and should be compulsory for any who have swallowed the evolutionary psychologists claims on these. Let’s hope this well researched and meticulously argued text is given the media attention it deserves.