Professor Cordelia Fine joins Samara this week to talk about 'norms of reaction' in relation to sex differences. Feminist critics of sex difference research are often accused of claiming there are no sex differences, or that sex hormones have no influence on human behaviour. Cordelia talks us through why this is a false characterisation. Instead, feminist researchers are digging into the ways in which the developmental outcomes of genes and hormones on behaviour can vary radically depending on environmental conditions.   

Links to some of the works Cordelia mentions in the podcast are provided below:

Rebecca Jordan-Young, Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences

Jillian Barker, Beyond Biofatalism: Human Nature for an Evolving World 2015

Video: Daphna Joel, ‘Neuroscience of Sex and Gender’

Cordelia Fine, Delusions of Gender 2010

Cordelia Fine, Testosterone Rex 2016

A transcript of the interview can be found here: https://www.hpsunimelb.org/post/episode-4-transcript

Thanks for listening to The HPS Podcast with current producers, Samara Greenwood and Carmelina Contarino. You can find more about us on our blog, website, bluesky, twitter, instagram and facebook feeds. Music by ComaStudio.

This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.

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