THE AGE OF SCIENTIFIC SEXISM:

In this penetrating exploration of our culture's fascination with gender stereotypes, Mari Ruti scrutinizes the science behind the idea that men and women live in separate emotional and sexual universes.

Through close analysis of popular science's most lauded titles, Ruti reveals that what we trust as “science” is often merely a front for deeply traditional, anti-feminist ideologies of gender and sexuality. The Age of Scientific Sexism is the long overdue take-down of antiquated notions of evolutionary psychology that have been recycled in our culture and self-help industry for decades. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. How often have we heard that phrase? Or maybe we've read a book or two from John Gray's ubiquitous best-selling franchise. Although originally published over twenty years ago, Mars/Venus is far from “your mother's self-help book.” Today its model is thriving; its main tenet that men and women are so distinct as to be practically different species is deeply ingrained in popular culture. Although we condemn racial and religious stereotypes, we are surprisingly complacent about gender profiling, especially when it comes to discussion of what we want in relationships. Why do we accept this? Because, we've been told, “It's science.” Or is it? The Age of Scientific Sexism questions the idea that romantic behavior can be “explained” through science, and reveals the tremendous damage done to our love lives by this kind of thinking. For decades, gender profiling has claimed the support of evolutionary psychology, which perpetuates such ideas that biological imperatives have hardwired men to be unfaithful, and that men are naturally sexually aggressive, while women are coy and reluctant. Far from harmless theories, Ruti argues, these views are the cornerstone of a conservative backlash against the widespread renegotiation of gender roles, romantic possibilities, and individual lifestyles that characterize our society. The Age of Scientific Sexism is a bold and biting critique of the corrupt science driving our multi-billion dollar self-help industry. MARI RUTI holds degrees from Brown (B.A.), the University of Paris (DEA), and Harvard (M.A. Sociology; M.A. Comparative Literature; Ph.D. Comparative Literature). She is currently Associate Professor of Critical Theory at the University of Toronto. She is the author of The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (Columbia University Press, 2013), The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within (Fordham University Press, 2012), The Summons of Love (Columbia University Press, 2011), A World of Fragile Things: Psychoanalysis and the Art of Living (SUNY Press, 2009), and Reinventing the Soul: Posthumanist Theory and Psychic Life (Other Press, 2006).