Book Reviews -- the Mismeasure of Women by Carol Tavris

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The subtitle of this elegant book, Why women are not the better sex, the inferior sex, or the opposite sex, instantly conveys its major themes and main message. While Carol Tavris would like to eschew all "oversimplified" dichotomies, including the maximalist/minimalist differences controversy (p. 288) that divides the feminist community, she takes the firm position that the psychosocial political context is the most powerful, albeit not the only, explanation for the behavior of both women and men. It is the context of oppression, poverty, and multiple frustrations, rather than female hormones, she suggests, that explains the higher rates of depression among women--although she even …