I was involved briefly in some discussions lately where a lot of "scientific" studies were slung around to prove the innate differences between men and women (said differences usually being presented with subtext of different=inferior/wimmin).

I'm not a scientist, and while I remain fascinated by some of the recent brain research, I'm also leery of how a patriarchal system can twist numbers to justify oppression.

So: when I saw one of my favorite logs (Languagelog, a blog contributed to by a number of linguists) posting on how "science" is spun in the popular media to *prove* innate gender differences despite qualifications and limits made by the researchers themselves, I decided to make a post linking to it so I (and others if you wish) can have handy links in future.

(This log did a brilliant series on claims about men and women using language differently made by a female writer some time ago--I can go dig those out after summer school maybe--they look at how linguistic research is mis reported in popular writing).

( behind the cut is teh Debunking )