Gender Shock

At a time when men are staying home to parent and women are leaving to practice law and politics, America is confused and anxious about what differences truly exist between the sexes. In a world of changing roles for both sexes, how are "masculine" and "feminine" defined? If women and men are created equal, how then do gender differences emerge?

Combining investigative journalism with a survey of current scientific research, Phyllis Burke pushes our society's hottest button, gender anxiety. Contrary to gender gurus such as John Gray, who have depended upon exploiting the differences between men and women, Burke debunks the myth that men and women are from different planets. She casts a disbelieving eye on the shockingly popular diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, in which children as young as three years old undergo therapy for not adhering to accepted notions of "girl" and "boy" behavior, and she encourages a shift towards a "gender independent" culture, in which individuals adopt the best traits of both sexes.