cover image The Anatomy of Sex and Power: An Investigation of Mind-Body Politics

The Anatomy of Sex and Power: An Investigation of Mind-Body Politics

Michael Hutchison. William Morrow & Company, $21.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-688-06588-1

Hutchison ( Megabrain ) selectively cites evidence from neuroscience, biology and anthropology to support his arguments that men are innately more aggressive and violent than women, whereas women are more nurturant. Other innate differences are that men feel more sexual jealousy and are more likely to crave a variety of sex partners, while women appear to have less need for orgasm. ``Big-T types'' (persons with high testosterone levels) are pugnacious and dominant--creative, adventurous risk-takers. ``Little-T types,'' many of whom are women, seek comformity, structure, safety and cooperative effort. Hutchison's skewed arguments descend into psychobabble when he analyzes ``Big-T foreign policy'' and ``Big-T novels.'' His psychological profile of the ``antisex forces''--Christian fundamentalists, cultural conservatives, antiporn feminists--is weakened by his resort to the concept of memes (self-replicating information patterns), which leads him to characterize the straitlaced as persons infected with ``antisex memes.'' First serial to Playboy; author tour. (May)