Reading More.

 
In preparing this site, we have attempted, as far as possible, to interpret other people's accounts as impartially as possible. It cannot however, be entirely unbiased, for every author inevitably has his, or her, own internal agenda. In addition, we may have been selective in the material we have used, either unintentionally, or simply because we have not found sources of opposing views. It is also human for one to find as much support as possible for one's hypotheses, and to discard them with great reluctance.

We have, however, tried to indicate our speculations by using such words as "Perhaps" and "One might think" or by tucking them away in side pages as comments, or simply coming straight out and referring to a page as speculation.

Particularly in the study of gender, one needs to read everything with a pinch of salt. Newspaper reports are often sensationalised, occasionally completely wrong. But then journalists are not constrained by the need for academic accuracy. This is true also of many webpages, and to some extent to television documentaries, which rarely quote their sources.

Many books, particularly historical analyses have a gay or feminist viewpoint, while others have a medical and clinical agenda. We have developed the habit, with any new book, of looking for a description, a CV, for the author - whether, for instance, they have academic credentials in the specialism they are writing about. One book we have read on the evolution of human culture is written by a gynecologist. It happens to be a good one, full of interesting ideas, but one is forewarned to check them a little more closely. Another book which hit the headlines, is written by two journalists and is overtly political (and full of mistakes). There are, however, many journalists who are highly respected by the academic community. Academic credentials, of course, are no guarantee that authors are not riding their hobby horses, nor in the thrall of some dogma, but they will face the criticism of their peers.

What then, of the author of this site? Although by convention, the word 'we' is used, it is I alone who is writing it - for the present, at least. This not the place for an extended autobiography. Suffice it to say that my childhood was unusual in that I was virtually isolated from any peer group. This was not something I, of course, realised at the time. It came out of the self-analysis of my own gender identity crisis. I began writing some twelve years ago and, naturally, it was initially self-therapeutic, as I sought for answers to my own place in the world, but I also discovered a fascinating topic. While my writing didn't please everyone, I believe it was generally well received. My search for answers led me to studying psychology, initially, then biology, and then our cultural history.