Chapter 10 Further Reading: The Biology-Culture Feedback Loop

The following resources are organized from most accessible to most technical within each section. Where a work has been substantially contested or revised, this is noted.

Essential Books

Lisa Diamond, Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire (Harvard University Press, 2008) The foundational text for this chapter's discussion of sexual plasticity. Diamond writes with unusual clarity for an academic psychologist, and she is scrupulous about what her data do and do not show. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand orientation and desire without the distortions of either biological essentialism or social constructionism. Start here.

Cordelia Fine, Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society (W. W. Norton, 2017) Fine's second popular-science book (after Delusions of Gender) focuses specifically on the mythology of testosterone and its role in justifying sex-differentiated behavior. Rigorously evidenced, witty, and at times pointed. Fine is not arguing for sameness; she is arguing for complexity. Appropriate for undergraduate readers with no prior background.

Anne Fausto-Sterling, Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (Basic Books, 2000) A landmark work in the biology-culture interface, Fausto-Sterling argues that biological sex itself is not a pre-cultural given but is produced through a process that involves cultural and medical intervention. Dense but enormously influential. Chapter 3 (on intersex conditions and medical management) and Chapter 8 (on hormones and the brain) are most relevant to this chapter's themes. Note: some of the specific empirical claims have been updated by subsequent research, but the theoretical framework remains important.

Richard Lewontin, Steven Rose, and Leon Kamin, Not in Our Genes: Biology, Ideology, and Human Nature (Pantheon Books, 1984) An older but still valuable critique of biological reductionism from three prominent scientists. Lewontin's argument about the ideological functions of biological determinism — which claims about human nature serve which social interests — remains relevant and underappreciated. More polemical than Fine but historically important. Note the publication date; some of the genetic science has been superseded.

On Epigenetics and Nature-Nurture

Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb, Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life (MIT Press, 2005; revised 2014) The most accessible treatment of the extended evolutionary synthesis, including epigenetics and niche construction, by two scientists who have been central to developing these frameworks. Chapters 4–6 are most relevant to this chapter's themes. The revised edition includes responses to critics. Suitable for upper-division undergraduates.

Nessa Carey, The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance (Columbia University Press, 2012) A more accessible introduction to epigenetics for readers without a biology background. Carey covers the mechanisms clearly and addresses the popular-science hype surrounding epigenetics with appropriate skepticism. Does not focus specifically on attraction but provides essential background for evaluating epigenetic claims in the literature.

On Sexual Fluidity and Orientation

Lisa Diamond, "Sexual Fluidity in Male and Females," Current Sexual Health Reports, 2016 Diamond's subsequent work extending the fluidity framework to men, with a careful review of the evidence suggesting that male desire may show less fluidity on average than female desire and discussion of the likely mechanisms. More technical than Sexual Fluidity but readable for undergraduates.

Ritch Savin-Williams, Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity Among Men (Harvard University Press, 2017) A complementary perspective from developmental psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams, focusing on men who identify as "mostly straight" — a large, often invisible population whose existence complicates both strict heterosexual and strict gay-or-bisexual categorizations.

On Testosterone and Social Behavior

Cordelia Fine, Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference (W. W. Norton, 2010) Fine's first popular book, focused more broadly on the neuroscience of sex differences. Provides the scientific background for the testosterone discussion and situates it within a broader critique of neurosexism.

Justin Carré and Cheryl McCormick, "In Your Face: Facial Metrics Predict Aggressive Behaviour in the Laboratory and in Varsity and Professional Hockey Players," Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2008 A technically accessible example of the research on hormonal markers and social behavior that illustrates both the genuine findings and the methodological issues Fine discusses.

Online and Accessible Resources

The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour maintains a public resource page on animal sexual behavior and what it does and does not imply about human sexuality — a useful corrective to casual cross-species extrapolation.

Lisa Diamond's faculty page at the University of Utah includes links to several of her papers available for free download, including more recent work on the role of the attachment system in sexual plasticity.