which these female scientists work and that they follow her footsteps. This is as wrong and demeaning as would be the suggestion that all black scientists walk in the footsteps of George Washington Carver. (4) Konner implies that because a select subset of female scientists agree with him, we should conclude that the evidence is very strong and that we should be convinced. Actually, there is no unanimity in this field and one could just as easily list brilliant female scientists who disagree with We do know that a loving consistent environment especially in childhood can ameliorate aggressive tendencies in all humans. Konnor. In fact, an equal number of fallacies and misconceptions characterize Konner’s interpretation of scientific issues. But what about the real subject of concern to us all — the question of innate sexual differences in aggressiveness and in brain function? This is a difficult subject about which we know very little. Current evidence suggests that the Y-chromosome of males has a major, controlling effect on differentiation of the two sexes. Furthermore, this Y-chromosome influence affects virtually every tissue of the body. Some of these “secondary sexual charactistics” are obvious, whereas others are more subtle and can only be detected by analyzing the molecular constituents of the cells. We already know that these differences occur in the brain as well as in other tissues. But we do not really have the foggiest idea what these differences might contribute to complex behaviors such as “aggressiveness” and “egoism.” However, we do know that a loving consistent environment especially in childhood can ameliorate aggressive tendencies in all humans. Consequently, it seems rational and humane to try to ensure that all children have access to such nurturing love. The alternative approach suggested by Konner has had a history of failure: to regulate human opportunity based on alleged innate differences between different people. Let us not once again follow such a dismal path. Johanna Brenner with Janice Haaken Hiding behind the skirts of several women scientists and waving an invitation to the corridors of power, Konner appears to make us an offer we can’t refuse: admit that men are naturally more aggressive than women and we will let the women rule the world. Surely, those of us women who continue to be skeptical about claims of “natural” differences between the sexes in personality attributes or intellectual capacities (“right brain/left brain” Is the latest form of that one) are terrible ingrates. However, we must refuse Konner’s invitation to jump on Mother Nature’s bandwagon. In our culture, where adult male and female roles differ markedly in the degree of expected aggression and dependencies, socialization into sex-typed behavior begins with the baby’s first cry. Moss’s study of mother-infant interaction, for example, found that mothers handle their boy and girl infants differently even at three weeks old. Goldberg found that mothers touch, talk to, and hold their infant girls more than their infant boys. By thirteen months, girl children had learned to reciprocate their mothers’ attention: they talked to and touched their mothers more often The Writers Melvin Konner is Chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. His specialty is biological anthropology. Ursula K. LeGuin is a Portland writer of science fiction, fantasy and poetry. Her many award-winning works, which include The Left Hand of Darkness, Malafrena and The Dispossessed, make her pre-eminent in her field. Elaine Spencer is Associate Professor of Chemistry at Portland State University. David Kabat is Professor of Biochemistry at the Oregon Health Sciences University. His recent research is in the role of steroid hormones in control of breast cancer. Johanna Brenner and Janice Haaken are, respectively, Associate Professors of Sociology/Women’s Studies and Psychology at Portland State University. Maureen McGuire is Director of the Oregon Program for Sexual Health at the Oregon Health Sciences University. Katherine Dunn is a Portland writer whose novels, Attic and Truck are available from Avon and Bantam. Her column (with Peter Fritsch) on boxing appears regularly in Willamette Week. often than boy children did. In our society, the behaviors expected of each sex are highly dichotomized. But Konner’s contention that some differences are universal — that men are always more violent and aggressive than women — is not as firmly supported by evidence as he implies. Many anthropologists continue to argue that in at least some human groups war and violence are not prevalent in social life — the African Mbuti and the Montagnais- Naskapi of Labrador, for example — and that in these groups neither men or women are particularly aggressive. On the other hand, in some social contexts, women can be every bit as aggressive as the men of their group. The Iroquois women took a major part in the torture of war captives. While not trained as warriors in most societies, women are capable of very aggressive behavior when defending their children. Clearly, our biological natures create both needs and potentials. Hunger is a physiological state, as is sexual arousal, fear, anger, etc. But how we go about meeting those needs — how we sate our hunger, direct our anger, or satisfy a sexual urge — has shown a wonderfully varied range as we look at human societies cross-culturally and historically. 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