While all are invited to comment, I'm particularly interested in hearing what the women have to say. Was this really that offensive what he said?
Summers declined to provide a tape or transcript of his remarks, but he did describe comments to the Globe similar to what participants recalled.I only ask because I thought there was research about women's brains vs. men's brains, women being left-brained or whatever it was (i.e., more creative), versus men being right-brained (i.e., more technical or something). This raises an interesting question - or does it? Namely, is it ever okay to suggest that the differences in the sexes actually goes so deep as to suggest that each sex may have an advantage over the other in certain areas? I mean, it's not sexist to suggest that men are genetically predisposed to being stronger than women (I think I'm safe on that one). So where do such comparisons cross the line, and does Summers cross it?
"It's possible I made some reference to innate differences," he said. He said people "would prefer to believe" that the differences in performance between the sexes are due to social factors, "but these are things that need to be studied."
He also cited as an example one of his daughters, who as a child was given two trucks in an effort at gender-neutral upbringing. Yet he said she named them "daddy truck" and "baby truck," as if they were dolls.
I'm really curious what folks think, because I'm not sure.
