What does it even mean to have a male/female brain?

Question

I have began taking a class on the sociology of gender and how gender is more malleable than previously thought and that femininity and masculinity exists in a continuum. What does this actually imply for the observable activity of people? For example, are women born with more male brains more likely to be lesbian? or prefer male friends? or prefer a more feminine sexual partner? And Can you tell from physical appearances that an individual has a more masculine or feminine brain? (ex: a man with a more feminine voice or a woman with more masculine features)

Answer 1

I don't think the idea of a male/female brain is well established in the neurosciences.

If you read a book like Delusions of Gender you'll get a critical perspective on the status of sex differences in the brain.

At some level, sex differences in behaviour must be mediated through the brain. But there are major debates about the degree to which such behavioural differences are influenced by social versus biological factors. Likewise, the image of the brain can create an excessive sense in which we are talking about a fixed entity. In addition, with regards to a range of behaviours and brain factors, there is often more overlap than there are differences between the sexes.

None of this aims to deny the value of a deep study of the neuroscience of sex differences. It's just that I don't think the concept of the "female brain" makes sense, certainly not at this point in our understanding.