Femme mentale

Like most women I am unpredictable. There are moments I feel the jagged edge of the glass ceiling, and others where I embrace a mini and stilettos. Sometimes I convince myself that men are the chosen people, until I remember that they have to shave daily. So, it was this week that I opened the Guardian with unfettered excitement over a feature article entitled "Do women really talk more?" There is something about scientific studies into gender differences that I find irresistible.

That is, unless they turn out to be predictable, sexist claptrap. Which was sadly the upshot of the Guardian's challenge of the media hyped myth from the U.S. bestseller, The Female Brain, by Louann Brizendine. Namely that women talk more - 20,000 words a day compared with 7,000 for the average man - and they talk twice as fast. And no drumroll needed: the claim remains unsubstantiated (which is spin for untrue).

Which we could have guessed all along. A bit of Googling easily turns up at least nine different versions of this claim, ranging from 50,000 vs. 25,000 down to 5,000 vs. 2,500. A few minutes of "deeper" research reveals that none of the authors of these claims actually seems to have counted, and none cites anyone who seems to have counted either. Because when it comes to the sexes you only need to compare George Michael with George Bush, Kate Moss with Kate Middleton, or your partner with your ex to provide a useful reminder that both sexes are complex and, indeed, that similarities (as well as differences) abound.

So next time if all they can offer up is 1950s sexist propaganda, let's ask they at least make sure it's the real deal: