Genes, Brains and Gendered Behavior: Rethinking Power and Politics in Response to Condit, Liesen, and Vandermassen

In response to the commentaries by Condit, Liesen, and Vandermassen, I argue that we lack a more nuanced understanding of women’s political behavior (and therefore politics in general) because of the sustained barrier between the social and natural sciences, historical missteps, researcher bias, and perhaps an inclination to ask the wrong questions. By taking a Darwinian feminist approach to exploring gendered political behavior, and with the tools of behavior genetics and cognitive neuroscience, we can better understand the psychological and behavioral repertoires of men and women as well as predict political outcomes.