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Oct. 30--The battle of the sexes is all in our heads -- at least, in our brains, according to an author of a new book.
In "The Female Brain," neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine explains the ways men and women differ on a neurological level. She says male and female brains are built differently, thanks to hormone levels at different stages of life. So, it's no wonder they think and act differently.
The book is getting a lot of buzz based on one heavily touted statistic: Men think about sex every 52 seconds, while women think about it only once a day.
We asked some people around the Twin Cities for their reaction. One thing's for sure: While some people weren't comfortable giving us their full names, they all had something to say.
"Oh, man. Every 52 seconds? I can't say I consciously think about it every 52 seconds. (But) I know I think about it more than once a day." -- Phil, 52, Owatonna
"I think it can vary greatly between individuals, but I would say it's more often in men than in women." -- Mary Neuman, 22, St. Paul
"I guarantee women think about it way more than men do!" -- Rick, 22, Minneapolis
"It depends on the situation, if I'm on vacation or not. One (a day) sounds like too much by far. And I don't think my husband thinks that way at all. I would say he's not even once a day." -- Cindy, 43, Amery, Wis.
"Once a day? That's wrong. I'm even in menopause and I think about it more than once a day. They don't know what they're talking about. (Scoffs) Once a day ..." -- Mary, 52, St. Paul
"Give me a break. That's ridiculous. Now maybe a younger woman, once a day, that might be a little closer to it. But as a woman gets older -- and I've done a survey of this, OK? -- by the time a woman is in her 40s, she's really interested in guys to a much greater extent than younger women are." -- Steve Leier, 52, St. Paul
"Once a day for how long? If (the author) got their degree on that kind of data, they shouldn't have." -- Charlie, 56, St. Paul
"Well, as a matter of fact, I don't think about sex quite that often, but when the feeling does hit me, I lay down until it goes away." -- Tim, 59, Minneapolis
"I think about sex way more than that. As soon as you said the word 'sex,' I started thinking about it." -- Kirsten, 38, St. Paul
"How do you pinpoint what it means to 'think about' sex? I mean, are you thinking about the act of sex, or do they mean just thinking about something having to do with sex? Because men are obviously going to think about their penis now and then, because hey, it's attached to them. And you could say that that is thinking about sex because it's a sexual organ, but I don't know if I would count that because they use it for other things, too." -- Tess, 22, Minneapolis
"Not in my personal experience. If I'm in a lecture for class, odds are I'm not going to be thinking about it. Well, to pass the time, sure, but not every 52 seconds. ... The girls that I know, I mean the way people joke and stuff, I just don't think you can just do that once a day. I don't think it's possible." -- Adam Rusinak, 21, Fridley
"I think about sex a lot more than once a day. I think it depends on the age of the man. I think the younger they are, they probably do think about it a lot more, but I don't know if 52 seconds would be something I'd buy." --Jayashree, 29, Minneapolis
"Ha! I know more than once a day, (but) I never, like, held a contest where you sit across the table from a man and go, 'Boop!' (mimes hitting a button)." -- Katie, 36, Minneapolis
"I don't think that could be true that women only think about sex once per day. There's no way that that's actually true. I mean, I think about sex more than that, and coming from me, that means a lot. I think even nuns think about sex once a day. I would like to know how they actually documented that." -- Stephanie, 23, St. Paul
"I think that 52 seconds is kind of a lot for men; maybe I don't know men's brains well enough, but I wouldn't think that's how often they think about it. And I think about sex way more than once a day. Come on, who are you kidding? Especially if I'm involved in a relationship that's good sex, I think about it way more than once a day." --Mary, 22, Minneapolis
Barbara Kuhn, 46, and Murphy Kuhn, 60, from Santa Barbara, Calif., discussed the findings at a St. Paul diner:
Murphy: "Well, I'm 60 years old, so perhaps the fire's dimmed a little bit."
Barbara: "I would agree that men think about it more than women. Men are a lot more visually oriented in that department than women are. Women want the romance, and I don't think they need that visual thing going on that men do. (Once a day) almost sounds like too much. (Woman in next booth says, "I agree!") She agrees."
Murphy: "Men change as the years go on. The testosterone maybe drops a little bit; it's a little more cerebral. It's possible."
Barbara: "Was it 52 seconds when you were in your 20s?"
Murphy: "Probably."
Barbara: "Really?"
Kevin McCahill provided additional reporting to this article.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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