Anyway, it got me thinking about how brain differences make men act differently from women, and by extension, how male characters would act differently from female characters. I did some more googling and found these:
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-606581.pdf argues that there is a difference in genders, but it’s not nearly as large as the media commonly portrays it. The biggest differences are in motor performance, aggression, and some measures of sexuality. It’s notable that societal gender norms, not just biology, will often influence behavior.
http://www.apa.org/research/action/difference.aspx argues that “one's sex has little or no bearing on personality, cognition and leadership.” This article cites the previous one and makes a lot of the same points, but it’s an easier read.
https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2017spring/how-mens-and-womens-brains-are-different.html argues that there are significant differences in cognitive ability. Women are better at verbal skills, fine-motor-coordination, perceptual speed, and retrieving information from long term memory. Men are better at visuo-spatial skills and juggling items in working memory. The article also has a long description of neurobiological differences.
I know a lot of you guys are authors. How do you write male characters differently from female characters? I’ve heard people say not to write a male or female character, but a character who happens to be male or female. I think this can work because many of the differences are learned, not innate. A character’s personality will depend a lot on their upbringing and culture. But what do you guys think?