It has been said that the ancient Creek physicians sought to understand human nature, at least its physical aspects, by shutting their eyes. Reading the volumes of print devoted to the so-called psychology of women, I have often had the impression that the authors were doing similarly, constructing as facts what were notions or hypotheses. Some of those distorted beliefs and misconceptions about women were quite understandable, since many of the papers on women were written by men who came from outside the experiences of women in cultures that, indeed, saw to it that men and women