Most of my readers know that I was once a feminist. For better or for worse, most of my scholarly publications are in, on, or informed by feminism. What made me abandon feminism was its inability to accept—indeed, to respect—the findings of biology (particularly that branch of it known as evolutionary psychology). Many feminists have their heads in the sand. They are so committed to believing that there are no innate differences between men and women that they filter out anything that disconfirms the belief. This is dogmatism. You have to try very hard not to notice how different men and women are. Yes, they have a lot in common. But they also have many differences, and not all the differences can be explained in terms of socialization.
John Tierney is a brave man. He subjects himself to the wrath of feminists by bringing the findings of biology to his audience. See here for today's op-ed column. It's important to keep in mind that to say that there are innate differences between men and women is not to say that one sex is better than (or superior to) the other. Two things can be different but equal. Some of the aptitudes men have fit them for certain tasks. Other aptitudes make them unfit for certain tasks. The same is true of women. Men are more competitive than women. This isn't to say that the least-competitive man is more competitive than the most-competitive woman. It's to say that the average man is more competitive than the average woman. Men are taller than women. Same thing.
Saying that men are more competitive than women doesn't mean that men are better than (or superior to) women, but it does help us understand why men behave as they do. It's explanatory, not justificatory. Nor does knowing that men are more competitive than women imply that men are conscious of their competitiveness. We're hard-wired to be competitive, just as women are hard-wired to attend to their appearance and to take pleasure in male attention (the "adoring gaze"). Perhaps men should be less competitive, or should learn when to turn their competitiveness off. Perhaps women should devote fewer resources (including time) to adornment. Those are evaluative claims. Let's not confuse evaluations with descriptions. How we are by nature is one thing. How we ought to conduct ourselves in light of that knowledge is another.
Addendum: If you want to learn more about evolutionary psychology, acquire and read this book. It is one of the best books I've read. It changed my life.