Gendered Behavior- Biologically Determined?

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Nisha Kanabar                7/9/04

Gendered Behavior- Biologically Determined?

Men and Women are different- not necessary better or worse, but definitely different. They generally live different lifestyles, in different worlds, with different values and different rules. This is a fact that many are unwilling to admit. Unbelievable? - Just look at the evidence. Why do little girls generally play with dolls, while little boys with toy cars?  Why is blue defined as a “masculine” color, while pink as a “feminine”? Where did all the gender-based stereotypes come from? Women are bad drivers, Men will never ask for directions. Women are too sensitive, Men are not sensitive enough. Women use toilets as social regions and “therapy” rooms, while men clearly only use the toilet for one purpose only. Think about it: Wouldn’t people be instantly wary of the man who called out “Hey Jack, I’m going to the bathroom- you want to join me?” From the shallow questions- why are men and women generally different heights? -To the more innate queries- why until the 1960s did men and women play different roles –domination of males and suppression of women?, it inevitably traces down to one conclusion. Men and women are primarily diverse. The question is what is the reason for this? If one were to leave young girls and boys to develop on a deserted island with no organized society, no parents, would they still be as they are today? Thus poses the question: Is gendered behavior biologically determined?

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Extracts from pop-psychology books profess “The equality of men and women is a political or moral issue; the essential difference is a scientific one.”  Those who disagree with the biological perspective of this issue claim equality between the sexes. However the matter is not whether they are equal, but whether they are identical, which may be what many are confused about. Even scientific studies have shown recently that that behavior between the genders is not only physically different, but also mentally different. The most basic and direct form of evidence available for this argument is that the brain structures differ ...

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