Gender Differences and Roles

The issue of what makes us who we are, dealing with gender roles and expectations, have definitely shaped controversies all over the world and began topics of debate ever since the woman’s rights movement started. Are men and women different because of our ancestral background and biological systems? Or, do both only seem different because of the way society shapes all of us? This is a debate of “nature versus nurture”. Nature is our genes and nurture is how we are raised through means from society, family, peers, school, and the media. There are two main reasons why this issue is universally controversial. One reason is because people say that it is sexist to think that men and women aren’t the same and this stirs up many arguments. The other reason deals with religion. Do you think more in a scientist’s perspective or more in a spiritual, religious perspective? In this debate, there will be two perspectives from each side that will be heavily dealt with. Diana Kendall, the author of Society in Our Times, will be presented on the “nurture” side of the debate because of the plethora of information found in her textbook, and the idea that her books are being taught in Sociology classes, is important to this issue because that means many teachers believe that it is true.

In the film documentary, Men, Women & The Sex Difference, John Stossel, a journalist and a father, hosts and plays an important part on the “nature” side of the debate. First of all, John has raised both genders, so he says that “There are distinct differences between them.” To help John out, June Reinisch, a PhD psychologist says that “Difference is great and the whole idea that males and females are different come from biological studies.” It’s all comes from when the sperm meets the egg to form a zygote, then eventually, the newborn is different because of the excess amount of androgen and estrogen in both boys and girls. There are only few exceptions, but almost all have the same amount of each in them: boys with much androgen and girls with much estrogen.

The directional study was a plan hosted many times in the recent years, and is a common method to show how different both genders are when it comes to remembering and showing how to arrive at a certain destination through certain clues, and path routes. In almost all cases, the men would state direct ways of where to go, such as saying, “left” or “right”. They wouldn’t be specific and point to certain landmarks, like the women did. The females remembered in detail where to go, but men seemed to have a stronger sense of direction. The final part of the test was when they blindfolded a guy and a gal to show how to get from point A to point B, of course, with having a guide with them so they don’t knock into a wall or a person. It turns out that men were able to show them the way more effectively than woman. This proves the idea that men have an excellent sense of direction, while woman, have a direct mind for detail.