Men and Women

 Hey everyone!

This week I’ve had the opportunity to explore several resources considering the differences between men and women. In one video I found particularly interesting, a man named John Stossel supports the idea that there are certain gender differences that are innate. There have been studies that have shown slight differences between the male and female brain. Men tend to have more grey matter, while women show more white matter, or part of the brain that makes all of the connections. There are differences in how infant boys and girls tend to behave. Infant boys tend to focus on things that move, while girls focus on people’s faces. In class, my professor also mentioned a study where a clear divider was put between an infant and their mother. In this study, the girls often cried while the boys would charge at the divider trying to get to their mom. Elementary school age children were asked the differences between boys and girls in the video. Girls mentioned things like “boys are more noisy” while boys said that girls are boring. Even at a young age, boys and girls seemed to notice a difference between genders. One aspect of the video I found very interesting was that they interviewed a few feminist women so that we could see their perspectives. They believed that gender roles are strictly influenced by the nurture of a child and are forced upon children even if they do not want them. From what I observed, these women were very adamant about their views and wanted men and women to be exactly the same. They want the number of men and women in all careers to be equal. They seemed to be taking any research showing differences between genders personally and as if it somehow means that women are less than men. 

There was one quote from the video I really liked, “If we keep saying the differences between what men and women choose to do are because of sexism, nobody is ever going to be happy with what they are doing, and we are going to keep making laws to remedy what is actually just the result of freedom.” I love that! Of course it is so important that men and women have equal opportunities, but that does not mean we need to be exactly the same or do the same things with those opportunities. I think differences are very important because they are what make us unique and ourselves. It does not make sense to me to force companies to hire a certain amount of women if the jobs they have are jobs women do not commonly choose. Everyone should have equal rights and equal opportunities to get the careers they want. I think differences are what help us to work well together as a society. We all have different strengths and weaknesses that allow us to rely on each other. Heavenly Father created the divine roles of men and women in a way that would give children brought to the earth the best chance of succeeding and of receiving the love and care they need. As the Family Proclamation states, “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.” I believe it is the differences between men and women that allow them to compliment each other in accomplishing these things.