Round 2
In light of yesterday’s post and the ensuing comments, I will use my incredible knowledge (i.e., the fact that it’s my blog) to settle the matter once and for all. Yes, that’s right. Thousands of scientists throughout the years have dedicated entire lifetimes to studying the differences between men and women, but I’m going to answer the questions right here and now.
The real key to this issue, as well as questions of addiction and even gender identity itself, lies in the mixture of genetic predisposition and environmental stimuli. That is, certain behavioral patters are predisposed genetically. But for the most part they are able to be overcome based on the environment and the experiences of each individual. For example, a person may be predisposed to alcoholism. But he obviously can’t become an alcoholic if he never touches the stuff. Do you ever hear anybody argue “I’m an alcoholic because God made me that way”? Of course not. It’s accepted that we exert some control over our behavior.
And so it is with much of the way we act and even think. Our genes provide a basic program, if you will. But we, through effort, can alter the source code, to continue with the software analogy, to gain a measure of control over the outcome. A woman who is raised exclusively around men is unlikely to exhibit all of the stereotypically female behaviors. But, at the same time, studies show that young boys and girls are more likely to gravitate to toy trucks and dolls, respectively.
So the real answer is that, taking each gender as a whole, there are marked differences between the way women and men act, but any given individual is going to vary greatly.
If you read this whole thing, you have earned a gold star. In fact, make that a pink or blue one.
The real key to this issue, as well as questions of addiction and even gender identity itself, lies in the mixture of genetic predisposition and environmental stimuli. That is, certain behavioral patters are predisposed genetically. But for the most part they are able to be overcome based on the environment and the experiences of each individual. For example, a person may be predisposed to alcoholism. But he obviously can’t become an alcoholic if he never touches the stuff. Do you ever hear anybody argue “I’m an alcoholic because God made me that way”? Of course not. It’s accepted that we exert some control over our behavior.
And so it is with much of the way we act and even think. Our genes provide a basic program, if you will. But we, through effort, can alter the source code, to continue with the software analogy, to gain a measure of control over the outcome. A woman who is raised exclusively around men is unlikely to exhibit all of the stereotypically female behaviors. But, at the same time, studies show that young boys and girls are more likely to gravitate to toy trucks and dolls, respectively.
So the real answer is that, taking each gender as a whole, there are marked differences between the way women and men act, but any given individual is going to vary greatly.
If you read this whole thing, you have earned a gold star. In fact, make that a pink or blue one.
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