Gender Roles

Men and women are different and that is OK. In our society there has been a push for equality between the genders, but their idea of “equality” is to make men and women exactly the same.

Boy and girls are different and these differences show from birth. Infant boys startle more than girls and girls will move their lips more than boys. We have found that women have more white matter in the brain that allows them to make more connections, which is perhaps why they are more observant and more capable of multitasking. Men have more grey matter that allows for the transporting of information from sensory and motor stimuli. They are better with spacial directions and can focus very well on one task. When women had an MRI and were asked to do a visual task, there were many parts of the brain that showed activity. When men are asked to do a visual task, only one part of the brain showed activity.

These are just a few examples of how science has shown that men and women are born with differences. The beautiful thing about differences is that both genders have strengths. Women are naturally more nurturing, sensitive, caring and observant of others. Men are naturally more competitive, protective, aggressive and strong. Are these differences bad? Is one gender superior to the other? Should we change these differences? Some people argue that yes, in order to be “equal” we must disregard these natural differences and treat everyone exactly the same. In my view, there is nothing wrong with being different and unique. As I see it, when men and women come together using their natural strengths and abilities, amazing things can happen. We were made to work together. Men and women complete each other.

Now what about this whole equality thing? I believe that men and women are equal and should have equal rights. But does equal mean we should all be treated the same? I would say no! Why? Simply because we are not the same.  Here is an example of why we shouldn't be treated exactly the same. Men score higher then women in math. If we look at the fact that women learn better in a group then maybe we could try teaching women math in a group setting to help improve their math scores. This solution would not be possible if you don’t acknowledge that there are difference between men and women and that women learn better in a different way. In this example if you ignore the difference between the genders and say “we should all be treated the same” then women would continue to score lower. So perhaps the answer is not to ignore gender differences but acknowledging them.

I believe that there is no superior gender. We can have separate gender roles, responsibilities and inborn characteristics and still be equal as human beings. In fact there is something really quite wonderful about these differences. Something beautiful happens when we take the strengths of man and the strengths of a woman and unite them in marriage. Together working as a unit, they can achieve more and do more than they ever could on their own. Gender differences are not bad, they are essential.