Different by Divine Design
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Even without scientific evidence, the vast majority of us realize that men and women are very different. One online poll asked simply if people agreed with the statement "Men and women are so different." Seventy percent clicked the "Yes, worlds apart!" answer. Eighteen percent chose "Not really. It's all hype." And 12 percent selected "I'm never sure" (America On-Line poll, conducted December 2005).
My friends will talk about how their husbands are sometimes thoughtless or inconsiderate, don't listen like they should, think too much about sex and sports, aren't as compassionate as they could be, want to have sex rather than make love, and don't put the toilet seat down as they should.
From the other side, I often hear my male friends complain about the way their wives drive, that they can't read maps right-side-up, talk and cry too much, can't explain their intuitive feelings, don't initiate sex often enough, and leave the toilet seat down when it clearly should be left up.
In their book Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps, authors Barbara and Allan Pease make this observation:
Men can never find a pair of socks, but their CDs are in alphabetical order. Women can always find the missing set of car keys but rarely the most direct route to their destination. Men marvel at the way a woman can walk into a room full of people and give an instant commentary on everyone; women can't believe men are so unobservant.
These differences are not something we imagine. They are not volitional choices we make just to annoy each other. They are not simply due to personality quirks. Many, if not most, of these dissimilarities have to do with the distinctive ways his brain and her brain function.
A mountain of brain research published during the last two decades reveals dramatic anatomical, chemical, hormonal, and physiological differences between his brain and her brain. These differences impact the emotions, thinking, and behavior of children and adults. These differences are so profound that geneticist Anne Moir, PhD, and journalist David Jessel begin their book Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women with this provocative assertion: "Men are different from women. They are equal only in their common membership in the same species, humankind. To maintain that they are the same in aptitude, skill or behavior is to build a society based on a biological and scientific lie."
Our Differences: Wired in the Womb
So, if his brain and her brain are so very different, are these differences inborn or infused? Are men's and women's brains different by nature or nurture? Are our brain differences designed or derived?
There is ample scientific evidence that supports the fact that many of the dramatic differences between his brain and her brain are inborn. Louann Brizendine, MD, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, medical school, writes, "There is no unisex brain. Girls arrive already wired as girls, and boys arrive already wired as boys. Their brains are different by the time they're born."
Related Topics:
Communication, Conflict, Differences, Marriage, Compatibility
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Sarah
If this article is true than I am male, despite having given birth to two children. I can read maps, find the most direct route, and want to be alone when stressed. If these stereotypical differences between men and women are God designed, then where does that leave the majority of people who don't fit your stereotypes?
Pat
"At about 6 weeks' gestation, an unborn boy's males hormones...begin their work. 'There's a peak of testosterone in males...that's very important for future sexual behavior," writes Dr. Sophie Messager of Paradigm Therapeutics in Cambridge, England. 'If you block that, the male rates behave like females for the rest of their life.'" Does this support the claim by homosexuals that they are "born this way?"
Like2 Interact(Registered User)
Interesting insights Debbie, and I agree with you. I believe that both men and women have the God given abilities and and potential to grow and develop talents, intellect, and expertise. But it is our differences that make life interesting. It is how we bring these differences together that makes life anything but boring. I wonder what the world would be like if everyone were exactly alike.
Debbie
Love the article! There is much truth there ~ and ladies, before you get offended by "stereotypes" please remember that the reason sterotypes exist in the first place is that they are usually (but not always) TRUE. It's how you were initially designed. Then individual factors take over ~ like personal genetics, what else happens to you in the womb, how you were raised, physical and mental health, nutrition, education, etc.) to create the unique woman (who may, against all odds and genetics, actually be good at navigating...) Personally I am MUCH more offended by women who insist that men and women are the same - they are not; men and women were intentionally created to COMPLEMENT one another (weak where the other is strong, strong where the other is weak) so that each would always have a need for the other. The Grand Design is a good one! If we really were "the same" there would be no need for God to make TWO of "mankind" (another word that some women find offensive ~ so silly!) PS - There is NO amount of training in the world that could teach me to be able to navigate - my husband (and now my sons!) have tried to teach me (a willing pupil!) for years :)
lynne
While containing useful data, this article paints with such a broad brush as to be offensive. My husband talks constantly and has no interest at all in helping me support our family. I am waiting for this "testosterone" to surface. He uses articles like this to excuse his rudeness and self-centeredness. When I let him know that he has hurt my feelings, he scolds me soundly for being "too sensitive". So much for inborn feminine traits. Help!
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