Are men and women really different? They are different anatomically, of course, but are they different in any other ways? Do their hormonal and sex differences influence their behaviors and attitudes? Do these differences affect their lives and determine their opportunities in life? If you really highly need to know the answers, then this article is, for sure, for you.
Although females and males are different in their genetic and sexes, they are hormonally-driven behavior, but this does not mean that one sex is superior or inferior to another. Each gender has different strengths and weaknesses. However, Patriarchal society is what made this kind of discrimination between the sexes clear; the high level of testosterone in males drives them towards dominance in the world. Hence, to say that women and men are the “same” is to deny reality. It is the presence of this influential Y chromosome, that sets the machinery of sex development in motion, and results is all the genetic differences that there are between a man and a woman. In fact, sex differentiation takes place immediately as the female and male begins to develop within the womb. Therefore, females and males are not only different in the hormones that drive them, but they are, indeed, different mentally, physically, and socially.
Primarily, being different mentally means that the brain of women and men are actually weird differently; the human brain, like the human body, is sexed; differences in the sex-specific human brain condition a wide range of behaviors that typically associate with femaleness or maleness.
To clarify more, the human brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere controls language analysis, expression, and body movements, while the right hemisphere is responsible for spatial relationship, facial expressions, emotional stimuli and vocal intonations. Consequently, women and men process information differently because of differences in a portion of the brain called the selenium, which is much larger in women than in men, and has more brain-wave activity. Studies have shown that problem solving tasks in female brain are handled by both hemispheres, while the male brain only uses one hemisphere. Besides, differences in the ways women and men communicate is also a function of sex-specific areas of the brain. Women seem to have an enhanced awareness of emotions and hidden meanings, while male infants are more interested in objects than in people, female’s infants respond more readily to the human voice than male’s do. So, the differences between the male and female brain is not evidence of superiority or inferiority, but of specialization. Furthermore, most profound difference between girls and boys is not in any brain structure, but rather in the sequence of development of the various brain regions.
Another difference should be taken into consideration, which is not only are men and women fundamentally different in the way their brains are weird, they are also different physically in the way Gad created them as well as endurance and physical strength. The differences are rooted within both the genes and the hormones of females and males, so women only have half of the upper body strength of men. Sex differences also appear by the age of three in the physical ability of females and males to throw a ball for instance. For sure, when it comes to physical differences between men and women, no one -and I mean no one- can deny it in any way possible.
The last and most important distinction between the two sexes, females and males, females and males, is being different socially. Which often leads to unfair discrimination usually follows the gender stereotyping held by a society. Nevertheless, the problem of gender discrimination does not stop at transgender individuals or women in a way any person could imagine; it’s much more than you think. “When you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be.” Little girls in the west hear this all the time, from their teachers to “sesame street” characters. Almost everywhere they go, they are encouraged to believe that girls can be just as smart, athletic, and successful as boys. Even the pictures of spunky women on magazine covers tell them that when you are a girl, anything is possible. But for little girls in developing countries, the message is just the opposite. From the day they are born, they are constantly reminded of the things they are not allowed to do. Because women often experience what so called The Glass Ceiling, and that are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men. This term is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination, especially sex discrimination.
For example, in extreme cases, parents make the horrific choice to end their baby girl’s life. One woman named Lakshmi from India fed her baby sap from an oleander bush mixed with castor oil until the girl bled from the nose and died.” A daughter is always liabilities. How can I bring up a second?” said Lakshmi to explain why she chose to end her baby’s life. “Instead of her suffering the way I do, I thought it was better to get rid of her.” However, when a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. A son means insurance; he will inherit his father’s property and get a job to help supporting the family. When a girl is born, the reaction is very different. Some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because, to them, a daughter is just another expense. Her place is at home, not in the world of men. A girl cannot help but feel inferior when everything around her tells her that she is worth less than a boy. Her identity is forged as soon as her family and society limit her opportunities and declare her to be second-rate. These “servants of household"
came to accept that life will never be any different.
Another example, women cannot travel freely and alone within developing countries. This phenomena is not limited to developing countries, this custom prevails in many Muslim countries. There is a religious basis for it: the prophet Mohamed said that no woman should travel for one night without her husband or Mahram, for example her father, son or uncle. Some Muslim scholars believe that the prophet’s instruction was based on the unsafe travel conditions of the time. The argue is that as travel is no longer risky, that injunction does not apply. However, some religious scholars do not accept this interpretation. Indeed, this is not a matter of government decree; it is a matter of deep personal belief.
How about discussing something people do not talk about much often, though still happening? Something called FGM, Female Genital Mutilation.
This picture below describes an Egyptian girl undergoing Female Genital Mutilation. The child is made to sit on a low stool. Several women take hold of her and open her legs widely. After separation her outer and inner lips the operator, usually a woman experienced in this procedure, sets down facing the child. Sometimes, with her kitchen knife the operator first pierces and slices open the hood of the clitoris. Then, she begins to cut it out. While another woman wipes off the blood with a rage, the little girl, held down by the women helpers, screams in extreme pain; but no one pays the slightest attention. All this torture for what!!
That is not all what I have. There are still so many women who suffer every single day out there. For instance, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prevents women from driving, studying Law and Engineering, directly selling or buying property. Attending court, even when accused of murder, and showing their faces in public. Like sitting behind the desk in work is a person all in black with a veil covering the entire face. This one, however, is total. When anybody asks a question, the person behind the desk answers in a voice that sounds like a robot-like voice twisted to become unrecognizable. A guide explains that the person behind the disk is, in fact, a woman and that she changes he voice in accordance with an Islamic rule that insists that a woman’s real voice should not be heard by any man who is not considered as a Mahram. Nevertheless, this is not true; this harsh discrimination have nothing to do with Islam as a religion, but with norms, traditions, and life-styles.
Finally, the right to equality –to a certain extent– and to be free from all forms of discrimination is a must. That is why all women and girl children have the right to appropriate nutrition and care throughout their life-span and to be free from prejudicial, customary and other practices that are based on the idea of inferiority or stereotypes roles for women and men as well
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