Causes of Gender Differences - Essay Example

?Causes of gender differences There are obvious differences between the traits and behaviors of men and women. While there is agreement among the researchers that men and women exhibit specific mental, emotional, and physical differences from each other, there is lack of consensus about the origin of these differences in biology. Some consider these differences strictly biological whereas other researchers agree that biology might play a minor role but that other factors such as parental upbringing, schooling, and socialization in a particular culture are more important in shaping gender roles. This in a way is a debate of nature vs. nurture. The fact is that some of these differences are strictly biological whereas others can be influenced by the environment children are raised in. People’s mental and emotional performance as adults has a strong connection to their parents perceptions of their genders during their childhood. Although many parents in the contemporary society tend to provide their children with the same kind of upbringing without any distinction on the basis of gender thus educating them alike and offering them same opportunities of play and recreation, yet prejudice ultimately causes them to restrain the physical activity of their daughters unconsciously. The way children and their behavior is perceived by the parents shapes the way they treat their children as well as the experiences children are given. “Since life leaves footprints on the very structure and function of the brain, these various experiences produce sex differences in adult behavior and brains—the result not of innate and inborn nature but of nurture” (Begley, 2009). Parents raise their children with definite perceptions that instill in their personalities over time. Daughters are raised with this perception that they would have to leave the home one day to live with their husbands. This perception is inculcated in them that shyness, delicacy, and cleanliness are the expected behaviors and/or traits from them. On the other hand, boys are raised with the perception that they would have to earn and support the family one day and that the expected traits of them include physical strength, aggression, and smartness. Understanding these overt or hidden messages received repeatedly from their parents, children start working toward attaining these goals, thus developing differences across genders over the passage of time. Although parents may influence the mental and emotional performance of their children, they have no control over their physical development. Parents having only daughters in the conservative societies where women are not empowered have a tendency to raise at least one of the daughters as a son. This concept is frequently captured in many movies and newspapers frequently. Even recently, a Saudi woman named Saliha disguised herself as a man with consent of her father in order to be able to become a bus driver and earn some money to assist her family financially, news reported in Al-Sharq Arabic Newspaper. Saliha said, “I live with my parents and four sisters and our conditions are very difficult… I looked at [my father’s] poor health condition and advanced age and I requested him to allow me to replace him, especially that I was a good driver” (Saliha cited in “Gender no bar”). Even in such cases, the parents might develop a greater level of comfort between their daughter and men in the society so that their daughter can interact with them without hesitation that typically persists between men and women during interaction, yet they cannot change her biological features. Such characters in the movie are overly dressed in baggy clothes to hide the curves and artificial moustaches are applied on the face. In spite of the obvious link of the physical differences of men and women to biology, biology alone is not responsible for other physical behaviors that are displayed by men and women e.g. their susceptibility to diseases. “Rarely does biology act alone to determine health inequities. Social determinants, including gender, interact with each other and exacerbate biological vulnerabilities” (Afifi, 2007, p. 385). The difference of environment for men and women does not only prevail in the underdeveloped and the developing countries; even the economically advanced countries like the US treat men and women differently when it comes to providing them with facilities and opportunities in spite of all the modernity and empowerment of women that has happened over the past century. This can be estimated from the fact that poor women in the US with no access to healthcare far outnumber the poor men belonging to the same social group (Krieger and Zierler, 1995). Such differences develop different emotional responses from the victims of different genders, thus causing them to develop differences of attitudes for reasons other than strictly biological. Sheri Berenbaum, a professor of Psychology has directed the longest behavioral research upon the children having congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The understanding she developed of the complexities and subtleties of the gender led her to the conclusion; The question is 'How does that happen?’ It's very complex. Despite some of my own data, I certainly wouldn't make a direct equation that hormones cause you to like trucks. Yes, there's evidence that biology does influence behavior that shows sex differences. It's also true that, for all behaviors studied, the distributions for males and females overlap on a continuum. Nevertheless, the differences are observed consistently. (Berenbaum cited in Beattie-Moss, 2005). From her statement, it can be assessed that Berenbaum has neither rules out the role of biology nor environment completely in the development of difference between men and women. Concluding, the differences between the physical features of men and women are determined strictly by biology whereas the emotional and mental differences between men and women are partly caused by biology and partly by the environment they are raised in. Biology lends the people a particular mental and emotional predisposition that is particular of the people from their gender whereas environment or the kind of upbringing people are given leads this predisposition to its destination in the final form of the emotional and mental traits. References: Afifi, M. (2007). Gender differences in mental health. Singapore Medical Journal. 48(5), 385- 391. Beattie-Moss, M. (2005). Are gender differences predetermined? Retrieved from http://phys.org/news4472.html. Begley, S. (2009, Sep. 2). Pink Brain, Blue Brain. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/09/02/pink-brain-blue-brain.html. “Gender no bar: Saudi woman disguises as man to help family.” Arab News. 26 Feb. 2013. . Krieger, N., Zierler, S. (1995). Accounting for the health of women. Curr Issues Public Health. l1, 251-256. Read More