Gender differences part II
Jul. 1st, 2007 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bladesparkIt at least sounds like real science. Gender differences.
I particularly liked reading caveats 3 and 4. "Many (if not most) of the psychological and physiological gender differences discussed below are relatively small, as compared to the gender differences in other species, for example. Furthermore, intragroup differences are greater than intergroup differences; e.g., the variation among men is greater than the variation between men and women. (Both of these facts rule out any justification of gender-based exclusionary policies on the basis of these differences; e.g., preventing women from being soldiers or engineers, or men from being nurses.) Nevertheless, the differences are reliable, and in many (if not most) cases show up across cultures,ages, and other variables."
"The gender differences emerge against a background of massive similarity in form and function between the genders; i.e., men and women seem to be basically similar overall."
Interesting read, if a touch towards the dry and technical in places. But not at all beyond the ability of the layman.
I particularly liked reading caveats 3 and 4. "Many (if not most) of the psychological and physiological gender differences discussed below are relatively small, as compared to the gender differences in other species, for example. Furthermore, intragroup differences are greater than intergroup differences; e.g., the variation among men is greater than the variation between men and women. (Both of these facts rule out any justification of gender-based exclusionary policies on the basis of these differences; e.g., preventing women from being soldiers or engineers, or men from being nurses.) Nevertheless, the differences are reliable, and in many (if not most) cases show up across cultures,ages, and other variables."
"The gender differences emerge against a background of massive similarity in form and function between the genders; i.e., men and women seem to be basically similar overall."
Interesting read, if a touch towards the dry and technical in places. But not at all beyond the ability of the layman.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 08:37 am (UTC)It is important, as you note, to emphasize that the variation within males/females is wider than the difference between them. People so often assume that, for example, women "are weaker" than men, when actually something like 25% of women are stronger than the "average" man, and so forth. (Of course, this does mean that you'd expect fewer people in a job with biased to the strengths of one or other gender or sex, but I'd expect it to be a less than 2:1 ratio optimally in all cases.)
no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 12:29 pm (UTC)Thing is, I've had my own hormone levels checked, and I have low estrogen levels and quite high androgen levels... For being female, anyway. The reason I had them tested was, simply based on my own research, I suspected that's what the results would be. So I wasn't exactly surprised by the information.
I have yet to see research that actually covers hormones levels at different points during the female 'cycle' and how the levels change throughout though. Based on personal experience, I think they'd find it does affect things.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 03:27 pm (UTC)I must've had too much estrogen in my brain.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 06:53 pm (UTC)