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Testosterone Damages Verbal Skill. Yet We Have Shakespeare
Shakespeare
Penn State psychologists assert that career choice begins in utero, hinging on exposure to sex hormones in the womb.
Since testosterone damages both verbal and social skills, it simply makes sense that women would seek people-oriented jobs, while testosterone-soaked males would veer toward non-people pursuits like the hard sciences, right? Read the rest of this entry
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Scientists = Men, Say Biased Scientists
Gender bias in science
If men are better systematizers — better at unraveling the rules of the universe — then it’s only fair that science research labs are bastions of testosterone.
Biased (unscientific) research has made it seem so. Read the rest of this entry
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The Hairy Gender Gap
However hair is styled, it says something about gender. Let’s take a look at recent Western history.
Men and women both have long hair, but…
In the 18th-century men and women both kept their hair long — but women’s stylings were more elaborate and ornate, as with King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (as played by Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman, pictured here):
Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI
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Are Men Mentally Tougher?
Tough guise
Men are strong and stoic and women are weak and dependent, right?
That’s the stereotype. But stereotypes can create social patterns. And surprisingly, things that appear weak may turn out to be strong. And vice versa. Read the rest of this entry
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Are Women The Weaker Sex?
The weaker sex?
Are women physically inferior to men?
I ask my students.
“Yes, isn’t it obvious?” some say.
“No,” say others. “A female bodybuilder is stronger than any guy in this room.”
“True. What if she walked into a room full of male bodybuilders?” I prod. Read the rest of this entry
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Why Don’t Feminists Have Gender-Neutral Kids?
Some parents believe in gender equality but conclude that boys and girls are just naturally different.
After all, they tried raising their sons and daughters the same way, yet their girls still liked frilly pink dresses and their boys still played with guns.
But do they raise boys and girls the same?
Read the rest of this entry
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Why So Angry At Trans-Racial Folk?
Orange is the new Black?
I’m puzzled by the reasons people give for their anger over Rachel Dolezal’s transracial turn.
Like arguments that contradict each other:
It’s okay to be transgender but not transracial because Read the rest of this entry
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Women Must Be Fit; Men Can Be Flabby
Can men be valued even if their bodies appear flabby and “gross”? What about women? Can they be? Maybe. But men may have more leeway.
While looking thru the archives at Sociological Images, I ran into this. The pictures are from a few years back but they’re still relevant. Dr. Lisa Wade makes some interesting points here.
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By Lisa Wade @ Sociological Images
Mercedes DeM. sent in this Vanity Fair cover (for April 2009)…
…spoofing this previous cover: Read the rest of this entry
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I’m Ok, You’re Ok, Bruce Jenner’s Ok
Bruce Jenner transitioning.
Bruce Jenner is the most high-profile transgender person to come out of the closet.
And people seem fairly accepting of the transition so far. But transgender folk face hate crimes at astonishing rates, says Nick Kristof at the New York Times. He points out:
So far this year at least three transgender people have been reported murdered in the United States. The Human Rights Campaign issued a report the other day listing 13 transgender women murdered in 2014: They were shot, strangled, burned and beaten.
Bullies project their own shame onto others. And then they beat the crap out of what they hate inside themselves. Sometimes verbally, and sometimes physically.
What is it about transgendered-ness that cues insecurity? Read the rest of this entry
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Girls Can Be Tomboys, Boys Can’t Be Sissies
No sissies. Just tough guise.
Every quarter I ask my women students if any of them had been tomboys when they were little. Many hands enthusiastically shoot into the air. The women often have fond memories of their time climbing trees and digging in the dirt.
Then I ask the men students if any of them had been sissies. The class bursts out laughing. One hand might sheepishly creep up.
One man claimed the question was unfair since the word “sissy” is stigmatized but “tomboy” is not.
Actually, there isn’t a non-stigmatizing word for a boy who acts like a girl. And there’s a reason for that. Read the rest of this entry
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