Analysis Of The Gender Blur By Deborah Blum

10/15/12
English Essay #2

Mishmash of the Sexes

Gender roles more or less have been definitive for a very long time. Well more like since the beginning of humankind. The recent years have shown us that it’s not absolute because the changes brought forth by modernization. In the article “The Gender Blur”, Deborah Blum addresses this issue of why a boy is generally different from a girl and no not just the physical differences. Her argument is that it is due to testosterone (and yes for all not overtly familiar with biology, females also have testosterone) levels on a certain individual. Blum also tries to advocate that testosterone…show more content…
Michael Rucker sates in his article “9 Differenced Between the Male and Female Brain” that “Many men are sharply left-brain dominant, while women tend to be more evenly balanced between left and right-brain processing. Women are therefore thought to be slightly more intuitive, and sometimes better communicators. Men are often less socially adept, and are more task-oriented thinkers than females.” (Rucker). Young boys can be rough because of testosterone but they tend to overthink their actions and decide on the “‘fight or flight’” reaction and coming from someone who is young, I can vouch for this. Females, on the other hand, follow their gut feelings and their “female intuition” and employ the “‘tend or befriend’” strategy. Both genders have some similarities but not so much so that we can pass off as the opposite gender. Our feeling and reactions are what makes us a male or female. Hormones such as testosterone have some affect but our emotions largely make us who we…show more content…
Some actions might be dictated by our hormones acting up or the we are raised to treat other and ourselves but our own personal emotions are the causes of our reactions. In the end, males will use logic while females would use intuition.

Works Cited:

1) Blum, Deborah. "The Gender Blur." Utne Reader. N.p., Sept.-Oct. 1998. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.utne.com/Politics/Gender-Blur-Sex-Differences-Testosterone-Hormones.aspx>. 2) Trafton, Richard S., and William T. Garrison. "Male-Female Differences in Cognitive Abilities in Various Age Groups. Technical Report 1982-3." N.p., July 1987. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_>. 3) Rucker, Michael. "Brain Fitness for Life." 9 Differences Between the Male and Female Brain. N.p., 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.brainfitnessforlife.com/brain-anatomy-and-imaging/9-differences-between-the-male-and-female-brain/>. 4) Weiman, Heidi. "Gender Differences in Cognitive Functioning." N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012.