That is, men and women, as well as boys and girls, are more alike than they are different” (Hyde, 2005, p. 581). To prove her hypothesis she focused on specific categories for possible similarities such as, cognitive variables, nonverbal and verbal communication, social and personality variables, psychological well-being, motor behaviors, and moral reasoning. My opinion of gender, prior to reading the article, men and women are far more different than others tend to want to believe. Women tend to be more driven by their emotions whereas men are driven more on their skills to problem solve and physical capabilities. That is not to say that there is not a sense of equality, but based on my personal observations a female has the tendency to be more capable of carrying out and following through with tasks more than a man.
Tannen’s article is based on her theory of relations between men and women which states that men tend to be more literal about words while women, listen for metamessages in conversations. A metamessage is a “form of indirectness,” and women are more than likely to use it more often than men throughout conversations (200). Tannen implies that because women are more attentive to speech they become “ more focused on involvement, that is, on relationships among people and it is through metamessages that relationships among people are established and maintained” (202). Since their early childhood years, “their social life usually centers around a best friend,
Mental health for men is being called a silent crisis, a sleeper issue that has crept into the minds of millions. At the heart of the problem are new and emerging pressures for men, stemming from changes in societal dynamics at work, and in family and personal life. While the concept of mental health for men is nothing new, comparatively, gender-specific health awareness and research have focused predominately on women. Women have the tendency to band together, and they are more vocal and expressive about emotions and other aspects of their mental health. As a result, women seek health care in much greater proportion than men.
Bem argued that such individuals are more adaptable in different situations, have higher self-esteem and a greater awareness sense of emotional well being. Bem stressed that androgynous men and women have a different cognitive style from traditionally sexed- typed people because an androgynous person when faced with a decision about how to behave responds independently of any gender concept whereas a traditionally sex-typed person determines what would be appropriate from their gender using gender schemas. Supporting the idea that there is a link between androgyny and flexibility, Bem found that masculine and androgynous individuals showed lower levels of conformity than feminine women. However, these findings are not really surprising. The Male scale on the BSRI measure assertiveness and resisting pressures to conform, and the Female scale measures femininity in terms of nurturance and expressive traits.
David Buss (1989) conducted a cross cultural study looking at partner preferences in both genders, data was collected from a total of 4,601 men and 5,446 women aged between 18 and 28. Buss found a difference between the qualities a male seeks in a women and the qualities a women seeks in a male, the male looks for physical attractiveness in a women whereas the women is more interested in the financial capacity of their potential partners and qualities such as success, ambition and industriousness, Buss’ findings support the idea that women are primarily interested in resources and men in spreading their genetics. David Buss’ research was cross-cultural which eliminates cultural bias and allows Buss’ research to be more valid. Bailey and Zucker (1995) found that both gay and straight males showed large interest in the attractiveness of their partners and were un-interested in their financial status. men and women also show differences in reproductive behaviours.
Tannen’s writing is lengthy, personal, analytical and well sourced. Even though the differences between these two pieces can easily be highlighted there are some similarities. Both Tannen and Quindlen believe there are obvious differences and similarities between men and women. However, when specifically observing the relationship between men and women Tannen believes the main differences lie in communication, reactions, the way life is approached and the dynamics of childhood.
The First Bloke shows us a lot about sexism aimed at women. Dr Paul Williams the guest being interviewed mentions that when it comes to media he thinks women get judged more, “Men generally get off a little more lightly than women.” When saying this statement Dr Williams use of tone was quite relaxed as it showed he didn’t exactly care that men get off more lightly, which is wrong as he should be going against this statement. In fact this statement shows us very effectively that sexism is involved as it teaches us that the media of the world is more judgemental towards women and that just because they are a different gender they get judged more often on their clothes, hair, personality, etc. Women should not be treated with different respect to men unless it’s appropriate, so in order to overcome sexism you have to understand why is it that one gender is being more judged than the other? Another statement which Dr Williams made was, “6-7 Years ago some people would’ve thought we’d never see an Australian woman prime minister.” This quote definitely shows us that a few years ago woman were definitely looked at as a lower status compared to men and that it was hard to believe they were capable of the same jobs a men.
This article discussed the fact that men tend to get more sports coverage than women. It also talked about how announcers seemed to care about what their stories said when describing male events more than female events. A very striking part of this article, to me, was that even at women’s events, the announcer somehow found a way to talk about men. Announcers barely discussed women’s actual athletic ability. A lot of the time, their abilities would be described as “graceful” or “elegant” instead of what their skill level is.
As the objective of impartiality between men and women is ever closer we are also losing our attentiveness of essential differences. In many circles of culture, politically correct judgment is obliterating essential dialogue as well as our understanding of the similarities and differences between men and women. The mental picture of equality between men and women has lessened the
Sherman and Adelaide Haas in “Man to Man, Woman to Woman”, husbands and wives often have communication issues. That is why men and women talk about different topics. Base on some questions asked to different couple, men and women can rarely talk about the same topics like television, work and movies, but women will react more emotional than men. Then making fun of the other person opinion could easy lead to argument or fights. Men enjoy talking to other man because they don’t have to watch what they are saying and because freedom, playfulness and camaraderie.