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A friendly, peaceful, and loving debate about gender differences.

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by addie88, May 6, 2012.

  1. addie88

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    So a thread was recently closed about gender differences...and I was disappointed that I didn't get to add anything because this topic really interests me. That's why I've decided to create a new thread. By using a mixture of personal experiences, scientific research, and logic, I think we should open up the discussion about the differences (or the lack of differences) between a man and a woman.

    Rules:
    1) No statements like "All men/women are ____."
    2) No hate.
    3) No direct attacks.
    4) Back up all claims.

    So. Disregarding exceptions (because there are always exceptions), and generally speaking, are there differences between a man and a woman and are those differences a result of nature, nurture, or both?

    Or, a more interesting way to put it, if society played no part in shaping our characters, would those differences be more clear? Since we'd be referring to a more instinctual way of being?

    I'm not sure what my answer is. From what I've read, testosterone and estrogen play a pretty large role in people's behavior, and there is something to be said about men and women thousands of years ago having assigned gender roles for survival in their DNA that may be impacting us still today. But then again, typical traits that are associated with each gender (i.e. aggression in males, nurturing instinct in females) can be taught in childhood by experiences.

    What do you guys think?
     
  2. vyvance

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    There are tons of differences between them, but I'll just list one.

    Women have more facial nerve receptors than men, making them more sensitive to pain. "According to the study, women averaged 34 nerve fibers per square centimeter of facial skin while men only averaged 17 nerve fibers." (October 2005, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®)
     
  3. ameliawesome

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    honestly, besides any assumably obvious biological differences, no. i've known plenty of unmaternal women as well as maternal men. i've known women who would start a fullblown physical fight over a small discrepancy and men who can't stand conflict. i think that when people see an aggressive man our brains automatically link the two together: he's aggressive because he's a man. every person is an individual, not a category, even in terms of gender.
     
  4. vyvance

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    There are documented non-obvious biological differences between genders as well. Things like coarse vs. fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Of course there will exceptions, but the OP stated focus on the average and not the exceptions.
     
  5. ArcaneVerse

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    That's an interesting question. In my opinion I think we would find less differences, especially if we are talking about in modern times, as we are seeing gender rolls counting for less and less and their are more diversity's in peoples characteristics which differ from the stereotypical pool of what is male and female and I think we will continue to see this trend continuing.