When I was young I always thought that guys and girls (especially before puberty) thought the same way, and just acted differently because, well, thats the way things just were (now I know it is societal influence, but at age five I couldn't care less about why). I couldn't understand why males and females do not have the same rights. Anyways during puberty, I don't exactly know when, but I just thought (about men and woman during/after puberty), "wow how can any woman stand men, really... they should just be there for you to reproduce, they don't seem to have anything meaningful... why keep them around?", then I thought "why do woman answer everything in a more round about way, why can't they just be assertive like guys, why can't you just focus on this instead of jumbling everything together". I know that this in no way does or even can apply to most people, and I am not trying to be sexist at all. I am just trying to understand. I believe hormonal influences modifying brain structures, especially in the cerebrum or cerebral cortex during puberty, will typically create the differentiation, and society will accelerate and polarize that. In your opinion, (especially if you are trans, integrated both genders, or know deeper inner workings of both genders brains) do we think differently? If we do, when do we start to think differently? What is the attraction to males or females to you? What do males or females find attractive in you? (Time to get egotistical! (!)) Just wanted to know a greater and more diverse variety of your opinions.
Well first of all, EVERYONE thinks differently. But yes, in general men and women do think/act pretty differently most of the time. The question of why always comes down to nature or nurture. In my psych classes (Developmental especially) I got to see the evidence of how differently boys and girls are treated from the very day they are born. This might sounds stupid, well that's because it is. A baby is a baby regardless of its gender, but baby girls are held more and get more attention. People treat different gendered babies differently when they are crying. Girls are more like to get attention, boys are supposed to be strong and independent so they are less likely to get attention if they are crying. That's without even getting into differences in clothes and toys and how they are taught to play with them. The fact is, its hard to separate what comes from how the individual was treated due to their gender, and what comes from nature. I would take the safe bet and say that its probably a combination though.
While there does appear to be some influence from nature, most behavioral differences between the genders appear to come from nurture. Take for example the idea that men are generally better at math and science than women (not quite behavior, but it's the closest thing I have data on). A study done across many countries found that while generally men outperformed women in these areas, the more equal the country, the more equal the scores on the test. In Scandinavia, the situation was even reversed -- women outperformed men in all categories. It's also worth noting that the variation from person to person withing a gender will be much greater than the differences between the averages, even for those traits/behaviors that do differ. To take a fairly well-established physical example, men are on average taller than women, but there are plenty of short men and just as many tall women. As for what attracts me to women...I like the idea of having someone to talk to, to support me when I need it, and to give my support to when she needs it. The physical stuff (holding hands, cuddling, etc) also sounds nice. So far no woman or man has been attracted to me that I know of, so I can't answer that question.
I was hoping this was not going to get into a nature vs nurture thing... I could go on a tangent about how genetics may set the bounds, and environment will determine where within that bound you fall. This however was not what I was trying to get at, so thats why I noted previously the sex hormones and societal norms. I was looking for something a little more deep emotionally. In your opinion how are we different? If you cannot separate anyone in and outside of a gender since it is in a gradient that you do not wish to differentiate, then so be it. But hopefully some will like to get a little tangled in the web.
I think its not even gender, just social circles I was going to say girls are generally nicer but I know a group that backstabs each other way too much Same with boys and sports, im part of that insanely non sporty group
