Men and women differ in countless ways, many of which they aren’t even conscious of
For centuries, the differences between men and women were socially defined and distorted through a lens of sexism in which men assumed superiority over women and maintained it through domination.
As the goal of equality between men and women now grows closer we are also losing our awareness of important differences.
”Men and women are equal but different. When I say equal, I mean that men and women have a right to equal opportunity and protection under the law”.
Michael G. Conner, Psy.D Clinical & Medical Psychologist
According to Feminists and gay theorists when they’ve been asked to answer these Questions:
- Men and women are different anatomically, of course, but are they different in any other ways?
- Do their hormonal differences influence their behaviors and attitudes?
- Do they process information differently?
They often say “NO” to these questions. They maintain that the differences between men and women are mostly the result of socialization in male-dominated societies, and that it is patriarchal oppression that has relegated women to feminine
gender roles.
Biology is said to have little to do with abilities or sex roles in our society.
Sexual Mythology Versus Scientific Facts
Sex differentiation takes place immediately as the male or female begins to develop within the womb.
Men and women differ in every cell of their bodies because they carry a differing chromosomal pattern. The implications of those genetic components range from obvious to extremely subtle.
None of us would argue the fact that men and women are physically different
The physical differences are rather obvious and most of these can be seen and easily measured
- On average- girls begin puberty changing approximately two years before boys.
- An average man is taller than an average woman.
- Men have more bodily hair than women do, especially on the chest and extremities
- Men are approximately 20% heavier than females.
- Female fertility is decreasing after age 35. It ends with the menopause, but men are capable of making children even when they are very old.
- Women are more sensitive to sound than men
- Men are stronger than women in brute strength.
Men are more than 30% stronger than women, especially in the upper body.
- MUSCLES
Men have 50 percent greater total muscle mass, based on weight, than do women. A woman who is the same size as her male counterpart is generally only 80 percent as strong.
Therefore, men usually have an advantage in strength, speed, and power over women. - Men have larger hearts and lungs, and their higher levels of testosterone cause them to produce greater amounts of red blood cells called erythrocytes.
-LUNGS
The lung capacity of men is 25 to 30 percent greater than that of women. This gives men still another advantage in the processing of oxygen and in doing aerobic work. (Differences in intake and delivery of oxygen translate into some aspects of performance)
-HEART SIZE AND RATE- The average woman’s heart is 25 percent smaller than the average man’s. Thus, the man’s heart can pump more blood with each beat. The larger heart size contributes to the slower resting heart rate (five to eight beats a minute slower) in males. This lower rate is evident both at rest and at any given level of submaximal exercise. Thus, for any given work rate, the faster heart rate means that most women will become fatigued sooner than men.
- Women’s blood contains more water (20 percent fewer red cells). Since these supply oxygen to the body, she tires more easily and is more prone to faint. Her constitutional viability is therefore strictly a long-range matter.
Women’s hearts beat more rapidly than those of men (80 bpm vs. 72 bpm). Their blood pressure (10 points lower than men) varies more from minute to minute, but they have much less tendency to high blood pressure — at least until after menopause.
- The average woman’s heart is 25 percent smaller than the average man’s. Thus, the man’s heart can pump more blood with each beat. The larger heart size contributes to the slower resting heart rate (five to eight beats a minute slower) in males. This lower rate is evident both at rest and at any given level of submaximal exercise. Thus, for any given work rate, the faster heart rate means that most women will become fatigued sooner than men.
- Women have a larger stomach, kidneys, liver and appendix, and smaller lungs than men.
- Men have thicker skin, (Men’s skin has more collagen and sebum, which makes it more thicker and oilier than women’s skin).
- Changes in vision
- Men have better distance vision and depth perception, and usually better vision in lighted environments.
- Women have better night vision, see better at the red end of the light spectrum, and have better visual memory
- Men have better distance vision and depth perception, and usually better vision in lighted environments.
- Women generally have a greater body fat percentage than men.
FAT
Women carry about 10 percentage points more body fat than do men of the same age.
Men accumulate fat primarily in the back, chest, and abdomen
Women gain fat in the buttocks, arms, and thighs.
Also, because the center of gravity is lower in women than in men, women must overcome more resistance in activities that require movement of the lower body. - Women can withstand higher temperatures better than men due to a difference in their metabolism.
RESPONSE TO HEAT
A woman’s response to heat stress differs somewhat from a man’s.
Women sweat less, lose less heat through evaporation, and reach higher body temperatures before sweating starts.
Nevertheless, women can adapt to heat stress as well as men. - Flexibility: Women generally are more flexible than men.
- Men usually have greater upper body strength, build muscle easily, bruise less easily and have a lower threshold of awareness of injuries to their extremities
- A man’s skull is almost always thicker and stronger than a women’s
”The physical differences between men and women provide functional advantages and have survival value”
Michael G. Conner, Psy.D Clinical & Medical Psychologist
Continue…
Gender Differences: Brain Differences
Gender Differences: Response to Pain/Danger
Gender differences: psychological differences & Health risks
Sources for Gender Differences:
*Physical Fitness Training (US Army)
*University Of California – Los Angeles
*UCLA’s Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women’s Health studies how the brain, stress and emotions impact the development of disorders that affect mainly women.
*Understanding The Difference Between Men And Women, Michael G. Conner, Psy.D, Clinical & Medical Psychologist
*National Institutes of Health
*U.S Food and Drug Administration
*Wikipedia
*National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality
*James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is founder and chairman emeritus of Focus on the Family
*John Stossel, “Boys & Girls Are Different: Men, Women, and the Sex Difference
*Robert Nadeau, “Brain Sex and the Language of Love,” The World & I
*Michael Levin, Feminism and Freedom
*Steven Goldberg, The Inevitability of Patriarchy
*Katherine Wilson, “Myth, Stereotype, and Cross-Gender Identity (21st Annual Feminist Psychology Conference, Portland, Oregon, 1996).
*Leslie Feinberg, Transgender Warriors, Beacon Press
