I loved this week’s discussion on gender roles and behaviors.
We were able to talk about a lot of different things given the time we have in
class. I loved having to think of ways guys are different from girls besides
the usual answers. As I was writing down my differences I had to stop and
really think before I wrote something down. In the times we live in today what
makes girls and guys different can be argued more so then they used to be. One
of my answers was brain process. We naturally think differently than our
counter parts. It was great to see why men have certain behaviors and to
remember they have their strong points as well. It is why Heavenly Father made
man and woman. We need each other to balance each other out and complete each
other. Yes, I know it’s corny but it is also true.
Another topic I enjoyed was the subject of
what constitutes a person as a tomboy. My mother is a tomboy. I love my mother
and I love what she can do, and has done for me. It was interesting to me to
learn how and what makes a tomboy. It happens early in development. One
question I’ve often asked both my parents was if they were upset that I was a
girly girl. I would often ask them did they want another tomboy. They always
gave the same answer: “No, it’s nice to have a girly girl we can spoil and live
vicariously through.” This answer always made me feel better about myself and
who I was. This discussion also helped me understand why my dad thinks the way
he does. I know now it’s because of what is in the brain. I don’t have to
accept the answer “He’s daddy, you know how daddy is.”
We also talked about behaviors that are “sex type
tendencies”. In class we discussed male and female tendencies. Women tend to be
more expressive with their feelings. They lean toward more social playing,
playing with others, and because they tend to play with others they are more
likely to be cooperative. We also tend to think of things in a relationship
kind of way. Men tend to be more aggressive with their feelings. They see almost
everything as a competition, and tend to have more special orientation.
Spatial orientation is the ability to maintain
a sense of direction with a surrounding area. A test was done some years ago to
see men and women’s thinking pattern at certain times. One test had the men
follow directions to get from one place to the other. The men were blind-folded
and told which way to go by a tap on the shoulder. When the test was done the
men were given a map and asked how to get to a certain point on the map. The
men passed. This same test was given to the women, who unfortunately didn’t do
so well. Another test was given, this time to see if men and women remember
details. Women were placed in a cluttered room for a few minutes then taken
out. They were asked if they could remember anything that was in that room. The
women could remember almost everything and gave great details of where
everything was in relation to other things in the room. The men were given the
same test and sadly didn’t do so well this time. So why is this?
Scientist who study
the brain have seen that men and women have different amounts of brain matter.
Men have more gray matter. This part of the brain is responsible for cataloging
and compartmentalizing. It is why we say men have “one track brains.” Women
have more white matter. This is the part of the brain that is able to focus on
more than one thing. It is often why women multi-task better than men. They are
also able to think of everything in relation to another. An example would be:
When my first child does this, it upsets my second child, which will then upset
this part of the house. I loved this week’s class. I was able to learn
something new that day and get some of my own answers on the male and female
brain. It was a great reminder to me that “ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are
created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of
heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is
an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal
identity and purpose.”
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