Wonder how well this would work in reverse?
Back when I was a raging feminist, I went around insisting that men and women were just alike, and that all of our differences owed to socialization. There were endless studies I could cite to support my claims, and no shortage of academics lining up to echo my cry.
But the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that in the social sciences, you can pretty much conduct a study to prove any point you wish to make. My own father, who is a retired sociology professor, often says he wishes he’d gone into physics or astronomy, because they, unlike the social sciences, are actually fact-based, with real answers.
Social sciences, meanwhile, as as malleable as boxed mashed potatoes.
For instance, if I wanted to “debunk” the “woman-hating myth” than men have facial hair and women don’t, I could find bearded women at the circus. I could also say that the peach fuzz some women get waxed off their upper lips at the salon every couple of weeks is proof that we are all merely socialized by a sexist society to think men have facial hair and women don’t. But we all know, at the end of the day, that while some women have facial hair, most do not, and even those who do, don’t have it like the guys do. It’s common sense.
In my middle age, I’ve begun to be far more interested in common sense than in agenda-based academic magic tricks. I am interested now in those things that actually do make men and women different from one another, because I think we all know, intuitively, that we are different. Insisting that we’re alike, in spite of our own eyes and experiences, doesn’t solve any problems; rather, it creates new ones.
I have begun, instead of railing against all the ways we’ve been socialized to think we’re different, to take a look at all the ways we have been erroneously socialized to think we’re the same since second-wave feminism took hold in America in the 1970s.
Let’s look at the issue of physical strength. For years, I was like so many others steeped in feminism in that I pretended men and women weren’t all that different, strengthwise. It was a just myth, I said, that women weren’t as strong as men. It was all just a matter of proportions, I said. Women were every bit as strong as men, for their height.
The only problem with this notion is that it…just ain’t true. There are gender differences in physical strength. Period. Men are stronger. You might not like it, and you might throw a tantrum about it; but nature doesn’t care what you like, and isn’t impressed by your tantrums.
Study after study has proved that men are stronger than women, including one by the National Institutes of Health in the United States, which found that women were 52 to 66 percent as strong as men, physically. In addition, men have more fast-twitch muscle fibers, proportionally, meaning they can build strength more easily.
So, there it is. I’m not going to feel badly about having to ask the cowboy to open a jar for me anymore. It’s just the way we are built. It’s just life. As the cowboy often says, “Just because something isn’t fair doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
Tagged: gender differences in strength, men, muscle power, strength, women
This is one of those things that I’m glad I’ve always sort of grasped. On one hand, I’ve always felt like a poor little damsel in distress when I run across the street to ask my best friend, as cowboy as they come, to open the pickle jar or help me lift something. But on the other hand, why struggle physically to do something when a man (or another woman!) is more than willing to help?! Anyway, I loved this one!
Thanks, Jess! As a woman with very weak hands, I’m always asking somebody to open stuff for me.
My husband worked for thirty years as a firefighter in the big city on a downtown crew…..so strength is a major factor. Has to be to throw up those big ladders and work hard and fast wearing all the heavy equipment they need to survive. Now I know this is opening up a can of worms, but when the women came into the department, the guys had to work, not only for themselves, but to carry the weight of someone not quite as strong. We are talking about life and death here, and the reality is still the reality. Some of the jobs the women could do as well as the guys. And occasionally you might find a woman who was about as strong for the short run as one of the boys. But when it came down to fighting those fires long and hard and steady………those men had to carry extra to appease “equality” for the sexes! And with reduced crews with less firefighters in number, I was glad when he was able to retire.
Now, for my tip of the day…….did you know that women have just as much hair on their face (and body) as a man??????? Only for a woman it is finer and barely visible, where for a man it is coarse! However, as one grows older, these little weird hairs start popping up and they can be darn right embarassing! That is when tweezers become you new best friend! But if you look in the mirror really close, you will be amazed at how much fine hair us girls have on our face! If you still need convincing, next time you go to the drugstore, look in one of those 10X mirrors! Just be prepared to scream!!!!
Nanny, I love your comments! They are always right on the money. You raise such an interesting point about firefighters. There really are some jobs that men are better suited for, just as there are some jobs women are better suited for. I absolutely believe that.
I don’t really think it’s fair to clump all men into one group and all women into one group. It all depends on your physiology, skill, and ability. Some men are more built in muscle mass while some aren’t. It may be the case that they are more likely to built more muscle more easily, but you can’t just generalize than men are better at some jobs because not all of them are. Yes we are different. It should be acknowledged, but that difference shouldn’t necessarily give one entire sex the upper hand at a career. It all depends on how they perform and deliver. Given a hypothetical situation where, say, a less developed 16 year old was to be conscripted to an army front line position. Imagine that there was a relatively fit woman of age twenty or so that was in perfect health. Are you going to say that the young man is better suited? Again you can say that men are more ‘likely’ to be ‘built’ for certain jobs but you can’t be biased based on that majority. It’s that generalization that causes problems just as much as insisting that we are alike.
yes but if every guy and girl got strong as they could and arm wrestled fairly the men would win. testosor- im gona stop saying that lol i am not good at spelling, im 14 and i know that that . . . it gives men the ability to get more muscle mass, sure there are few women that have high amounts of it too (enough to not be a man still o.o). but your point is made since not all boys will be fit, but that 20 somthing year old could be replaced with a 30 year old skilled veteran that is fit and healthy girl or boy, skill has alot to do with it too.
Though most of what you have said is sound, I must disagree with your statements about women in combat positions, and other highly physical jobs. Both sexes have skills and abilities to offer in job. Most women may not be as strong as men, but they make up for that in the simple fact that they are more level-headed in high stress situations (including combat) because of the lesser amount of testosterone results in less aggressive and high risk behavior. Men are stronger and better able to lift and carry heavy weights, it is also been suggested (scientifically) that men’s bones are stronger as well. In the end it should boil down to rather or not both can meet the physically requirements and their performances in the actual duty whether it is military or civilian. A job is (well should be) based on skill and ability not sex, race, hair color, or any other absurd thing that people find to discriminate with. If you do not agree with the above, take a look at history….the Amazons, the Celts, the Cherokee, female spies, there are many other examples in which women have succeeded at jobs that for long have been considered strictly male. (BTW I’m not a feminist, just someone willing to look at the facts and come to a none bias conclusion)