Men and Women​—The Difference

FOR about six thousand years, men and women have shared the planet Earth. They have raised families, worked, enjoyed good times and endured hardships together. Yet, in most places and at most times in history, women have been treated differently from men. Sometimes they have been cared for and protected. More often, they have been viewed as mere possessions or despised as inferiors. Why is this?

Charles Darwin theorized that women were intellectually inferior to men. His contemporary, Gustave Le Bon, viewed them as “the most inferior forms of human evolution.” Few today would admit to such opinions. Nevertheless, women and men are different. In what ways? And does this mean that one is inferior to the other?

Physical Differences

Some of the physical differences between men and women are evident. Women are designed to be mothers, men to be fathers, and the structures of their bodies reflect this fact. But there are other differences.

● In almost every country, women live to an older age than men. At the very beginning of life, 130 boys are conceived for every 100 girls. Nine months later, more male embryos than female have failed to survive, so that 106 boys are born for every 100 girls. By the time they grow to be teenagers, girls come to outnumber boys.

● Men athletes have larger and more muscular shoulders and arms. They also have bigger and stronger legs, and bigger hearts and lungs. Thus, in most events men outperform women. Yet women athletes have abdominal muscles that can be as strong as those of men. Although women perspire less copiously, their sweat glands are better distributed and their perspiration is more efficient​—a help for endurance. Stored body fat gives them a greater buoyancy in water and greater endurance, so that women dominate the sport of long-distance swimming.

Hence, it seems that, physically, men have the edge in strength, while women have the edge in endurance. What about other differences?

Other Differences

Do men and women think differently? This is a sensitive subject, since many feel that wrong ideas in this area have led to women’s being oppressed. Nevertheless, many researchers feel that there are differences.

● Girls usually become more skillful with their hands than do boys. They speak earlier and more fluently and come to be better at languages. They are often better at memorizing and intuitive thinking. Women often handle detailed and routine work more efficiently than do men.

● Boys grow up to be better at mathematics, mechanics and analytical thinking. They are also better at spatial organization and perception.

● Many women feel they cannot control their emotions as well as men​—although some deny this.

Of course, these differences are not rigid. There are men who are good at languages, and there are women who excel at mathematics. Anyone who has watched a nurse during a medical emergency knows that women are not entirely controlled by their emotions. Many work coolly and efficiently under pressure. And how many men are always cool, logical and self-controlled?

What causes the differences? Many feel we are made differently inside as well as outside. They say that male or female hormones make a person’s brain​—not only the body—​function in a manly or a womanly way. Others insist that differences between men and women are caused by the way boys and girls are brought up. Still others see an interplay between the two: the different ways in which boys and girls are treated reinforce the effect that hormones have on the brain. Whatever the reason, differences do exist.

Consequently, women have not always been treated well. They have often been exploited, and their freedom has been greatly limited. Let us consider some examples.