About Gender: DifferencesIt is said that the first thing we ask about a newborn baby is "I

About Gender: Differences

It is said that the first thing we ask about a newborn baby is "Is it a boy or a girl？" But it might be considered that this is the first thing we ask ourselves whenever we meet anyone new. Perhaps this is why we find it so threatening if the cues are uncertain, and even more so if we find our first assumptions turns out to be incorrect.

Men are different from women. That would seem to be self-evident. They are different in ability, skill and behavior, but then, so is every individual person. So why do we make such a fuss about it？ It seems not unreasonable to suggest that the sexes are different because their brains are different, but then no two human brains are the same It is suggested that our culture is in trouble because many women have been brought up to believe they should be as good as men. Well, why not？

We will only touch on these topics briefly. There is enough material for a dozen books. Suffice it to say that all the studies report on the way boys and girls are, not how they got to be that way, or rather how they were at the time of the study. Commonality across cultures and species implies' some biological basis. The fact that the situation is changing reflects the power of socialization.

At School

There are studies about relative abilities of perception, vision, sound and touch. Certainly, if you watched a carpenter run his fingers al0hg a planed surface and being able to tell how smooth it was, you would find it difficult to believe that boys lack tactile (触觉的) sensitivity.

Another is that girls tend to pick up auditory information while boys do better visually. Several studies suggested that, from school age on, boys outperformed girls in areas of mathematics involving abstract concepts of space, relationships and theory. The big issue is the difference in the spatial abilities between boys and girls. It seems that boys find it much easier to visualize and deal with spaces, the position of objects, relative heights and dimensions. In a test involving a three dimensional mechanical device, only a quarter of the girls could perform. the task as well as the boys and it isn't recorded if any boys were actually worse.

Why are girls more successful at school？ Perhaps emphasis on communication in projects and exams could explain the situation. Success at school nowadays depends on being able to write essays and examination papers. If girls are better at verbal communication than boys, then they are likely to succeed. But, if there are more boys than girls who find difficulty learning at school, does it not imply a serious defect in our educational system？

In Sports

In general, men are taller and heavier than women. In sports, men tend to outperform. women in strength and speed. Women seem to have greater endurance. In spite of many attempts, sports have never become completely intended for both men and women.

Yet, for example, running speeds for male and female athletes have improved steadily through the 20th century, but women have improved much more than men. The same is found for, athletics, swimming and cycling. Hence it is predicted that sex differences might disappear by the middle of the next century. However S. Seller and S. Sailer, in "The Gender Gap.. Elite Women are Running Further Behind", point out that, since the date of their studies, the rate of improvement has much reduced. They suggest a correlation with the use of drugs enhancing performance, and their more recent prohibition. These have a greater effect on women than they do with men.

Biological Differences

Men, it is said, are generally more aggressive, physically and verbally, and enjoy taking risks. They play fighting games and enjoy "dares". More men than women are convicted for crimes, especially crimes of violence.

Some say that this is simply a matter of biology, others

A．questioned by the author

B．certainly true

C．widely denied

D．not commented on