Gender Differences
Over the past decade, several studies have focused on the differences between genders, specifically the innate differences. Most of us have come to believe the stereotype that boys can’t focus in a classroom setting and that girls obsess over love and relationships. Lise Eliot, author of Pink Brain Blue Brain, has spent years researching neuroscience and neuroplasticity. She has concluded that the infant brain is so flexible and soft that the minor differences from birth become intensified throughout the years as parents, peers, and society reinforce gender stereotypes. Of course hormones and biological differences have an effect, but a very minor one in comparison to socialization, education, and culture.
Children actually display these stereotypes- boys play more sports and throw balls while girls focus more on coloring and playing with dolls, and unfortunately, rarely steer away from these comfort zones. After looking further into these stereotypes, Eliot has noted that not all of them are true. Boys aren’t better at math, but instead, are better at spatial reasoning. Girls aren’t more emotional, but are culturally allowed to express emotions more.
The differences between the genders is very minor when looking at babies. Boys are actually more emotionally needy when they’re younger, but as they’re raised, they’re taught that this is unacceptable for them, and so therefore, they suppress their emotions. They are allowed to be loud and obnoxious, whereas girls are told that this is unlady like and that they have to be quiet, reserved, and “lady-like”. Girls are constantly being underestimated- they’re told that they aren’t good at math and science or are told that they aren’t as athletically coordinated or as strong as boys are.
Eliot’s main debate is that these differences are brought up my nurture, not nature. Another factor is socioeconomic status. More gender differences are seen within people from lower socioeconomic families and vice versa. However, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, genes do play a significant role in gender difference. According to their study, boys have a higher chance for delayed language development than girls. This has been proved by the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The study was conducted by surveying a group of mothers on their children’s verbal and language skills. They grouped the participant’s children in three separate groups, and boys are in the majority of the groups that had persistent and consistent difficulties with language. One of the scientists on the study explained that boys are biologically are at a greater risk for developmental disorders than girls.
It has been seen that girls start speaking and develop language skills before boys do. Girls start constructing more complex sentences and using higher vocabulary before boys. This isn’t only seen in childhood, but continues on. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), around forty-seven percent of girls graduate high school with more competent verbal and language skills.
British scientists have measure testosterone, the male sex hormone, in amniotic fluid, and discovered that the levels of testosterone are directly related to autism and language development. However, just like many other gender differences, there is also a large environmental impact.
References:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Brain scnas may help diagnose dyslexia.” Science Daily.
August 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130813201424.htm>
Elliot, Lise. “Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps and What We Can Do About It.” New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2009. Print.
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