Narrowing Gender Gap - The Task Starts Small!

“Gender in the 21^st Century,” the latest Munk Debate topic that was debated upon on November 15, 2013. Plethora of articles, debates, discussions are now drastically coming forth/emerging trying to resolve the age-old issue of gender differences.  This rising popularity of this topic, which is attributable to the “Mars-Venus stereotypes” are constantly trying to portray the vast amount of innate differences that exist between males and females.

Lisa Eliot, an associate professor of neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin gives a new dimension to this

widely debated issue. One of the major premises in her book, Pink Brain Blue: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps—and What We Can Do About It, highlight the concept of neuroplasticity.  She convincingly argues that the extensively malleable infant brain amplifies the minor differences seen at birth due to the reinforcement of gender stereotypes while growing up.  

She says although hormones and genetics do not cease to play a role in gender differences, social factors exacerbate these differences to an even greater extend.  She discusses the concept of epigenetic- environment acting upon your genes. For example weight is a biological thing, however it is highly dependent on the child's diet. Due to this, parents, teachers and society in general need to start creating an environment for infants where they are not affected and influenced by such male-female stereotypes and where there are no “ideal role” expectations. 

Fortunately, some countries are a step ahead and have already started implementing and executing  such practices in school and other aspects of an infant’s life. Time’s Magazine article Boys Won’t be Boys by Lisa Abend/Stockholm brings forth the efforts of Sweden’s Nicolaigarden preschool in pushing for gender neutrality. The article states, “…at Nicolaigarden, they try not to use the word girls at all. Or boys either. One of the most popular toys at the school, for both sexes, is a set of dolls designed to teach about emotions…the dolls are completely naked, which makes it easy to see that they have no distinguishable gender.”  This preschool poses no restrictions on what girls and boys are “supposed” to play.  This school resonates with the goals of what Sweden as a whole is trying to achieve—gender equality, also called gender neutrality. Supporters of such change say that this “process is a necessary step toward eroding the lingering vestiges of sexism,” while the critics disagree with this whole eradicating gender differences philosophy, and they opine, “feminism has become something of a state religion in Sweden.” They believe Sweden to be a “dangerous experiment in political correctness that would deny biological realities and impose artificial mandates of sameness.”  However, experts think otherwise. University of Washington professor, Christine Ingebritsen, goes as far as saying that Sweden is setting the foundation for the future. Its changing the norms and “focusing more on humanism” and what is going to unite us (both males and females) together.

If we continue to imbibe such practices, maybe one day we will actually be able to create a world where battle of sexes won't be an issue to discuss about anymore. This sure will take time, but Sweden surely proved that it is not an impossible task. Taking one step at a time by incorporating the changes at a smaller scale, we will be able to soon achieve the vision of "gender-neutral" society!

Sources:

Eliot, Lise. Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps--and What     

          We Can Do about It. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.

Stockholm, Lisa Abend. "Boys Won't Be Boys." Time. Time Inc., 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.