Gender Studies

I have been asked to do a session at the new volunteers in-country training on Gender - its a shame that there are no gender issues here, I've been finding it difficult to think of any examples. Surely sarcasm isn't the lowest form of wit?

My VA was telling me about a class she attended at her university - she had been told that women are the weaker sex & they are only made to have babies & stay at home. I clarified that this was a gender studies class & that surely these were points for debate. Apparently not, this statement was from a psychology class she takes & were delivered as fact by the lecturer. Cambodians hey? No actually - Barang!

I was intrigued to see if this really was a factual lesson or was meant as ideas for discussion in class. Today she brought in the handout for me to see - it was a lesson on evolutionary psychology & I just couldn't resist this opportunity to share some of the 'facts' with you. Here goes......

Extracts from "Innate (genetic) male-female differences in bodies, psychology, roles, and brain"

• Females have wide hips and legs that turn in at the knee, to bear the weight of a baby, especially one with a big brain. These physical features restrict their mobility. Females, cannot run, jump, and throw well. They are designed instead to have babies.
• Males also have twice as much testosterone as females, which gives them a high sex drive and an aggressive personality.
• Men are psychologically disposed by evolution to like each other and to get along - "the male bond" Men enjoy being with large groups of other men - "running with the pack" Women, on the other hand, even when quite young, form small, family-sized groups. They are very close & supportive with others in these small groups, often they are mean to other girl who aren't in their group.
• Women control men while allowing the men to think that they are in control (for example, it is women who decide how to spend almost all the money) Women have two intellectual advantages over men. First, they can easily "multi-task" This makes them seem silly & illogical to men. Second women have a mental faculty called intuition that men lack. She knows what children, men, and animals are feeling and thinking. These mental abilities evolved as part of a women's role in keeping her husband, guarding her children, and holding the family together. Men don't have a clue.
• When a man is jealous, he becomes angry and violent. When a woman is jealous, she tries to make herself prettier. 
• For a man, any discussion with a woman can be exhausting, because she can't stay on a logical track and talks about many different things that aren't related to the problem you are discussing. Men get tired of this, and conclude that women aren't logical and can't think. There is some truth to this. There has never been an outstanding mathematician. Men can concentrate on one thing or one problem, if necessary for hours, days, months, or years. Women can't. 
• Women don't respect a man's 'space' and can't leave their man alone 'nagging' - the man will become angry.
• If a women becomes so frustrated with a man because he won't do what she wants and she gets out of control, she will shout at a man non-stop for an hour without even taking a drink of water. When a woman shouts at a man for an hour, he feels bullied and defenseless because he doesn't have the same verbal abilities she does and can't shout back at her for such a long time. Under those circumstances a man will raise their fist.
• Men want to have sex with many different women. A man will lie to a woman about his love and commitment, so that she'll let him have sex. After marriage most men are not sexually faithful to their wives. Women will tease men by making them wait and by requiring them to write poems and take them out to dinner in order to show that the man is serious.
• Psychologically diseases of modernity - harmful & extravagant attempts to attract love & attention: anorexia & bulimia in women; When a man & his wife both work, children don't get the attention they need; If a women stays at home with her small children all day she resents them and becomes violent and angry with them.

I am going to leave if there - you will have to guess the gender, age & nationality of the lecturer.

I'm off with my enormous hips & knock knees to try & make myself prettier, then concentrate my little brain on how to help my VA get a more balanced education, free from sexual harassment. If only I had a man that would lie to me to get sex & who I could starve myself for & nag for an hour without taking water, maybe then I'd be lucky enough to get a fist raised in my direction......