Hooray for gender assumptions.

[judecorp]

There's very little I dislike more than the whole stupid idea that wimmin all but change personalities throughout the month because of hormone level differences. Although what I /do/ dislike more is the blanket assumption that all wimmin are the same in this respect, or in the respect of hormones. Or in the respect of /anything/, really.

I caught the tail end of a conversation tonight that this guy was having with some people I was hanging out with. What perked my ears up was the statement that went something like: With men, if you ask them a question on Monday, the answer will be the same throughout the month. With people of the feminine gender (yes, he actually said "feminine gender") everything is up and down. Whatever.

I can't stand when people make gender-assumptive comments, and I /really/ can't stand when people make gender assumptions about me. Not everyone identifies as male or female. Not every female is overflowing with estrogen. Not every woman has a reproductive or hormonal cycle that moves up and down in a predictable fashion. Not everyone with a vagina is a woman. No, you can't pick out a woman with PMS a mile away. You wouldn't know I was bleeding unless I told you or you went looking, and if /I/ can't predict when it's coming (that lovely 2-4 times a year), than I doubt that you can.

It's like I have some sort of radar for these sorts of comments. I turned and asked for a repeat of the comment, so I would know if I should be ready to argue or not. I guess I had my "grrrr" face all ready. It must have been bad if my Jennifer said, "Don't worry about it. Why don't you go back to your other conversation?" Heh. I guess tonight was not a soapbox sort of night.

I was all boy tonight, mister. Please remove head from rectum. Thank you.

Comments

Re:

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

Well, given that the female mind works a bit differently than a male mind (I've seen the catscans), I'd figure it was more to do with how the different brains are constructed.

There's also the more nurturing role women have played through evolution, as opposed to the killing and dragging back of dead things that the guys got up to.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that evolution put women in "nurturing roles." Breastfeeding, sure. Nurturing for life while the men did all the killing and dragging? Naw.

As far as the differing minds, there is scientific "evidence" both ways - that male and female brains are different and that they are the same. The bottom line to all of that research, though, is sexism - no one's really trying to prove whether they're "different," they're trying to prove that one is less efficient.

Fuck that noise.

Re:

[tbonestg.livejournal.com]

The bottom line to all of that research, though, is sexism - no one's really trying to prove whether they're "different," they're trying to prove that one is less efficient.

I don't think that just because one explores the differences between two things, it means that they're looking for superiority. Most research would seem to be looking for specializations, or how the two brains take different routes to achieve similar results. To make research on the subject taboo is to simply deny ourselves knowledge about ourselves.