Biology larger part of gender than feminists admit (commentary)

[Natasha]

Biology larger part of gender than feminists admit

http://badgerherald.com/oped/2008/04/10/biology_larger_part_.php
4/11/2008

"The influx of speculation on this matter calls for a reevaluation of the prevailing progressive feminist perspective on the role of gender in society. This should sound familiar: Gender is entirely socially constructed. That is to say, biological differences between males and females are limited to sexual
organs and chromosomal makeup. Any other differences we perceive with
regard to the way males and females think and act are a result of
social conditioning."

[Kaelin]

Feminists as a whole (at least in academia) do NOT maintain that people are entirely a product of society.  Rather, it's more that society is responsible for *much* of a person's development and *most* of the trends associated with groups of people, and it would be to women's (and men's) benefit if we were to remove the limitations that force those arbitrary trends.  Gender identity happens to be one of those things that society *cannot* manipulate, but there are things society can affect (socioeconomic status, education and test performance, the way one expresses their particular gender, sex/gender-related behavior).

Regarding math test scores, these start out relatively similar and diverge significantly during high school and college, so there seems to be a social cause for (most of) the sex/gender difference.  Whether it's due to teaching style or due to other social factors, sort of the thing that has to be acknowledged is that the differences we see (and certainly the larger differences of 50+ years ago) *are* largely attributable to society rather than biology.

[Rachael]

well considering some girls can grow up without any female contact, and turn out feminine, and vice versa for males, hell, a transgirl at an all boys school being able to socially integrate as female on leaving... all signs that something is afoul.... Gender is too consistent to be entirely socially constructed.
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[lady amarant]

I think there's definitely a large component of underlying biology to the social construct of gender role, but there is most assuredly social construction going on, which tries to fit everybody into boxes instead of onto bell-curves.

Anyways, just my opinion on the matter.

~Simone.

[tekla]

which tries to fit everybody into boxes instead of onto bell-curves

Well put.  I'm sure in the end its both nurture and nature. 

[Rachael]

regression line do you?
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