Article: Are there differences between the brains of males and females
by Renato M.E. Sabbatini
The author holds an essentialist view in this article in which he tried to use science to explain the reasons for the differences between men and women. He explained that the reason why some females appear more masculine than others is due to the higher levels of testosterone they were exposed to in their mother's womb.This resulted in them being more aggressive, an characteristic of boys.
He also shared a research which shows that women process verbal language using both sides of their brain while men process language using only one side. Furthermore, he also shared that in the women's brains, they have a larger tract of neural fibre which connect both brain hemispheres as compared to men. This is probably the explanation of the common saying- women's brains are like spaghetti while men's brains are boxes. This can be used why some women might find it hard to communicate with men as men compartmentalise their thoughts while women link all the scenarios together.
In addition, the author also provided another study that shows that the fontal an temporal lobes are significantly larger in women as compared to men. The frontal and temporal lobes are related to language. Thus, it is not surprising to hear that women are better in language as compared to men.
I find this article credible as it consists of many case studies and experiments to support the writer's view. The writer seems to be rather balanced in his argument and refrain making sweeping statements.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Response on Tootsie
I feel that this film is worth watching not just for its humour content but also, for the message hidden behind it. This film depicts how Michael changed himself to be Dorothy to get a job due to his unpopularity in the industry. I find this film interesting because of how it showed Dorothy( or Michael) refuting the common stereotype of women. For example, instead of asking the patient who got beaten by his husband to go for a therapy, which was her sciptline, Dorothy( or Michael) asked the patient to stand up for herself. Another example would be how Dorothy stormed off when she was rejected by the director for being "too soft". This was a contrast to how Sandy reacted when she was rejected to act in the play. Sandy ran off crying. Dorothy, on the other hand, told the director off for wanting to prove his point that power makes women masculine. These examples showed how Dorothy refuted the common view of women as weak and submissive.
The purpose of this film should be to encourage women to stand up for their rights and not submit to men just because it was the tradition. For example, Dorothy advised Julie to stop being played by her boyfriend who was obviously toying her feelings. This film was filmed in 1982 which was probably the age whereby feminism was less popular. Thus, the producer probably decided to use this film to encourage women to go against the social norm of portraying themselves as weak and to portray themselves as people with independence.
The purpose of this film should be to encourage women to stand up for their rights and not submit to men just because it was the tradition. For example, Dorothy advised Julie to stop being played by her boyfriend who was obviously toying her feelings. This film was filmed in 1982 which was probably the age whereby feminism was less popular. Thus, the producer probably decided to use this film to encourage women to go against the social norm of portraying themselves as weak and to portray themselves as people with independence.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
This article was written by the author as she hoped to encourage people to change the way they teach. As this article was taken from Chronicle of Higher Education, I believe that her intended audience were tertiary educators. I believe this might explain why she had used an informal tone in this article as she will be able to relate better to them as a colleague.
One of the greatest concerns raised by the author was that men generally do better than women in schools as their teaching strategies were favourable to boys. Classroom discussions being incorporated into classroom curriculum is one of the teaching strategies. The author claimed that as men tend to speak up more than women, these teaching strategies will put men at an advantage as they are generally more outspoken. Personally, I feel that whether a person speaks in class depends largely on his upbringing and character. If a person grew up in a family where discussions were common, he would then have the courage to speak up in class. However, if a person grew up in a family where his views were not heard, he would generally not contribute in class. Furthermore, there are bound to be a number of people from both genders who are shy. Thus, I do agree with the author that teachers do need to review their teaching techniques but the changes should be according to each individual rather than by gender.
The author also raised the issue of teachers adopting a debate- like format to enhance learning. The author felt that debating would suit men better and they would then be able to contribute more to the class. On the other hand, women tend to avoid head-on collision and would then lose the chance to voice their opinions. I agree with the author that men are more aggressive in nature and will thus, do better in debates. One of the reasons why the author felt that women avoid confrontation might be because they still had the traditional thinking that they were inferior to men. However, we need to note that a decade has passed since this article was written. With rising feminism, women are striving to have their voices heard. As women gain a stronger foothold in the working world, they will inevitably influence and motivate the younger women to speak up. This phenomenon can be seen in our classrooms today.
The issue of male and female teachers adopting a different teaching style was also raised by the author. She mentioned that women generally respond better to female teachers’ teaching style and vice versa. I do agree with the author’s view that students generally respond better to teachers of the same gender. However, I do not agree that it is solely due to that. There are several other reasons that may contribute to this result. After receiving education for 19 years, I feel that female teachers tend to be able to understand my situation as compared to male teachers. Therefore, I feel that one of the reasons might be because teachers tend to be able to empathise with students of the same gender better, resulting in better response in class.
The author had also made several assumptions in her article. She had assumed that her audience were more suited to the traditional way of teaching, that is, classroom discussion and debating style. It was also her opinion that educators were trying to disadvantage females by using these educational strategies which supposedly suit men better in the curriculum. Furthermore, the critical tone used at the beginning of her article had caused her article to appear to be biased against men. This might disinterest the male teachers when they read the article. Despite these flaws, I feel that the examples and case study used by the author were engaging and would enable the author to relate better to her readers. Although some might claim that one case study is not representative, it serves as a good example and show relevance in the context of her points of contention. In addition, the use of informal tone will be able to leave a deep impression in her readers as this is a scholastic article.
All in all, I feel that the author did manage to put across her point that different teaching styles should be experimented as no student is alike. This will allow readers to reflect on their teaching methods and redefined their preconceived boundaries with regards to teaching- not just based on gender, but the individual himself.
One of the greatest concerns raised by the author was that men generally do better than women in schools as their teaching strategies were favourable to boys. Classroom discussions being incorporated into classroom curriculum is one of the teaching strategies. The author claimed that as men tend to speak up more than women, these teaching strategies will put men at an advantage as they are generally more outspoken. Personally, I feel that whether a person speaks in class depends largely on his upbringing and character. If a person grew up in a family where discussions were common, he would then have the courage to speak up in class. However, if a person grew up in a family where his views were not heard, he would generally not contribute in class. Furthermore, there are bound to be a number of people from both genders who are shy. Thus, I do agree with the author that teachers do need to review their teaching techniques but the changes should be according to each individual rather than by gender.
The author also raised the issue of teachers adopting a debate- like format to enhance learning. The author felt that debating would suit men better and they would then be able to contribute more to the class. On the other hand, women tend to avoid head-on collision and would then lose the chance to voice their opinions. I agree with the author that men are more aggressive in nature and will thus, do better in debates. One of the reasons why the author felt that women avoid confrontation might be because they still had the traditional thinking that they were inferior to men. However, we need to note that a decade has passed since this article was written. With rising feminism, women are striving to have their voices heard. As women gain a stronger foothold in the working world, they will inevitably influence and motivate the younger women to speak up. This phenomenon can be seen in our classrooms today.
The issue of male and female teachers adopting a different teaching style was also raised by the author. She mentioned that women generally respond better to female teachers’ teaching style and vice versa. I do agree with the author’s view that students generally respond better to teachers of the same gender. However, I do not agree that it is solely due to that. There are several other reasons that may contribute to this result. After receiving education for 19 years, I feel that female teachers tend to be able to understand my situation as compared to male teachers. Therefore, I feel that one of the reasons might be because teachers tend to be able to empathise with students of the same gender better, resulting in better response in class.
The author had also made several assumptions in her article. She had assumed that her audience were more suited to the traditional way of teaching, that is, classroom discussion and debating style. It was also her opinion that educators were trying to disadvantage females by using these educational strategies which supposedly suit men better in the curriculum. Furthermore, the critical tone used at the beginning of her article had caused her article to appear to be biased against men. This might disinterest the male teachers when they read the article. Despite these flaws, I feel that the examples and case study used by the author were engaging and would enable the author to relate better to her readers. Although some might claim that one case study is not representative, it serves as a good example and show relevance in the context of her points of contention. In addition, the use of informal tone will be able to leave a deep impression in her readers as this is a scholastic article.
All in all, I feel that the author did manage to put across her point that different teaching styles should be experimented as no student is alike. This will allow readers to reflect on their teaching methods and redefined their preconceived boundaries with regards to teaching- not just based on gender, but the individual himself.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Response to video
This video was chosen not just because of its humour content but also because this video vividly depicts us the difference in how men and women communicate.
In my previous blog post, I mentioned that the article seemed to portray women as being more emotional as compared to men. However, this video offered us a different perspective. As seen in the first part of the video, Raymond was thinking too much about a noise made by Debra when it was not her intention for it to be a sigh. This made me realised that men can be equally sensitive as well.
Furthermore, in my previous blog post, the article mentioned that women often choose not to say what they wanted. However, in the second part of the video, Raymond did exactly the same thing . He offered to let Debra use the bathroom when he wanted to use the bathroom first. As Debra did not know about his “sacrifice”, she did not show her appreciation and this made Raymond hurt and upset. If Raymond had told Debra that he had sacrificed, I am sure Debra would have shown some form of gratification. This reiterate my stand that both genders may choose to conceal their true feelings in different situations.
Being sensitive and not saying what one means does not apply only for women, it applies for both genders and it depends a lot on how individuals react to different situation.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Response to Can't we talk?
The author presented several differences in the way men and women converse. She had also used examples to illustrate her stand on how the communicating differences had resulted in conflicts between the two genders.
The author had presented a view that women generally let their heart rule over their mind and men, vice versa. The examples she had given were apt and common. I particularly agree on one of her views that women converse and/or complain to gain empathy and support, however, men converse when they need to gain the upper hand. Not just conversing, men generally feel good when they gain the upperhand. It is believed that men generally have a larger/ more fragile ego as compared to women. They generally do not want people to see their weaker side and often try their best to appear strong. This leads me to another point pointed out by the author which I agree to a large extent. The author mentioned that to a man, checking with his wife will appear to his friends that he is being controlled by his wife and has no say in family matters. This once again supports that men generally have a larger ego as they want others to see them as the domineering one in the family and want to appear to others that they have a higher pedestal than women. This phenomenon is often seen in traditional families, especially the older generation as in those days, men were the sole breadwinner of the family, and thus, were seen as the leader of the family.
However, with feminism, women are generally less inclined to have their lives "interwined" with their spouse. Modern women want to appear independent, to appear stronger than men. There is an increasing trend that more men are staying at home to be househusbands due to rising feminism. I also noticed a contradicting view in the article. For the first example, she wrote that that man was upset because he had wondered why his wife could not have just put across her point plainly as a statement instead of posing it as a question. On the other hand,the author also wrote in the later part that men abhor being told what to do. I realised that this contradiction arises because no two men(or two women) are alike. Everyone is different and it is only with frequent communication and compromising can there be fewer conflicts among both genders today.
In conclusion, I feel that the writer tends to side with women and seem to be presenting a rather negative view of men. She seems to be suggesting strongly that males are generally chauvinistic individuals. However, the author had successfully presented how different the thinking process of both sides are and explained why it is often hard to comprehend the other gender.
The author had presented a view that women generally let their heart rule over their mind and men, vice versa. The examples she had given were apt and common. I particularly agree on one of her views that women converse and/or complain to gain empathy and support, however, men converse when they need to gain the upper hand. Not just conversing, men generally feel good when they gain the upperhand. It is believed that men generally have a larger/ more fragile ego as compared to women. They generally do not want people to see their weaker side and often try their best to appear strong. This leads me to another point pointed out by the author which I agree to a large extent. The author mentioned that to a man, checking with his wife will appear to his friends that he is being controlled by his wife and has no say in family matters. This once again supports that men generally have a larger ego as they want others to see them as the domineering one in the family and want to appear to others that they have a higher pedestal than women. This phenomenon is often seen in traditional families, especially the older generation as in those days, men were the sole breadwinner of the family, and thus, were seen as the leader of the family.
However, with feminism, women are generally less inclined to have their lives "interwined" with their spouse. Modern women want to appear independent, to appear stronger than men. There is an increasing trend that more men are staying at home to be househusbands due to rising feminism. I also noticed a contradicting view in the article. For the first example, she wrote that that man was upset because he had wondered why his wife could not have just put across her point plainly as a statement instead of posing it as a question. On the other hand,the author also wrote in the later part that men abhor being told what to do. I realised that this contradiction arises because no two men(or two women) are alike. Everyone is different and it is only with frequent communication and compromising can there be fewer conflicts among both genders today.
In conclusion, I feel that the writer tends to side with women and seem to be presenting a rather negative view of men. She seems to be suggesting strongly that males are generally chauvinistic individuals. However, the author had successfully presented how different the thinking process of both sides are and explained why it is often hard to comprehend the other gender.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)