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Sex Differences
If we don't understand the opposite sex, we don't understand the differences.
Sex is two becoming one.
| See First Chapter of
"Sex Differences and Their Implications" Chapter four from Sex and Politics Sex Differences v. Dogma by Walter R. Dolen Copyright © 1976 & 1999 by Walter R. Dolen From Chapter 4 of Sex and Politics See Table of Contents for this chapter Sex Differences and Their ImplicationsThe dogma of radical feminists is against sex differences. They practically deny that any exist. They think that most sex differences are caused by socialization. We are socially conditioned to act in different ways, so they say. The following statement given before the house of Representatives subcommittee studying the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution says it the way the radical feminists believe and think:
There was little excuse for the radical women's lib movement, for even at the beginning there were many papers and books published that described and discussed real sex differences:
From these comprehensive works, other specialized papers, and more recent works we will
present to you important sex differences in the biology and the behavior of human beings.
In order to understand the mistakes of radical feminism we must understand the real sex
differences. What is Sex?First of all, what is sex? The word "sex" in English comes from a Latin word secare which means to cut or divide. And this usage probably originated from the Biblical rendition of the genesis of mankind.(Gen. 2:21ff) In this account the first woman was made from the side of man. She was taken from him or divided from him. Science also tells us that there is a division or differences between males and females. The word "sex" indicates a division of mankind or a separation of mankind. There are elements or characteristics that separate females from males. "Sex" has to do with these differences. Sex is difference, not likeness. Although males and females are alike in some ways (both have two arms, two legs, etc.), both are also unalike in some ways (genitals), and in totality both are unalike in each and every cell and in brain organization: there is a male brain and a female brain.[3] The things in which they differ are the divisions between them. Sex is Dyadic. Often the male and female differences
complement each other. Although there is a sexual division in mankind, each complements
the other and both together make up something which should be regarded as a complete
functional unit. Mankind can best be viewed as dyadic: two incomplete components
(male and female) which complementary make up a complete unit. The sexes are incomplete
apart; they are complete together. Mankind continues only because the two components unite
into a union of complementary roles and responsibilities in which through physical and
mental intercourse they produce and sustain their kind. Marriage is the normal method in
which the sexes join together. And thus the biblical verse,"For this reason a man
will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one
flesh." (Mark 10:7-8) Males and females are relatively and/or absolutely different biologically:
Totally Different. In fact, males and females are in one
sense entirely different: each cell of the normal male has the XY sex
chromosomes, while each cell of the normal female has the XX sex chromosomes. Sex Differences at ConceptionSex differences start real early in development of the sexes -- from conception. In each of our cells we have 46 chromosomes, 23 being contributed by each of our parents. The chromosomes align themselves in 23 pairs, one from each parent. Twenty-two pairs are called autosomes. They carry genes that determine the individual physical features we have. One pair of chromosomes are the sex chromosomes and they determine which sex we are. If we have the XX chromosomes we are female. If we have the XY chromosomes we are male. The sperm or egg of the male and female each has only one-half of the normal chromosome count, or 23 chromosomes. Each of the female's egg contains one X chromosome. Half of the male's sperm contain the Y chromosome and the other half the X chromosome. Thus, the mother always provide the X chromosome; the father provides either a X or a Y chromosome. Therefore it is the father's sperm type which fertilizes the X-bearing egg that determines the sex of the child. If the father's sperm contains a Y chromosome the child will normally develop into a male with XY chromosomes in each of his cells. He is a XY genotype. If the father's sperm contains a X chromosome the child will normally develop into a female with XX chromosomes in each of her cells. She is a XX genotype. There are rare cases of XO (female: Turner's syndrome), XXX (female: in many cases may be mentally retarded), XYY (male: overly impulsive, aggressive), XXY (male: Klinefelter's syndrome; breast enlargement, small penis and testes) genotypes. Critical Period. Up to and through the sixth week of the child's development in the womb the fetus is not additionally sex differentiated beyond the difference in the sex chromosomes. But after the sixth week of development it then begins to sexually differentiate into a male or female. This differentiating is determined by the presence or absence of the male hormone in the developing fetus. To understand this more, we need to next look at the influence of hormones. Sex and HormonesThe word "hormone" comes from a Greek word meaning, to stimulate, or excite. Hormones are secreted from the endocrine glands. The sex endocrine glands are called the gonads. In the male, his gonads are his testes; in the female, her gonads are her ovaries. Also the adrenal and the pituitary glands are glands that are sexually differentiated in certain ways. The male sex hormones are collectively called androgens. These have a masculinizing action. The main male hormone of the androgens is testosterone, which is mostly secreted from the cells of the testis. The testis, not only produces male hormones, it also produces sperm which enables a male to become a father through impregnation of a female with the sperm. The secretion of androgens in the male begins prenatally and is relatively decreased postnatally, but increases in level throughout later childhood until puberty, when there is a constant high secretion of male hormones, approximately 10 times the female's level. The level of androgens begin to drop after 50 years of age. In the female, the ovary secretes two distinctive sex hormones -- the estrogen and the progesterone. The principal estrogen produced is estradiol which is made from the cells of the ovary. The ovaries also produce the ova (egg) which makes it possible for females to become mothers. The estrogens help in the growth and maturation of the female reproductive parts -- the vagina, uterus, and oviduct. These hormones help in the development of the mammary glands. Progesterone is essential for various aspects of pregnancy. Females estrogens and progesterone high levels begin with puberty, vary somewhat during their menstruation period, vary greatly during pregnancy, and decrease dramatically after menopause to about one ninth the level of a menstruating female. The level of estrogens and progesterone of females vary over their menstrual period. When she is pregnant the levels significantly increase until at the end-of-pregnancy estrogens are 10 times above normal, and progesterone is about 100 times above normal. Contrariwise the level of hormones of males is relatively steady. After menopause women seem to become more aggressive and assertive, their voices deepen and they grow some facial hair because their adrenal glands are still producing small amounts of androgens, but their estrogen level has dramatically decreased. The ratio of their hormone level changes; estrogen decreases its influences, and they thus change. Male & Female HormonesOften androgens are called the male hormones and estrogens are called the female
hormones. This isn't technically correct since females also produce testosterone, but at a
much lower level than males. Males also produce some estrogens, but at a much lower level
than females. Therefore, androgens are the male hormones because males have a higher level
of them than females. Estrogens are the female hormones because females have a higher
level of them than males. Hormonal Interaction and ControlThe sex hormones do not act alone. They interact or interplay with the whole body in various ways. However, they are more under the influence and control of the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus of the brain than other bodily parts. What makes this pertinent is that the hypothalamus is sexually differentiated. Brain Organizational Differences & Hormones One of the most important discoveries concerning sex differences, had to do with innate differences between the male and female brains.[4] John Money's 1972 book, Man & Woman, Boy & Girl, gave a well documented explanation of the fact that there is a difference between the male and the female brain. But this book gave too much attention to the neutrality-at-birth theory of gender identity (see chap. 3) which only postponed the truth of brain sex for the general public. Today we have the popular book, Brain Sex, in paperback and there is a three part TV series also called Brain Sex that aired in 1992. Both of these in different ways documented the evidence for the innate brain differences between the sexes. Our quick review that follows uses Money's book, other newer research papers (Breedlove, 1992, "Sexual Differentiation of the Brain and Behavior." In Behavioral Endocrinology), and such newer popular reviews of pertinent literature as the 1983 book Sex and the Brain, and the 1991 book, Brain Sex.[5] The hypothalamus is a key brain structure. The differentiated brains of the sexes has something to do with the brain's hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a key subcortical structure at the base and center of the brain. It is a key brain structure because it has an important influence on emotional behavior, thirst, hunger, temperature regulation, metabolism regulation, and even motivation.[6] It follows then that any sex difference of the hypothalamic action is important to our understanding of the difference between each sex. As Corinne Hutt put it in her book, Males and Females:
The hypothalamus is differentiated prenatally. By the action of androgens from the prenatal infant, at a critical stage in fetal development (7th week), the hypothalamus of the infant is organized into a male pattern. Without the introduction of androgens at this critical stage, the fetus develops a female hypothalamic organizational pattern. The main known sex differences of the hypothalamus is that the male's hypothalamus works in a noncyclic manner, while the female's hypothalamus works in a cyclic manner.[8] The cyclic pattern of the females has to do with the release of neurohumoral substances from the nerve cells of the hypothalamus. These neurohumoral substances in turn regulate the nearby pituitary gland.[9] And the pituitary gland in turn regulates many functions of the other endocrine glands of the body like the testes and ovaries. Thus, because the female hypothalamus functions cyclically, because it affects her ovaries in a cyclic manner, and because her ovaries produce hormones, it follows that her hormonal levels vary in a cyclic pattern, which they do.[10] This fact, directly and indirectly, helps to create cyclic moods or temperamental changes in women.[11] Since hormones are chemical simulators this latter statement makes sense. Each hormone affects the body in certain ways. Most everyone notices what the caffeine in their coffee does for them in the morning. For radical feminists to deny the stimulating influences of the hormones on the body, is like them denying the affects of caffeine or any other chemical stimulator. The newest research in neuroendocrinology tells us the hypothalamus of males and females act differently. And because this area of the brain is a control center for other parts, this is important knowledge for understanding sex differences. Male or Female Brains from the Womb. It has been shown that mating behavior is dependent upon whether the participants have either a male or female "brain."[12] And such non-mating behavior as physical aggression, maternal behavior, energy expenditure, choice of clothing, choice of career, erotic perception, romantic fantasies or dreams, and so on are also related upon whether the person has a male or female brain.[13] Male and female brains develop differently in the womb and become 'wired' differently pre-natally. There is a short critical period after six weeks of development of the fetus. If male hormones are introduced into the fetus at this critical period, the child develops into a male with a male brain and genitals, otherwise it develops into a female with a female brain and genitals. There are males, as well as females, because of androgenic activity in the prenatal infant.[14] Without this hormonal activity nature would only produce females. The undifferentiated fetus, whether the fetus is of XX or XY genotype, will always change into a female unless androgens are introduced into the prenatal infant by its fetal gonadal hormones, or exogenous sources, at the critical period in its prenatal growth. Although no ovarian hormones are necessary in order for nature to produce a female, there is evidence that they do influence how the female brain is developed. (Fitch & Denenberg, "A Role for Ovarian Hormones in Sexual Differentiation of the Brain," 1997: Cambridge U Press [pre-press text]). In order for nature to produce a male, testicular secretions must be present and acting in the fetus at the proper level and proper time. Therefore, androgens are a very important ingredient in the formulation of the sexes. Without its influence in the prenatal infant, there would only be females. Normally the XY chromosome fetus (male) automatically develop testes in the seventh week of development, and they in turn produce the male hormones that immediately begins to develop a male brain and other male features. When a child is born they already have a male or female brain. Their brains are 'wired' male or female beginning in the seventh week of development in the womb. There is proof that maternal behavior is wired into the brain prenatally. (see below) There is proof that the sexes use the left and right hemispheres of their brains differently and have different physiological connections between them. [15] From birth and onward males and females use their left and right hemispheres of their brains differently, different levels of hormones affect them differently, and thus the sexes throughout their lives have different:
The biological differences help, directly and indirectly, to make males and females behave and relate differently. They perceive their environments differently, in a sex differentiated way. Because their brains are 'wired' differently, they see the world differently and learn differently. It is through the interaction or interplay of the external environmental influences with the persistent internal biological influences that produce yet more differences in male and female behavior. Yet, the main cause of sex behavior is biology as explained in the previous chapter. Knowing this we can see why the sexes don't seem to understand each other:
Intellectual Ability DifferencesIQ Tests. Because of the brain differences there are sex differences in mental ability. But IQ tests, which are supposed to measure intellectual ability, are constructed to eliminate sex differences in total scores. Individual test items that show large sex differences in response are excluded entirely. This procedure is based "on the assumption that sex differences on such items may be specific to the task in question and may simply reflect differences in experience and training. Among the remaining items, those slightly favoring girls were balanced against others which favored boys to an equal degree."[17] When an IQ test shows generally equal total test scores for each sex, it merely shows how well the test was constructed to rule out sex differences:
Even though IQ tests are purposely constructed to eliminate sex differences, sex differences do appear in factoral analysis, that is analysis of the Word Fluency factor and Space factor within the test. Through factor analysis of the IQ tests, various sex differences in the kinds of intellectual ability have been manifested: (1) Verbal Ability or Word Fluency. Females from infancy to adulthood show greater ability in verbal functions like word fluency, spelling, grammar, speed of reading, etc.[19] But in verbal reasoning and vocabulary, both sexes have about the same ability.[20] For example, in studies of eighth and ninth-grade boys and girls in 1944-46 girls outscored boys in the Word Fluency part of the tests 75 to 68, 61 to 55, and 55 to 51 while all other factors except Spatial were within a point or two. [21] Verbal Skills of Women. While boys focus on objects (visual stimuli), generally girls of the same age focus their attention on each other in interpersonal activity, or on conversation about other persons.[22] Females are better at verbal activity. Females have greater verbal fluency skills from infancy on.[23] Being verbally fluent is being able to easily put into words what one has to say or write. Girls learn to speak earlier than males. They do better in school in literature, essay writing, grammar, spelling, and foreign languages. Girls have far fewer speech problems than males at all ages. Males generally do reach and some slightly surpass females' level of ability in vocabulary, verbal comprehension, and verbal reasoning in their late teens, but do not become as good as females in other verbal areas unless they put much effort into it. Generally, females are the master of language mechanics and verbal fluency. This greater verbal ability of females shows itself in their greater interest in social or interpersonal aspects of life. Females are more interested in people than in objects. They have greater affiliational needs than males, and are motivated to do things more because of social reasons (the praise, acceptance, or recognition it will bring from others of importance to her) than because of the thing itself.[24] Maccoby and Jacklin in their book The Psychology of Sex Differences conclude that it is an unfounded belief that girls are more social than boys.[25] They state that both sexes are equally interested in social stimuli as compared with nonsocial. Maccoby and Jacklin mention studies where infants were tested on how much attention they directed to social or nonsocial stimuli. Little or no sex difference in attention were found in these studies. But what did they consider social stimuli? The answer is that various representations of human faces such as line drawing of faces or clay facial masks, or photographs of faces or actual real faces were considered social stimuli.[26] Nonsocial stimuli included such items as checkerboards, or geometric forms, or random shapes. It seems incredible that Maccoby and Jacklin could use such a dubious interpretation of studies to try and disprove the conclusions of numerous authorities as to the fact that females are more socially oriented than males. The subjects of the experiments mentioned by Maccoby and Jacklin were infants, most of which were under six months of age. How social are such infants? When they cannot talk, how can they be sociable? Are the faces presented to these infants social stimuli or visual or spatial stimuli? It seems Maccoby and Jacklin's biased beliefs[27] may be interfering with their judgement. Even in their book, The Psychology of Sex Differences, they admit that: "The summaries of earlier research presented in The Development of Sex Differences (1966) indicated that women and girls showed more interest than boys in social activities and that their tastes in books and TV programs were more oriented toward the gentler aspects of interpersonal relations...."(p. 2l4) Although Maccoby and Jacklin's book is important in many respects, one should be careful about some of their conclusions. They have a tendency to be biased in a radical feminist direction. (2) Number Ability. In the lower grades there isn't much difference, but when computational arithmetic problems change into reasoning arithmetic problems of higher mathematics, then males excel.[28] (3) Spatial Ability. Males have shown consistent superiority in the manipulation and judgment of spatial relationships.[29] Spatial ability manifests itself in mechanical ability, skills involving space relationships (architects), practical ability, and higher mathematics.[30] For example, in studies of eighth and ninth-grade boys and girls in 1944-46 boy outscored girls in the Spatial ability 83 to 69, 42 to 33, and 40 to 31 while all other factors except Word Fluency were within a point or two. ([31] Hobson, 1947) Males spatial ability manifests itself in their better performance in the solution of mazes and puzzles, in areas of mechanical ability, in higher mathematics, and so forth.[32] Males have better visual acuity in all ages studied as shown from a study of 17,500 California drivers whose ages ranged from 16 to 92.[33] Males as early as 14 weeks were found to learn much better to fix their attention on objects because of visual stimulus reward versus an auditory stimulus reward.[34] All of these aspects plus the visual erotic difference indicate that men are influenced and interested more in visual stimuli than women. This is also manifested in pre-school children where "when boys are gathered together it is generally as a group of three or more, and their attention tends to be focused on some activity or on objects...."[35] Parenthetically, the study of individuals with Turner's syndrome seems to indicate an androgenic foundation for the greater spatial ability of males. In the Turner's syndrome, no hormones in the womb reach and affect the brain to sexually masculinize it because such individuals have no functional gonads. Persons with such a condition sexually differentiate as females who are much more feminine behaving than the average girl. It is the fact that such individuals are greatly retarded in their spatial ability[36], even though they are normal or slightly above in their verbal ability, that seems to indicate a prenatal-androgenic foundation of spatial ability. Spatial ability sex differences appear at puberty, fluctuates during the menstrual cycle, and appears to correlate with changes in estrogen levels. (Halpern, Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities, London: 1992; Hampson, Brain and Cognition 14:26-43, 1990; Hampson & Kimura, Behavioral Neuroscience 102: 456-459, 1988) To conclude. The verbal, number, and spatial abilities, are the main and more provable mental ability differences between the sexes.[37] Which abilities are superior to the others is only opinion. We call someone intelligent because he or she has certain mental abilities or behavioral abilities which we deem important. Some people include practical ability with academic ability when evaluating intelligence, and some do not. But the fact remains, IQ tests do not tell us which sex is smartest because the tests were designed to be sex neutral. Statements such as, "spatial ability is only weakly correlated with measures of general intelligence,"[38] by the psychologist Maccoby are revealing their pop-educated bias. Why? Because general intelligence is measured by IQ tests. If IQ tests show spatial ability is weakly correlated to general intelligence, it is because these tests are constructed that way, not because spatial ability has nothing to do with intelligence. Most IQ tests, in fact, have few questions that deal with difficult spatial problems. If there were more questions on spatial ability, then spatial ability would be highly correlated to general intelligence tests. It all depends on how the tests are constructed. But the fact remains even though IQ tests are made to be as sex neutral as possible, they still manifest sex differences in verbal, math, and spatial ability, which is projecting the innate sex difference of the brain in each sex. Other Perceptual DifferencesBreaking Set, Field-Dependence & Independence. Another aspect of the brain differences between the sexes is the perceptual differences in field-dependence, field-independence, and breaking-set. Females are more field-dependent.[39] The female has a more global approach to the visual perception of spatial relationships than the male; she perceives the visual stimulus and its surrounding field as a whole interconnected reality. She sees the whole room. The male is more field-independent.[39] He concentrates on the visual stimulus itself, and is less affected by the surrounding visual field. He sees and focuses on a part(s) of the room. Males tend "to deal with the field in an active, analytical fashion."[40] They manipulate the parts of the visual field in their head to a greater degree than females. Females tend "toward passive acceptance of the field."[40] Males are more willing and able to break away from the total visual picture presented, and to actively move the elements of the picture in their minds. This difference of perception shows itself as early as 3 or 4 years of age.[41] This field-independence ability of males manifests itself also through males greater "set-breaking" ability: "Men and women appear to be equally susceptible to the adoption of a certain fixed attitude or set toward the solution of a problem, but men are able to abandon a once adopted set more easily than women, when a new and different approach is required for the successful solution.[42] This male superiority in set-breaking capacity or the restructuring of the perceptual field was also observed by Sweeney[43] and Kostick.[44] The later found school boys more able than school girls to 'transfer' their knowledge and to apply their skills to new situations in science, a 'masculine,' and home economics, a 'feminine' area of interest."[45] This set-breaking ability is one reason why males do better at solving problems of various kinds.[46] Perceptual sex differences manifest themselves in the sexes different fields of interest. For example, the greater mathematical ability of males is more than likely because math is a nonverbal language. Since men do not have as high a social need as women, they can interest themselves in math, while women because of their social need will be more interested in studies where they can use their knowledge in interpersonal verbal contact. Thus, since higher math can only be communicated visually (backboards, textbooks, computers), women are less inclined to study it with the great interest needed to excel in higher mathematics. Women are more inclined to study verbal languages, or social science, or history of people, or economics of the home or family instead of visual languages (math, architectural drawing), or physical science, or history of ideas, or economic theory. When women enter male dominated fields like physical science or economic theory, they specialize in the more feminine aspects of them, like teaching, instead of research and theory development.[47] The results of this sex-differentiation is that a social framework is set up where young females and young males identify with traditional sex occupational divisions and unconsciously set their goals to agree with these divisions. Thus, more males choose male occupations, and more females choose female occupations than would occur if there were no subtle social pressures to do so. But this is actually a good thing because if young females identified and studied for male occupations, they would less likely be fulfilled (be happy) with their occupation than if they chose a female occupation. A female occupation is one where their biological tendencies are in part or in full enacted. Since motherhood fulfills these needs best, we herein emphasize it for her in her childbearing years. Motherhood, as we shall define it in chapter 5 and 6, fulfills her functional, maternal, verbal, and interpersonal needs as well as her need to feel personally valuable. Verbal and Spatial Ability in Higher Mathematics, Engineers, Scientists and Spatial Ability. "We're just beginning to have evidence that when there are two equally valid approaches to a problem, via words or via images, females tend to choose the approach through words and males the approach through images. Now the approach through images--which are visual-spatial and right-hemisphere--just happens to be much more effective, especially in higher mathematics, than the approach through words. Look at the way mathematicians are forced to talk to one another, through symbols on a blackboard. And so I think that their right-hemisphere approach naturally favors males. From the beginning they're less verbally oriented then females--more oriented to things, to objects in space. They're less dependent on context in their visual-spatial skills--this can be seen cross-culturally from the age of four onwards. And they're more abstract. This may help explain, too, I think, why men are over-represented in certain
disciplines in science, something we've also been studying. To be a good physicist or
engineer, for example, requires not only mathematical reasoning ability but also skill in
three-dimensional visual imagery. And that's probably why few women are found in these
fields. To be a good scientist, at all, in fact, seems to require a set of qualities more
characteristic of men than of women--spatial ability, a low social interest and an
absorption in things. Let's face it, human males like to manipulate things--from
Tinkertoys to the cosmos....Females are more communicative, more sensitive to context and
more interested in people. And perhaps that's why there are so many more women in fields
like biology and psychology: like me." (quoting Camilla Persson Benbow
concerning an 8 year study, quoted from Sex and the Brain, Chapter 5, which
quoted, "Sex Differences in Mathematical Ability: Fact or Artifact?," Science,
December 12, 1980) Erotic Perceptual DifferenceBecause of the differences in the male and female brains, and the different levels of hormones, there is a distinctive sex difference in visual erotic perception. In such magazines from the 1970's as Playgirl, nude men were presented for the "liberated NEW women." According to some, women have been conditioned by their puritanical parents and society away from enjoying the opposite sex's nudity, as men enjoy their opposite sex's nudity. Hormones and Arousal. One reason human males get excited by female nudity is because of hormonal differences. Men have a higher ratio of androgens to estrogens, while women have a higher ratio of estrogens to androgens. Androgens have been found to be an erotic arousal hormone in males and females, while estrogens are an erotic tranquilizer: "Androgen is a libido-enhancing hormone for both sexes.[48] By contrast, estrogen is a functional castrating agent in the male. It thus may lower the intensity of libido and lead to a decrease of sexual initiative and activity. In effect, it is an erotic tranquilizer in the male."[49] Thus, one reason boys get excited over the female form after puberty, and one reason sex is often on the minds of boys, is because of the increase in their androgenic level at the time of puberty. The hormonal changes of puberty make males more sensitive to erotic stimuli than females. But the hormonal changes in women also make them aware of males also, but in a different way. They see their body feminizing. They see new curves and mounds appear, and the idea of being held, loved, and desired by their man excites them. The idea of being desired, bearing a child, and growing into adulthood turns many young females on to males. The low level of androgens that females do produce in their bodies also helps to erotically induce some sexual excitement in them. Visual Arousal. Although "it is possible for a woman as well as a man to respond to the visual stimulus of a lover or potential partner in sex,[50] her imagery of arousal will however, tend to be different...."[51] Her sexual arousal is built around romantic ideas of him "reacting to her and wanting her -- of wanting to hold, caress, and kiss her."[52] In women, the memory of past sexual experience, in real or book form, is important for her arousal by a nude male.[53] The more a woman has positive sex experience, the easier she is sexually turned on by a male. Women are aroused not by men's body per se, but by her imagery of his desire for her. Women look at a desirable male and think of how nice it would be for him to make love to her, not how nice it would be to touch him. (Although she may learn to think in the latter way through positive sex experience: she learns that he likes to be touched in certain ways; and thus she learns to like these activities because he likes them, and she wishes to please him.) Women as Sex Objects. Conversely, men can be turned on sexually by a woman's body, in and of itself. When looking at a desirable women, a man thinks of how nice it would be for him to caress, handle, and fondle her. He objectifies her. He makes her the object of his attentions. He uses his better spatial ability, his field-independence ability to objectify the female form in his mind. But women do not objectify men. Women see themselves as objects of male's desire. This is the reason they like, "I love you's," sentimental gifts (as outward signs of desire), and passionate desire in bed -- instead of perfunctory sex. This erotic sex difference in perception is one reason women care for their appearance. This sex difference is also why such women as the feminist, Germaine Greer, think men with clothes on are sexier than nude men: "My favorite Renaissance sex object is fully, even heavily dressed."[54] Hierarchy of Sexual Desire. Women desire men who are desirable in a social way, more so than men who have well-built bodies. Women look at the way a man moves, or handles himself in various social contexts more than how his body is formed. Does he have an intelligent mind? Good. Does he dress or act in socially desirable ways? Good. And if he has a well-formed body, that's added desirability, not primary desirability. On the other hand, men look more at a women's appearance, than at her social or mental attributes. This doesn't mean he doesn't weigh her social and mental attributes. It does mean males are cognizant first of woman's physical appearance, and second of her behavioral manifestations, especially younger men. More men as they age appreciate women's non-physical beauty. Because of these erotic differences there are some misunderstandings between the sexes. Women liberators caricature female's dislike of women seeming to be "just sexual objects" for men. Women want to be liked by men for their minds and their activities because women see these qualities as more important than the physical body. Women value certain qualities of men's mind his and companionship more than men's bodies. This is their value judgment. Thus, they want to be desired more so for their minds and companionship than for their bodies. Because men appear to value a woman's form more so than her mind and companionship, it seems to women that men do not like them as well as they like men. It is all a matter of how each sex values, or how they perceive the world. Because men highly value women's appearance, they also want females to highly value their masculine body. Because women highly value men's mind, behavior, and social activity, women also want males to highly value them in the same way. How are women sexually aroused by an erotic female? Many men mistakenly think that women are turned on by what they are turned on to sexually. To men, a nude female is sexy. Thus, some think a female nude form is also sexy to women. And sometimes it is for women, but in a different way. Some think that the women who are "turned on" by nude women, are manifesting their lesbian tendencies.[55] But this isn't the case. John Money and Anke Ehrhardt explain this: "When he reacts to a sexy pinup picture of a female, a man sees the figure as a sexual object. In imagery, he takes her out of the picture and has a sexual relationship. "The very same picture may be sexually appealing to a woman, but that would not mean she is a lesbian. Far from it. She is not in imagery bringing the figure toward herself as a sexual object, as does the man. She is projecting herself into the picture and identifying herself with the female to whom men respond. She herself becomes the sexual object."[56] Therefore, the way women can be sexually aroused by an erotic female is to project themselves as the girl in the picture, film, or live setting. And the way men are sexually aroused by an erotic female is to objectify the girl -- he makes love to her in his mind as he looks at the woman in a picture, film, or in a live situation. Perceptual DistractibilityMales concentration is stronger and less distractible than females.[57] This comes from
biological reasons having to do with males higher levels of androgens than females[58], as
well as how his mind is 'wired.' This is why males are more disturbed when interrupted
when they are concentrating on something that interests them like football games, news
programs, or the newspaper. This may be why wives or girlfriends are less likely to
interrupt them.[59] She learns through trial and error that it keeps the peace not to
interrupt. Conversely, this is probably why males verbally more often interrupt females in
mixed groups,[60] for the females are less likely to be disturbed by such action. The
androgenic influence on the focusing of attention and on the persistence and continuation
of activities once initiated,[61] is the biological underlying reason for the perceptual
distractibility difference. Maternal BehaviorThere is sound proof that maternal instinct has to do with whether the individual has a male or female "brain." This maternal behavior is wired prenatally. Females who were accidentally masculinized prenatally through androgenic action in the brain show little maternal behavior. John Money wrote: "...Androgenized girls differed from their matched controls in preferred toys of childhood. They were indifferent to dolls, or openly neglectful of them. They turned instead to cars, trucks, and guns, and other toys that traditionally belong to boys. "lack of interest in dolls later became a lack of interest in infants.....Some of the girls in this group distinctly disliked handling little babies....By contrast, many of the control girls rated high enthusiasm for little children.... ...The majority of the fetally androgenized girls subordinated marriage to career....Among the control girls, the emphasis was in favor of marriage over nonmarital career."[62] Conversely, girls with Turner's syndrome show even more maternal and feminine behavior than their control group of normal females.[63] Turner's syndrome is a chromosome condition where no androgenic hormones affect the brain prenatally. Money also reported an experiment in male rats where they were induced to behave in a maternal manner through treatment with female hormones after they had been demasculinized in their critical period.[64] [Note: Rat's critical period is after birth, while humans critical period is in the 7th week of pregnancy.] Moreover, the male transsexual, who seemly lives, works, thinks, and makes love like a woman, nevertheless, has little maternal urge for the newborn.[65] This is so because even though he acts outwardly like a female, he is still a biological male. And as a biological male, he has a biological male brain. He has a biological male brain because of the prenatal androgenic action on his developing brain. All of these examples give us proof of a biological nature to maternal behavior. When androgens reach the brain of a prenatal infant at the critical stage, it sets up a non-maternal brain organization in the individual. When androgens do not reach the brain, prenatally, the infant develops a maternal brain organization which manifests itself in maternal behavior in later life, unless she is adversely conditioned. Androgenic and Estrogenic InfluenceSecondary effects. Besides the androgenic action of differentiating the human race into males and females, which creates the functional difference in each sex, which is important in understanding the difference in behavior between the sexes; the action of the androgens, indirectly and directly, also create secondary effects. Some secondary effects are the extra body hair on males, the coarser skin of males, the shorter life span of males,[66] the larger size of males, the lower basal pulse rate of males, the higher energy of males, and so forth. These differences play an important part in each sex's identifying with its own sex and differentiating its sex from the other. Physical aggression and submission is also influenced by the levels of androgens and estrogens.[67] High levels of androgens help to produce high physical aggression. Estrogens have a depressive affect on physical aggressive behavior. Because of males higher levels of androgens, they are more frequently physically aggressive than females. Male's aggression sometimes takes on antisocial manifestations (the destructive or disobedient behavior). Their expression of aggression "involve large muscles and the bringing together of bodies in blunt contact."[68] Because of females lower level of androgens and higher level of estrogens, they are less frequently physically aggressive than males. Female's aggression takes on prosocial manifestation (spanking a disobedient doll to make the doll behave in a socially proper manner). Their expression of aggression does "not bring bodies, animate or inanimate, into contact nearly so much" as males.[69] Girls are more likely to have dolls hide from mother's calls, or be disobedient than to have the dolls physically destroy something. Aggression per se is not exclusive of males, for females show in many cases just as much verbal aggression.[70] This verbal aggression of females is in the form of verbal bites, interpersonal rejection, getting others to intervene for them, tattling against someone else, and so forth.[71] Male's aggression, outside of their verbal aggression, takes the form in childhood of hitting, kicking, wrestling, and destroying toys through rough treatment. As males grow older they use less actual physical aggression and more likely use verbal aggression, backed up by their physical appearance. Ambition and Drive. Also closely related to aggression are ambition and drive.[72] These three all have to do with the vigor of behavior. Males are more physically vigorous due to the influence of androgens in their brain development, and due to the everyday influence of androgens on activity level. This higher internal biological vigor is one reason men need less social reinforcement than women to drive to the completion of tasks. Of course, this drive is culturally relative. Psychological problems, economic problems, and social problems can slow down men's innate drive, while positive environmental factors can increase female's drive. But as this work indicates, biology wins out in the long run because of it's continuous, internal, and persistent versus the environmental factors more temporary and inconsistent influence. Moreover, the society that tries to overcome biological influences, causes internal conflicts which weaken the people so acted upon. HomeostasisFemales have more variability in body functions; males body functions have greater stability. Women's various biochemical levels vary during their menstrual cycle. The main cause of this female cyclic pattern is known to be controlled by the hypothalamic brain cycle.[73] The hypothalamus of males is noncyclic in nature. Since the hypothalamus is important in regulating vital functions, including sex, then this sex difference in the brain "is pertinent, even though indirectly, to matters of psychosexual [gender identity] and behavioral dimorphism."[74] Besides sexual functions, the hypothalamus is important in temperature regulation, emotion, motivation, and other activities.[75] Thus, the cyclic nature of this subcortical brain structure is a biological reason for women's fluctuation in temperature, emotion,[76] and other activities. Hormones and GrowthImprovements in dietary quality intake tends to increase the magnitude of physical sex differences in size from birth to adulthood. But even in impoverished nutritional areas, women are generally smaller than men. This is caused by hormonal action. Androgens. Androgens help to increase size because they promote the synthesis of proteins from fat and amino acids, and they facilitate the retention of calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.[77] All this assists in muscle and bone growth and repair. Since men have a higher ratio of androgens to estrogens, they have larger muscles and bones than women. Because of the males higher levels of androgens, they develop muscular strength and size easier than females. This is why when women weightlift they do not develop the mass of muscles that men do when they weightlift, except those who take male hormonal supplements. Estrogens. In contrast, estrogens help to break down proteins and make it more likely that dietary fats are metabolized and stored with fattish tissue. Estrogens also facilitate weight gains through their special ability to retain water. Women's change in weight during their menstrual cycle is cause by the changing levels of estrogens. Women's higher levels of estrogen verses androgens make it almost impossible for them to compete against men in most physical activities where size, strength, and other physical qualities are important. Yet females earlier puberty gives them some physical advantage over many males in the 11th to 14th years. Maturational RateAt birth girls are better developed infants than boys. The female newborn is from 1 month to 1 1/2 months ahead of the male neonate in developmental acceleration. She fully matures physically by the age of 20 years versus age 24 for males. Females' bone structures are ossified from 8 to 27 months earlier than males. Girls reach puberty earlier than boys, and their maximum growth rate is 2 1/3 years earlier than boys. Females stop growing before males. Boys continue to grow rapidly 2 or more years after the growth rate of girls decrease markedly at about 15. Although the maturation rate varies according to what is measured, generally, females biological functions are ahead of males in development at birth until about 15 years of age. Therefore, it has been put forth that the average male's poorer results than female's in school grades and various IQ tests and subtests during their earlier years may have something to do with the growth rate differences between the sexes.[78] Developmental TimetablesSince young males are biologically not as developed as young as females, then of course, they should not do as well on the average on IQ tests and school grades. In fact, "since the more mature girls would be expected to be ahead of the less mature boys in all behavioral manifestation, the absence of observed sex differences at birth may therefore conceal actually present sex differences in favor of boys."[79] But even though boys nearly catch-up to girls academically in late high school, which makes sense if physical and mental maturation go together, there are other environmental factors one must take into consideration. Although girls at birth are 4 to 6 weeks ahead of boys in development, they, like the boys, have just been born and thus have no environmental experiences. Therefore, one could not ask that the girls intelligence at birth be 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the boys, just because she is biologically that far ahead, for the simple reason she has had no experience with her environment. We should remember it is the interaction of environmental factors and biological development that produces mental ability. Yet, as we explained before, the main cause of behavior is biology. Eleanor Maccoby, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, disagrees with the idea that mental growth and physical growth are somehow related. Let's analyze her arguments to see if they invalidate the contention in this book that biology is the main cause of behavior, and hence the main cause of mental ability growth. Maccoby in her article, "Sex Difference in Intellectual Functioning,"[80] reviews the theory of parallel developmental timetables between biological maturation rate and intellectual growth rate. She then quickly discounts this theory: "But Bayley[81] has shown that the rate of intellectual growth is unrelated to the rate of physical growth if one scores both in terms of per cent of mature growth attained. Hence it does not appear that there is any single developmental timetable controlling both physical and mental growth."(p.39) This argument, in itself, does not negate the fact that biology is the main cause of behavior as we related before. After all, many physically retarded children are biologically limited from high intellectual attainment mainly because of their defective biology. Actually, their retarded biological state is the main cause of their relative low intellect. And other arguments using "superior" biological individuals would also back-up our reasoning here: That is, biology and environment interact, but biology limits and causes behavior more so than the external elements of our world. Maccoby, then, does not invalidate our argument. What her use of Bayley's article seems to do is to negate the theory of parallel growth timetables between biology and intellect. Yet an examination of Nancy Bayley's work invalidates Maccoby's reasoning. Maccoby says that the rate of intellectual and physical growth are unrelated "if one scores both in terms of the per cent of mature growth attained." But Maccoby fails to tell us this: (1) Bayley arbitrarily sets age 21 as the time of 100 percent maturity in intelligence even though she notes that in a group she tested the participants were still gaining in intelligence at age 25;[82] (2) Bayley set the time of 100 percent maturity in physical growth at about 16 years; (3) Using the children's 16th year intelligence scores as l00 percent maturity level, there was a surprisingly high positive correlation between growth in intelligence and physical stature (p. 70ff); (4) There was only a negative correlation between biological growth and intellectual growth when the 21 year intelligence scores were used as the full maturity level. What these four items tell us together is that the rates of intellectual growth and physical growth is related up to 16 years of age when the majority of physical growth stops. And the reason intelligence continues after the 16th year is because it is produced by the interaction of the mature developed brain with continued experience. If children never learned after the 16th year their intelligence would stagnate. Therefore, contrary to what Maccoby asserts, there is good evidence that the development timetables of biology and mental ability are related. One reason men begin to equal women after the 16th year is that at that time they have finally caught up to females in biological maturity. When males are equal in biological maturity they then seem to outstrip females in various intellectual activities first because of environmental reasons: (1) males must support themselves; (2) they can't rely on females or welfare to support them; (3) males study harder because they know it may help them in their life work. Women have conflicting goals -- motherhood versus career -- which helps to retard their intellectual growth. Males and females have a different biological organization of the brain[83][15], from which they perceive the world and act upon the world differently. Because of this biological difference, males are superior in certain activities much as females are superior in certain activities. Just because the male brain is different in some biological ways doesn't mean it is superior or inferior. Both brains are complementary systems. Maccoby also added in her criticism of the developmental timetable theory, that: "It is difficult to see, for example, why maturational factors should produce greater differences between the sexes in spatial than verbal performances. Nor why a fast developing organism [female] should show different kinds of relationships between intellectual functions and personality traits than a slow-developing organism [male]."[84] The answer to this is that besides the different rates of growth, the sexes have different biological organizational factors in the brain, different functions and structures which influence behavior, and different rates of growth for various parts of each sex's body. Bayley's article, which Maccoby cites, relates to this latter fact: "...not only do structure and function develop and become differentiated from each other, but also they do this at different rates. These differences in timing occur for different aspects of a single organism, as well as between different organisms."[85] (my emphasis) HomosexualityIt is also possible for a normal looking male to have a more or less feminized "brain" because his brain has not masculinized enough in the womb through androgenic action.[86] Not only this, but it is possible for a normal looking female to have a more or less masculinized "brain" because her brain was masculinized in the womb by her mother taking hormonal substances (medication) at the critical stage in her development.[86] Although this is possible and has happened in the past, it is believed that such individuals are few in number. But there is actually no way of knowing just how many girls have androgenic masculinized brains because of prenatal intrusion of androgenic-like hormones or various drugs that cause the same kind of masculinized effects.[87] Therefore, because of this precariousness in fetal development, it is possible in a few cases to have a human with the genitals of one sex but with the "brain" of the other sex.[88] This possibility may be one biological explanation for a few homosexuals and transsexuals.[89] Homosexuals make up 1-2 % of the general population. [90][91] There is no real hard evidence on how many homosexuals are homosexuals because of misplaced hormones in the womb; there are few documented cases. Animal Research's RelevanceIn this chapter we have listed some of the effects sex hormones have on humans. Some of these effects are from research on mammals besides humans. According to radical feminist thinking, animal studies do not prove anything against the feministic principle which says that the environment is mostly the cause of behavior.[92] We say that animal studies on the effects of sex hormones have much to do with humans. Scientists have long used other animals for research when testing new drugs for man. How do the radical feminists think the oral birth-control pill was tested at first? It was tested through experiments on animals. The reason research on animals can be valuable to humans is because we have many things in common with them. We do have things that are not in common. For example, we can speak, they can't. But, in research between animals and us, we can be reasonably certain that if a sex hormone affects a mammalian animal in one way, it will also more than likely affect us in a very similar way. We can be sure because these animals also have gonads, reproductive tracts, internal and external genitalia, androgens and estrogens, estrous or menstrual cycles, and so forth. The nearer the animal research concerns similar attributes of mankind, the surer we can be that the ascertained effects will also be effects in mankind. We have to wonder if radical feminists would eat poisonous foods just because they were only proven poisonous in rats? We wonder if radical feminists would eat cancerous foods just because the food was only proven to cause cancer in rats? One feminist, Naomi Weisstein, in a paper called, 'Psychology Constructs The Female,' tried to rationalize animal studies away by using an analogy between what animals do not have (speaking ability) and what humans do have (speaking ability): "Following this logic, it would be as reasonable to conclude that it is quite useless to teach human infants to speak since it has been tried with chimpanzees and it does not work."[93] Using this kind of analogy to disprove the worthiness of animal studies is pop-logic. Maybe Weisstein is just too emotionally involved in this issue to reason properly. It is fundamental knowledge that an analogy between two things is as good as the two things are alike. To make the analogy Weisstein uses is poor reasoning. Animal studies are pertinent as long as what is studied is similar in both the animals and humans. Since the sex hormones of mammals are similar, since there are male and female mammalian animals and mammalian humans, since female animals give birth like female humans, since chemical reaction in both biologies are similar, since both have similar brain ingredients,[94] then because of these similarities and others, animal studies can be reasonably used to ascertain potential hormonal effects in mankind. David A. Hamburg of Stanford University, Department of Psychiatry, put it this way. "We chose chimpanzees for our study because they are probably man's closest living relative. There are many similarities between man and chimpanzee in the number and form of chromosomes, in blood proteins, in immune responses, in DNA, in brain structure and behaviour." [95] Physical Sex DifferencesNow we shall list and examine various world-wide gender differences. We will begin with the obvious biological differences. One should remember that we will be speaking in general terms for many of the items that follow. There may be some exceptions in some cases, but generally the following sex differences are true for the average male and female. Gentials and FunctionsMales have penises and testes; females have vaginas and wombs. Because of these differences and other gender factors and environmental factors, generally, world-wide, men are the fathers and mostly work outside the home, while women are mothers and mostly work in and around the home. (see chapter 3) FormMales and females differ in form. Their curves and angles. or their shapes are different, generally and relatively. Females generally have a more roundish look because their subcutaneous fat covers and hides their muscles. Men do not have women's characteristic layers of fat beneath their skin, and therefore their appearance is more roughish because their muscle tissues show through their skin more so than females. Head FeaturesWomen's eyes are set further apart than men's. Women's eye brow is lighter than men's in appearance. Looking toward the front, women's face is rounder, broader than men's. Looking from the top down on the head, women's head is rounder, while men's head is longer from front to back. Breasts and ShouldersWomen have developed breasts with larger nipples and areolas than men. Women's shoulders are more narrow, rounded, and sloping than men's. Angle of Arms and LegsThe angle of women's thigh and lower leg gives a "knock-knee" effect to females, while men's form a straight line. Also women's arms form a bent "carrying angle" at the elbow, while men's "carrying angle" is straight. Hips and LegsLooking towards the front, women's hips are wider than men's, and their hips have a more roundish curve than men's. Women's legs have a conical shape, while men's legs have a cylindrical look. Hands and FeetWomen's hands and feet are relatively smaller, narrower, and more delicate looking than men's. HairWomen do not have noticeable hair like men on their chest, arms, legs and other bodily areas. Women's pubic hair is formed like a triangle pointing down; men's pubic hair forms a triangle pointing up. Women do not loose head hair like many men do in old age. DimensionsWomen are generally smaller and more delicate than men. Physical sex dimensional differences vary in different regions of the world by race and quality of food intake. The following apply generally for those of western European descent: HeightFemales are shorter than men by 1 to 2 percent from birth to 11 years. From about the 11th to 14th years females are taller (to 2 percent) than men because their puberty is sooner than men by about 2 to 3 years. At about 15 years males overtake females until at 20 years women are generally 10 percent shorter than men. WeightFemales from birth to 11 years are generally lighter than men by about 5 percent. In
the 11th to 15th year girls weigh more until at the 14th year females are 5 percent
heavier than males. In the 15th or 16th year boys regain their weight advantage, and by 20
women are generally 20 percent lighter than men. Generally, males are stronger at all ages than females. The males' strength advantage increases after their puberty. This is caused through the action of males androgens which facilitates the synthesis of proteins. And as we know protein is the food of muscle. Men are generally 50 to 60 percent stronger than women. This strength difference is one cause of the sex division in labor. Vital Capacity and Muscular TensionVital CapacityVital capacity is the volume of air that one can expel from his lungs after a maximum inhalation. By the 6th year boys vital capacity is 7 percent higher than girls. This advantage of males increases to 10 to 12 percent by the 10th year, and to about 35 percent at age 20. Also the "vital index," the ratio between vital capacity and weight, is higher for males at all ages measured. This is important because higher physical activity and sustained energy output requires greater oxygen consumption. This is one reason for males greater motor activity than females, and one reason why boys seem more restless and vigorous than girls. Muscular TensionMales are more physically restless than females. They need more gross muscular activity. Because of males greater muscular size, potential energy output, vital capacity, and androgenic influences toward physical activity, their muscles exhibit greater tension than females if not exercised. NutritionMales have a greater quantity need for food intake. They need higher levels of protein,
calcium, potassium, calories, and so forth than females even when males are the same
weight as females. This is so because males have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate than
females. Men use greater amounts of fuel than women because their body runs at a higher
level of activity. Biological DefectsMales have greater quantities of biological defects than females:
These biological defects are felt by many to have something to do with males' XY chromosomes and other genetic and hormonal factors. These sex differences are important aspects that separate men and women. These sex
differences and others exist because of the differences in hormones between the sexes. ReviewFrom the above, we see that the brain is sexually differentiated prenatally, and that it does influence behavior of the sexes. Although the environment is another influence on behavior, the steady all pervasive influence of biology dictates sex behavior. As the sexes grow older their behavior sexually differentiates to more noticeable degrees because:
Consequently, there are sex differences in play activity, reading interest, media interest, values, life goals, occupational motives, vocational interest, job satisfaction, school grades, affiliation needs, "achievement" needs, creativity, memory, problem solving, mechanical ability, spatial ability, verbal ability, mathematical ability, and so forth.[97] References for Chapter 4
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