Now, there's proof: Men, women different
By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 2, 2005
Attention, Dr. Frankenstein, and maybe Gloria Steinem: There are girl brains, then there are boy brains. But there's not one generic human brain, no matter what hand-wringing feminists may insist in their quest for sexual equality.
Some stark new clinical evidence shows that men and women are just not the same upstairs.
"The comedians are right. The science proves it. A man's brain and a woman's brain really do work differently," a research team from the University of Alberta in Canada announced yesterday.
After analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) of 23 men and 10 women, the team found that the sexes use different areas of the brain even when working on exactly the same task.
"The larger implications of this work is that we may increasingly find out that there are differences in the 'hard wiring' of male and female brains," said study author Dr. Peter Silverstone, a psychiatrist.
Though Dr. Silverstone hopes that these revelations will lead to more innovative ways to treat depression and other mental illnesses, these findings might one day explain certain persistent behaviors that make for a more lively existence.
Why do men, for example, refuse to ask for directions while women are busy peering at maps and landmarks during the same automobile journey? Why do women cry and men sleep through a sappy movie? Could it be that old hard-wiring?
During the Canadian study, volunteers were given memory, language, spatial and coordination tests while their brains were monitored through the MRIs. The patterns revealed that men and women clearly met the challenges differently.
"The results jumped out at us," said Emily Bell, one of the researchers. "Sometimes males and females would perform the same tasks and show different brain activation. And sometimes they would perform different tasks and show the same brain activation."
Similar research also reinforces differences in the brains of men and women.
Psychiatrists at the Stanford University School of Medicine announced Nov. 7 that the sexes have different senses of humor as well. Using MRIs to monitor the brains of 10 men and 10 women as they scanned the newspaper cartoons, researchers found "sex-specific differences in the brain's response to humor."
Men want and expect a good punch line. But women have a greater appreciation for language and fewer expectations, but if the punch line delivers, they have a greater sense of "reward," the psychiatrists found.
The sexes also differ in the intelligence department.
"Human evolution has created two different types of brains designed for equally intelligent behavior," said psychologist Richard Haier of the University of California at Irvine upon releasing his study of male and female brains in January.
Again using MRIs, he found that men have more than six times the amount of gray matter -- which controls information processing -- in their brains as women do. But females have 10 times the amount of white matter, which controls networking abilities.
The findings "may help explain why men excel in tasks requiring more local processing (like mathematics) while women tend to excel at integrating and assimilating information ... such as required for language," the study found.
There's some reassuring common ground, though. A study of almost 700 adults released yesterday by Cornell University found that men and women are happier with each other, rather than alone. And the stronger the relationship's commitment, the greater the happiness and sense of well-being of the partners, the analysis found.
"Being married is associated with higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, greater happiness and less distress, whereas people who are not in stable romantic relationships tend to report lower self-esteem, less life satisfaction, less happiness and more distress," sociologist Claire Kamp Dushsaid yesterday.
<"Being married is associated with higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, greater happiness and less distress, whereas people who are not in stable romantic relationships tend to report lower self-esteem, less life satisfaction, less happiness and more distress," sociologist Claire Kamp Dushsaid yesterday.>
I plan on being an exception as a single woman- I am feeling better and happier as a single person. Being disrespected, and abused in my marriage destroyed the little teeny bit of self-esteem I had.
H2C- If a man cries during a sappy movie, he's probably in touch with his feminine side.
If he doesn't cry during a sappy movie, a guy is probably thinking about touching a feminine side.
TLMM
This message has been edited by taigalucy on Dec 4, 2005 12:59 PM
>>If a man cries during a sappy movie, he's probably in touch with his feminine side. If he doesn't cry during a sappy movie, a guy is probably thinking about touching a feminine side. <<
Can a man who is in touch with his feminineside also think about touching a feminineside? I sure hope so.
I am definitely happier now AS A PERSON than at any time in the past 20 years. Given my long experience, I seriously question my own ability to form and to function in a healthy relationship. I (and any potential partner) may simply be better off if I'm alone for a good long time.
What I had to go through to have an emotional and physical relationship wasn't worth the cost to my soul. That runs so deep that I am pretty sure I won't overcome it soon; I would not recognize "the perfect person" for me because I'm just not interested in trying now. I've come to the realization in the past year or so that I'd rather be celibate and alone for a long while so that I'm really sure who and what I am first.
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My own family has examples of "wrong-sex" skills: one sister was a computer-math major in college. I was in honors English from ninth grade through college, and my approach to economics is far more qualitative and relativist than strictly quantitative. Hell, I cried today while explaining to my son (after his C on a Chemistry final) that grades are not how I measure out my love for him and that doing well in school is far less important to me in the long run than his ability to function as a well-rounded human being.
"while explaining to my son (after his C on a Chemistry final) that grades are not how I measure out my love for him and that doing well in school is far less important to me in the long run than his ability to function as a well-rounded human being."
Your a really good dad Chris. I just went through nearly the exact same talk with my youngest son a few weeks ago. He came home real upset about a bad grade (because his grades are usually near perfect) and I told him that being a good person, treating others kindly, and trying your best even if it didn't work out well were the most important things and that I was very proud of him in every way.
It's good to hear you are so concerned for your boys' mental and emotional health. I feel it is important to be able to really talk to your children and firmly believe that the men who do it are fairly rare - maybe not the guys on this site though.
I have to admit that I didn't express unconditional love as much to my older son in his teenage years as I did when he was younger. He kind of got caught in the middle between his mother and me...or he played the rift, depending on point of view. He was always "her" son.
Frankly, the last lingering bitterness I am carrying from my marriage has to do with all the "stuff" surrounding him, and I am trying to sort it all out and feel my way through the minefield. Getting the "I get it letter" from him while he was in boot camp was helpful to me.
I just went through nearly the exact same talk with my youngest son a few weeks ago. He came home real upset about a bad grade (because his grades are usually near perfect) and I told him that being a good person, treating others kindly, and trying your best even if it didn't work out well were the most important things and that I was very proud of him in every way.