Dr. John Gray’s ‘Men are from Mars Women are from Venus’ was first published in 1992 and it stood several months on the best seller list. Having sold millions of copies worldwide, the book looks at how men and women seem to have come from two different planets – Mars and Venus. Are the facts indicated in the book still valid after three decades of its publication?
One chapter I loved was when Gray explained that in times of challenge men tend to take time out or retreat to their caves to find a solution undisturbed. However, women react differently. Their natural tendency is to find someone to talk about the problem so that they can explore their feelings.
Instead of challenging the views expressed in the book, scientists say our brains themselves may be sex-differentiated and that men and women experience the world in different ways. For instance, men and women are quite different in size, anatomy and sexual functions. They experience the world differently not due to their upbringing but because they feel almost everything with a different sensitivity of touch or hearing. Scientists believe that this is due to the function of different neurons in the brain of men and women.
Sexual characteristics
According to research, men and women have different sexual characteristics. Today, we have biological explanations to know why women think and act intuitively while their male counterparts solve problems better than them. Similarly, we see boys are tougher than girls. This can be seen even in the playground. Boys play football and take part in boxing while girls are satisfied with netball or badminton. There are, of course, physiological differences in the two sexes.
Are men destined to play tougher roles in life? For instance, Parliament is full of male representatives. Only a very few women take to boxing or politics. Can anyone explain this situation? The answer seems to be in the negative. Then it becomes a delicate issue to handle. Male brains work in such a way that men are better at mathematics than women. Similarly, there are many male philosophers and mystics. Even the leading religious leaders have been men. Does it mean that men are superior to women?
Women have their own strong points. When it comes to language learning boys cannot beat girls. Girls look for less strenuous jobs such as nursing, teaching and sedentary jobs. The nursing profession is essentially a female bastion. Although there are a few male nurses, they are a negligible lot. On the other hand, most of the kings, presidents and prime ministers have been men. Scientists say that males are hormonally primed for aggressive jobs. According to historians, males have dominated women during the long evolutionary process.
Male-oriented culture
Although history records brilliant female rulers in many parts of the world, males seem to be biologically suited to rule kingdoms, republics and even smaller organisations. In the distant past females had to look after the hearth and bring up children. The situation has undergone drastic changes over the past few centuries. Researchers no longer believe that biology decides everything in life. They think that females have been pushed to the backstage because of sexual stereotyping. Even a cursory glance at history would reveal that our culture is male-oriented. The differences between males and females are not solely due to gender behaviour or hormones. They are due to the male-dominated culture.
The question arises whether people are moulded by nature or nurture. There are claims and counterclaims. Sex researchers have come to the fore to decide the actual reason for the difference between males and females.
They have studied animal behaviour and come to the conclusion that male animals are more prone to fighting than their female counterparts. Biologists have come up with the reason for such behaviour. They say the differences between the sexes are due to hormone testosterone secreted in the testes of male animals.
Psychologists Charles Phoenix , Robert Goy, Arnold Gerail and William Young conducted a research and said that the effects of testosterone worked as a deciding factor in making males aggressive and females less aggressive. The Money Ehrhards research has shed more light on the nature-nurture controversy.
Scientists who participated in the research say that tomboyish behaviour among girls is due to hormone exposure. However, some scientists have criticised the findings. According to them, girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia should be treated differently.
Two hemispheres
Researchers now believe that hormones change the very structure of the brain. They have found variations in the brains of male and female animals. According to them, males have larger neurons than females. It has been established that mental functions of males and females differ. What is more, women’s brain activity is duplicated in both hemispheres of the brain. As a result, women mature earlier than men. However, due to the connection between the two hemispheres of the brain women are better able to coordinate the activities they handle. As far as men are concerned, the situation remains different. In men, the two hemispheres of the brain do not compete with each other.
There is an on-going debate whether men are superior to women. The differences between men and women have been narrowing during the evolutionary process. Today, you cannot say males are superior to females or vice versa. This is mainly because the differences between males and females are quite negligible. The behavioural differences between males and females make them less, not more as in animals.
By continuing to recognise and explore male-female differences, we have discovered new ways to improve our relationships. Instead of debating whether men are superior to women or vice versa, we have to find ways and means to live in harmony. The world and your life will prosper when you learn the art of dealing with members of the opposite sex. Let us treat all the differences as complementary because the diversity between the sexes will make life more exciting and long lasting.
