Battle Of Sexes

Melisa Ortegon
Freshman Composition I
February 21,2012
Ryan Wilson

Battle of sexes

Men and women are very similar and also they are vastly different. Only by understanding what the other goes through, we can find common ground. According to our differences society defines roles for each sex. When comparing and contrasting the sexes, stereotypes plays huge role. While sex is determinedby birth, gender is determines by the society. In the following articles: “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf, “Sex Lies and Conversation: Why It is so Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other” by Debora Tannen, “Why Men Don’t Last: Self-Destruction as a Way of Life” by Natalie Angier, “The Androgynous Man” by Noel Perrin. Ï Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, A Mother’s Kiss Off” by LeslieBennetts, “The Female Body” by Margaret Atwood, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” by Scott Russell Sanders, and “The War Against Boys” by Christina Hoff Sommers, the issue of gender is discussed. The authors compare and contrast men and women, in the way they communicate, how they deal with stereotypes and also the problems that occur due to their differences.
Since we are little, boys and girls areraised differently. The children learn about their roles through playing; for this reason each sex has predetermined toys. Parents buy cars, action figures, and toy guns for boys, because these toys prepare boys to behave like a strong and brave man. According to Debora Tannen in her article “Sex Lies and Conversation: Why is it so Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other.” When boys areplaying, they feel necessity of proving their superiority. They have a well-defined hierarchy and try to avoid the subordinate position in the group (Tannen 466). On the other hand are the girls’ toys like a tea set, the little houses, fantasy makeup and Barbie dolls. These toys have the same purpose, to each girl the woman role in society. Contrasting with boys, girls do not have a hierarchy. When girlsare playing they try to be polite and involve every girl in the game. Debora Tannen also states in her article the way girls and boys make bonds. She says that girls make bonds by sharing secrets because their communication is more personal unlike boys, whose communication is more superficial, so they make bonds by sharing experiences (Tannen 465).
When these boys and girls grown up, they stillhave the same ideas about communication like their childhood. Communication is very important in human life. Without communication our lives would be very difficult because we would not know what is going on around us. According to Tannen, a man will talk more in public because he views conversation as showing off his intelligence just like the hierarchy in childhood. But at home, he will feelmore confident, so he will remain in silence because he would not fell ha has to prove anything (Tannen 467). In contrast, women do not talk too much in public because they do not feel intimacy; and they are afraid to offend, so women decide to remain in silence. But when women are at home; they talk too much, due to the familiar environment (Tannen 467). Another aspect of men and women differingis the way they communicate their desires. When men are talking they are very direct. Men like to order; they say their thoughts without any bias. They differ with women who are very afraid to hurt someone else’s feelings. For this reason, when they are giving an order they are very indirect. Women tend to make suggestions to not sound rude by ordering (Tannen 467). Also Tannen says in her articlethat men do not like to listen because they believe that listening pushes them down in hierarchy (Tannen 466). A man diverts his attention and avoids eye contact when someone is talking to him. This does not means he is not listening. A man does this because he does not want to feel like the person speaking is over him. This contrast with women who likes to listen and make eye contact and...