“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma...Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become." -- Steve Jobs
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” -- Lao Tzu
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Why Men are Hunters and Women the Gatherers??
For almost ninety-nine per cent of existence humans have lived as hunter-gatherers. Given the two million year timeline, agriculture is very recent having arrived merely 10,000 years ago. Becuase of this long human existence much of our behavior in our various professional and domestic roles tend to be more reminiscent of such a hunter-gatherer existence.
Time, evolution, natural selection have essentially conditioned the mind and instinct of the two sexes. For instance, if a man had 10 wives he could have loads of children - his genes would be carried forward - the family name would be preserved. But this is not practicable for a woman.
Owing to the thousands of years of natural selection, males have tended to evolve as
aggresive and risk takers who often look at any and all opportunities while women tend to be far choosier about sharing genes. Women tend to look for a fit and healthy mate and one who is capable of providing adequate resources for sustenance. Isn't this similar to the hunter-gatherer societies of the primitive ages? What mattered then is the same that matters now. Women tend to be less aggressive, and more sensitive to the complexity of the issues at hand.
We know that several elements combine to shape a person's gender role, which is expressed through the way we dress up, our behavior, choice of work, personal relationships and other factors. Traditionally, gender roles were divided into strictly feminine and masculine gender roles. However, today, these roles have diversified into many different acceptable male or female gender roles.
Gender role norms for women and men can bear significant variations across cultures and geographies. Social groups and subcultures, too, can condition one's gender role. Historically, for instance, eunuchs had a different gender role because of their different biology.
A term associated with describing gender roles is androgyny, denoting the display of both male and female behaviour. A number of terms have emerged portraying behaviors arising in this context. For instance, the "sensitive new age guy" is described as a traditional "male" gender role with a more typically "female" empathy and correlated emotional qualities. The "metrosexual male" adopts or claims to be born with similarly "female" grooming habits. This have given rise to arguments in various quarters that such new roles are mere rebellion against tradition and hence do not form a distinct role.
Conventional feminine gender roles have become less relevant in Western societies. This trend is attributed to the starting of industrialization. Indeed, the notion that women do not follow a career is no more valid in a majority of Western and many of the Oriental societies.
For a long time now, gender roles have occupied a central place in the nature-nurture debate. Traditional theories argue that a person's gender identity, and thus gender role, is a product of nature. For instance, in patriarchal societies it is often claimed that women are naturally better placed to nurture children. Various circles in the scientific community have come to support the concept that differences in gender roles originate in differences in biology. Many nineteenth century anthropologists refer to the life of primitive hunter-gatherer societies for evolutionary explanations for gender differences. For instance, they assert that the need to take care of the offsprings may have limited the females' freedom to hunt and hence assume the role of the gatherer. Current trends in sociobiology and
evolutionary psychology tend to explain those differences in social roles by treating them as adaptations. However, like other approaches, this too has controversies inherent.
Simone de Beauvoir's feminist works and Michel Foucault's reflections on sexuality had far reaching impact on sociology and cultural anthropology of the 1980s. Their theories gave rise to the idea that gender was unrelated to sex. Thus, in many circles, the notion emerged that a person could therefore be born with male genitals but still be of feminine gender. In 1987, R.W. Connell embarked upon an extensive research on whether there are any connections between biology and gender role and concluded that there were none. However, Connell's research has come to be rejected by most scientists because there exists concrete evidence of the effect of hormones on behavior. A number of psychologists assert that the female brain is basically hard-wired for empathy, while the male brain is essentially hard-wired for understanding and building systems.
Current trends in Western societies toward men and women sharing similar occupations, responsibilities are suggestive of the fact that the sex one is born with does not directly condition one's abilities. In spite of the differences in average capabilities between the sexes, the capabilities of some members of one sex obviously fall within the range of capabilities needed for tasks conventionally assigned to the other sex.
More often women choose to be housewives than men enacting the role of "househusbands". Scientists attribute this to biology. However, feminists suggest that it is the result of socially constructed gender roles (as well as economic pressures). There are many who believe that behavioral differences are a result of both these factors. Some even argue that gender roles themselves are abstractions of overall differences between men and women. This esssentially gives rise to the concept of circularity and the idea of the social reinforcement of natural tendencies. The interactionist approach holds that roles, including gender roles are not fixed, rather they are constantly negotiated between individuals.
Talcott Parsons developed a model of the nuclear family in 1955, which compared a strictly traditional view of gender roles to a more liberal view. He opined that the feminine role was an expressive one, while the masculine role an instrumental one. As suggested by Parsons, the expressive activities of the women fulfill "internal" functions, for instance, strengthening family bonds. On the other hand, men performed the "external" functions of a family, such as providing monetary support. This bears semblance to the primitive hunter-gatherer tendencies.
Indeed, on many occasions, it may be argued that men and women act as hunters and gatherers. Men are hunters and protectors, and women are nurturers and gatherers. The differences between the sexes on matters of skills, customs, ways of thinking and communicating, can be traced back to prehistoric times when men were hunters and
women were gatherers. The consequences of these two separate roles are many.
Men, it may be argued, hardly notice anything, collect very few details and have only a limited ability to stay focused on one thing at a time. On the other hand, women notice a lot of things they consider important, gather details and can easily focus on accomplishing multiple tasks.
While women verbalize their thoughts and emotions, men tend to communicate through non-verbal means. This can also be attributed to the facts that since men were hunters they had to be quiet, so that they don't scare away the prey. As gatherers, women had to resort to frequent verbal communications in order to perform complicated tasks.
The differences can be attributed to the fundamentally distinct social roles as evolved over the aeons humans lived as a society of hunters and gatherers. Being hunters, men went out in a group, with their focus on one single goal� the kill. It might take them the whole day, quietly waiting in ambush, but eventually they would accomplish the task at hand, go back home and defend the cave.
As gatherers, women noticed everything about them, gathering both food and other details that would help them gather more things then and in the future. I guess, the same rule applies when we go out shopping. Men go into the store, sharply focused on getting the thing they need, and then go home. Women like to wander around, gathering all sorts of information, before buying the real thing
.
Even if the differences in intelligence prove to be genetically encoded, research shows four findings.
First, some women are better than most men at strategic thinking, and some men are better than most women at maintaining interpersonal relationships.
Next, social conditioning plays a decisive role in shaping individual development of these kinds of intelligence, even shaping the physical growth of nerves. This conditioning starts right after birth. When it is a male infant, adults direct greater focus on objects, while in case of a female infant the face receives greater focus. This disparate social conditioning results in measurable differences in the nerves and areas of the brain governing these different foci.
Third, whatever be the genetic endowment and individual history, the conditioning exerted by natural and social environments have a decisive impact on the
way individuals behave in communities.
Finally, even in communities where genetics, social conditioning, and environments lead to a predomination of one kind of behavior,individuals and the communities can and sometimes do learn to favor different patterns.
So, isn't it the social value systems, which are mainly responsible for gender roles? Men and women are made to behave the way they are. From childhood, they are expected to grow up to be powerful, independent, demanding, aggressive, good problem-solvers, and so on. Thus, men are expected and nurtured to strive for the kind superiority that was expected of primitive hunters. On the other hand, in most social systems, women are encouraged to be good mothers. Emphasis is given more on looks and charms than on strength.
Time, evolution, natural selection have essentially conditioned the mind and instinct of the two sexes. For instance, if a man had 10 wives he could have loads of children - his genes would be carried forward - the family name would be preserved. But this is not practicable for a woman.
Owing to the thousands of years of natural selection, males have tended to evolve as
aggresive and risk takers who often look at any and all opportunities while women tend to be far choosier about sharing genes. Women tend to look for a fit and healthy mate and one who is capable of providing adequate resources for sustenance. Isn't this similar to the hunter-gatherer societies of the primitive ages? What mattered then is the same that matters now. Women tend to be less aggressive, and more sensitive to the complexity of the issues at hand.
We know that several elements combine to shape a person's gender role, which is expressed through the way we dress up, our behavior, choice of work, personal relationships and other factors. Traditionally, gender roles were divided into strictly feminine and masculine gender roles. However, today, these roles have diversified into many different acceptable male or female gender roles.
Gender role norms for women and men can bear significant variations across cultures and geographies. Social groups and subcultures, too, can condition one's gender role. Historically, for instance, eunuchs had a different gender role because of their different biology.
A term associated with describing gender roles is androgyny, denoting the display of both male and female behaviour. A number of terms have emerged portraying behaviors arising in this context. For instance, the "sensitive new age guy" is described as a traditional "male" gender role with a more typically "female" empathy and correlated emotional qualities. The "metrosexual male" adopts or claims to be born with similarly "female" grooming habits. This have given rise to arguments in various quarters that such new roles are mere rebellion against tradition and hence do not form a distinct role.
Conventional feminine gender roles have become less relevant in Western societies. This trend is attributed to the starting of industrialization. Indeed, the notion that women do not follow a career is no more valid in a majority of Western and many of the Oriental societies.
For a long time now, gender roles have occupied a central place in the nature-nurture debate. Traditional theories argue that a person's gender identity, and thus gender role, is a product of nature. For instance, in patriarchal societies it is often claimed that women are naturally better placed to nurture children. Various circles in the scientific community have come to support the concept that differences in gender roles originate in differences in biology. Many nineteenth century anthropologists refer to the life of primitive hunter-gatherer societies for evolutionary explanations for gender differences. For instance, they assert that the need to take care of the offsprings may have limited the females' freedom to hunt and hence assume the role of the gatherer. Current trends in sociobiology and
evolutionary psychology tend to explain those differences in social roles by treating them as adaptations. However, like other approaches, this too has controversies inherent.
Simone de Beauvoir's feminist works and Michel Foucault's reflections on sexuality had far reaching impact on sociology and cultural anthropology of the 1980s. Their theories gave rise to the idea that gender was unrelated to sex. Thus, in many circles, the notion emerged that a person could therefore be born with male genitals but still be of feminine gender. In 1987, R.W. Connell embarked upon an extensive research on whether there are any connections between biology and gender role and concluded that there were none. However, Connell's research has come to be rejected by most scientists because there exists concrete evidence of the effect of hormones on behavior. A number of psychologists assert that the female brain is basically hard-wired for empathy, while the male brain is essentially hard-wired for understanding and building systems.
Current trends in Western societies toward men and women sharing similar occupations, responsibilities are suggestive of the fact that the sex one is born with does not directly condition one's abilities. In spite of the differences in average capabilities between the sexes, the capabilities of some members of one sex obviously fall within the range of capabilities needed for tasks conventionally assigned to the other sex.
More often women choose to be housewives than men enacting the role of "househusbands". Scientists attribute this to biology. However, feminists suggest that it is the result of socially constructed gender roles (as well as economic pressures). There are many who believe that behavioral differences are a result of both these factors. Some even argue that gender roles themselves are abstractions of overall differences between men and women. This esssentially gives rise to the concept of circularity and the idea of the social reinforcement of natural tendencies. The interactionist approach holds that roles, including gender roles are not fixed, rather they are constantly negotiated between individuals.
Talcott Parsons developed a model of the nuclear family in 1955, which compared a strictly traditional view of gender roles to a more liberal view. He opined that the feminine role was an expressive one, while the masculine role an instrumental one. As suggested by Parsons, the expressive activities of the women fulfill "internal" functions, for instance, strengthening family bonds. On the other hand, men performed the "external" functions of a family, such as providing monetary support. This bears semblance to the primitive hunter-gatherer tendencies.
Indeed, on many occasions, it may be argued that men and women act as hunters and gatherers. Men are hunters and protectors, and women are nurturers and gatherers. The differences between the sexes on matters of skills, customs, ways of thinking and communicating, can be traced back to prehistoric times when men were hunters and
women were gatherers. The consequences of these two separate roles are many.
Men, it may be argued, hardly notice anything, collect very few details and have only a limited ability to stay focused on one thing at a time. On the other hand, women notice a lot of things they consider important, gather details and can easily focus on accomplishing multiple tasks.
While women verbalize their thoughts and emotions, men tend to communicate through non-verbal means. This can also be attributed to the facts that since men were hunters they had to be quiet, so that they don't scare away the prey. As gatherers, women had to resort to frequent verbal communications in order to perform complicated tasks.
The differences can be attributed to the fundamentally distinct social roles as evolved over the aeons humans lived as a society of hunters and gatherers. Being hunters, men went out in a group, with their focus on one single goal� the kill. It might take them the whole day, quietly waiting in ambush, but eventually they would accomplish the task at hand, go back home and defend the cave.
As gatherers, women noticed everything about them, gathering both food and other details that would help them gather more things then and in the future. I guess, the same rule applies when we go out shopping. Men go into the store, sharply focused on getting the thing they need, and then go home. Women like to wander around, gathering all sorts of information, before buying the real thing
.
Even if the differences in intelligence prove to be genetically encoded, research shows four findings.
First, some women are better than most men at strategic thinking, and some men are better than most women at maintaining interpersonal relationships.
Next, social conditioning plays a decisive role in shaping individual development of these kinds of intelligence, even shaping the physical growth of nerves. This conditioning starts right after birth. When it is a male infant, adults direct greater focus on objects, while in case of a female infant the face receives greater focus. This disparate social conditioning results in measurable differences in the nerves and areas of the brain governing these different foci.
Third, whatever be the genetic endowment and individual history, the conditioning exerted by natural and social environments have a decisive impact on the
way individuals behave in communities.
Finally, even in communities where genetics, social conditioning, and environments lead to a predomination of one kind of behavior,individuals and the communities can and sometimes do learn to favor different patterns.
So, isn't it the social value systems, which are mainly responsible for gender roles? Men and women are made to behave the way they are. From childhood, they are expected to grow up to be powerful, independent, demanding, aggressive, good problem-solvers, and so on. Thus, men are expected and nurtured to strive for the kind superiority that was expected of primitive hunters. On the other hand, in most social systems, women are encouraged to be good mothers. Emphasis is given more on looks and charms than on strength.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Coming Home!!
Yes, I'm home again. I'm back to chains, leather and heavy metal!! My valley looks so fresh, draped in new foliage. I'm back on the highlands. It's mindblowing here. I jammed with my old band. We're still the same. Started off with Stratovarius' "Coming Home", dedicated to my homecoming, then had so much fun, with all solos, guitar, bass and drums!!! There's true Metal Blood running through our veins. Live for the attitude, not the music!!!!
So, here's Coming Home...
So, here's Coming Home...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Guess What!!!??
I've found a new friend, a sweet one, yippeee!!! She calls herself wonderwoman. She describes herself as " I'm a 27 year old, single, working professional who loves to write. I love discovering new things-especially music and art. I'm full of interesting information and I'm constantly seeking new things to keep me thinking and entertained. I always have to be doing something. I'm a very social person and I like the diversity that can be found in the day to day". She's got a nice blog, too!!
http://disjointedintelligence.blogspot.com
http://disjointedintelligence.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
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