Gender and Biology

Since I have not blogged in a while, I am going to backtrack a few weeks and work myself up to the topics we are doing for this week. First, I want to write about the Gender and Biology lecture from an anthropological perspective. The first item from the lecture that interested me was the difference in the brain regions. The INAH section of the brain has 4 sections. Only sections 1 and 4 are the same anatomically in both men and women; however, the INAH sections 2 and 3 in gay men are identical to women. This fact interested me, because it makes sense that gay men would have similar biology to women. Could the difference in the INAH sections 2 and 3 contribute biologically to the traditional, dominant, manly characters found in some straight men or are these characteristics created culturally?

Other brain differences include the size of the corpus colossum (which is bigger in women than in men)and the sections of the brain used. When listening to a story, men tend to be more lateralized, using only the left half of the brain, while women tend to be more whole brained. When solving a problem, women use the right hippocampus while men use the left. There are obvious differences in the thinking patterns between men and women. Do these thinking patterns contribute to our gender differences?

When giving directions, men use cardinal directions and mileage while women use land marks. In general, men tend to be better at navigating then women. My dad has always told me that I am the only woman he knows that can read a map. Rather I should take this as a compliment to myself or as an insult to my gender, I have not yet decided. Evidence does show, however, that women navigate worse when they are ovulating. This leads me to believe that navigation is closely related with hormones.

The last factor I found interesting from the lecture was the difference in attraction between men and women. The qualities women find most attractive in men are money and attitude towards kids. Men are most interested in younger women (between 22 and 27), symmetry, average-ness, and hip to waist ratio. Women want men who can provide for a family while men want women who are young enough to produce a lot of offspring. When I think about it, these characteristics seem pretty accurate. However, it does bother me that women are gold-diggers and that men are most-interested in looks.