Are men and women the same?
This week in our class, we discusses the differences between girls and boys and men and women. Some in the social sciences believe that these differences are just social constructs and that we need to weed out any bias that we put on our children when they are little. Being the mother of 4 boys and a girl, my experience, while anecdotal, I believe is duplicated in most families. There is an inherent difference between the way girls and boys act, play and when they grow up think and act and play. That difference is not a problem but something to be celebrated.
When I was in my first year of college, over 30 years ago, my first psychology teacher told us about a case where one twin at the age of under two was terrible injured during his circumcision and his penis was burned beyond repair. The distraught parents didn't know what to do and turned to experts for advice. The experts told the parents that they should castrate the injured twin and raise him as a girl while raising the other twin as a normal boy. My original psychology teacher herald this as the greatest break through in the nature vs nurture debate because this little "girl" was a total girl while "her" brother was a total boy. While this did not really make sense to me at the time, I didn't know any other information about it.
About 15 years later, I saw a book called "As Nature Made Him, The boy who was raised as a girl," I was intrigued to find that this was the story of the boy I was told about in my first Psychology class. Rather than being a great success as it was purported to be, at 15 David transitioned back to be a boy even though experts had mutilated his body. His story is heartbreaking and should have taught the experts who treated him something about males and females, it doesn't appear to have done that.
Link to wikipedia article about David Reimer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer
Link to the book about his life:
https://www.amazon.com/As-Nature-Made-Him-Raised/dp/0061120561
I realize that there are some people who struggle with medical problems and mental health problems that add to gender confusion. Their circumstances are heartbreaking and difficult but the way our society is affirming sexual confusion in childhood or adolescents seems to be adding to the confusion instead of helping those who need the help to get it. Laws that alienate the majority rarely bring about the desired changes that the affected minority are seeking for, by forcing people to accept them, they are further alienated. I don't know what the desired ends are for those who are pushing gender fluidity on our children and schools but it seems to go against common sense. Why are we being pushed to be the same as men and only that will help women achieve equality? Why can't men and women be affirmed as they are and realize the differences make us all better. We do not need to be in competition with each other, we need to help each other reach our own potential.
When I was in my first year of college, over 30 years ago, my first psychology teacher told us about a case where one twin at the age of under two was terrible injured during his circumcision and his penis was burned beyond repair. The distraught parents didn't know what to do and turned to experts for advice. The experts told the parents that they should castrate the injured twin and raise him as a girl while raising the other twin as a normal boy. My original psychology teacher herald this as the greatest break through in the nature vs nurture debate because this little "girl" was a total girl while "her" brother was a total boy. While this did not really make sense to me at the time, I didn't know any other information about it.
About 15 years later, I saw a book called "As Nature Made Him, The boy who was raised as a girl," I was intrigued to find that this was the story of the boy I was told about in my first Psychology class. Rather than being a great success as it was purported to be, at 15 David transitioned back to be a boy even though experts had mutilated his body. His story is heartbreaking and should have taught the experts who treated him something about males and females, it doesn't appear to have done that.
Link to wikipedia article about David Reimer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer
Link to the book about his life:
https://www.amazon.com/As-Nature-Made-Him-Raised/dp/0061120561
I realize that there are some people who struggle with medical problems and mental health problems that add to gender confusion. Their circumstances are heartbreaking and difficult but the way our society is affirming sexual confusion in childhood or adolescents seems to be adding to the confusion instead of helping those who need the help to get it. Laws that alienate the majority rarely bring about the desired changes that the affected minority are seeking for, by forcing people to accept them, they are further alienated. I don't know what the desired ends are for those who are pushing gender fluidity on our children and schools but it seems to go against common sense. Why are we being pushed to be the same as men and only that will help women achieve equality? Why can't men and women be affirmed as they are and realize the differences make us all better. We do not need to be in competition with each other, we need to help each other reach our own potential.
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