Submitted by Athena Andreadis (not verified) on Fri, 04/09/2010 - 15:55.
Joe,
there are many additional points I could make along the lines of Shawn Whitney and Figleaf, who commented before me. A few items at random:
-- Differences within genders are greater than differences between genders. The only quasi-universal is that whenever an occupation/talent/attribute is marked as "female" it gets downgraded in social and monetary value.
-- There are no biological alpha males in humans. In baboons, yes. In humans and their two closest relatives, no. Bonobo and chimpanzee hierarchies are fluid, context-dependent and involve both genders. Humans are the only species of the three that have rigid, stable, all-encompassing male hierarchies and no corresponding female ones (in societies beyond gatherer/hunters).
-- Many self-labeled progressives believe wholeheartedly in such concepts as "male rape genes" and "women's wired-for-coyness brains". If you're part of the SETI discussion group on Google, you will see people holding forth on this stuff at length, including well-known wannabee-prophets... er, futurists.
Tarzanist views of biology, anthropology, etc. have been used routinely to justify the continuation of unexamined privileges. Just as earlier "scientists" insisted that elephant herds were led by "dominant males" (glaring visual proof to the contrary) or that educating women dried up their wombs, people are now using "genes" or "brain structures" to draw similar conclusions. New knowledge, old mindset.
And if you think that "human culture must be built on human nature" we're already doomed, because we veered very far off that path a long, long time ago.
Joe,
there are many additional points I could make along the lines of Shawn Whitney and Figleaf, who commented before me. A few items at random:
-- Differences within genders are greater than differences between genders. The only quasi-universal is that whenever an occupation/talent/attribute is marked as "female" it gets downgraded in social and monetary value.
-- There are no biological alpha males in humans. In baboons, yes. In humans and their two closest relatives, no. Bonobo and chimpanzee hierarchies are fluid, context-dependent and involve both genders. Humans are the only species of the three that have rigid, stable, all-encompassing male hierarchies and no corresponding female ones (in societies beyond gatherer/hunters).
-- Many self-labeled progressives believe wholeheartedly in such concepts as "male rape genes" and "women's wired-for-coyness brains". If you're part of the SETI discussion group on Google, you will see people holding forth on this stuff at length, including well-known wannabee-prophets... er, futurists.
Tarzanist views of biology, anthropology, etc. have been used routinely to justify the continuation of unexamined privileges. Just as earlier "scientists" insisted that elephant herds were led by "dominant males" (glaring visual proof to the contrary) or that educating women dried up their wombs, people are now using "genes" or "brain structures" to draw similar conclusions. New knowledge, old mindset.
And if you think that "human culture must be built on human nature" we're already doomed, because we veered very far off that path a long, long time ago.