(no subject)

[which_chick]

I'm sure you all really want to know why I don't participate more fully in online discussion.



But if you want the long version, here is the reply I composed to a fairly civil and well-behaved discussion about the possibility of biological differences between boy-brains and girl-brains:

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I dislike the *idea* of biological differences in the brain primarily because experience strongly suggest that the people who start OUT with "blah blah biological differences in the brain blah blah" generally end up like God in that horribly sexist joke I heard when I was a young sprout. What horribly sexist joke? *sigh* Angel and God are looking down on creation, and all is right except that the humans don't have differing genitalia like all the other mammals. So, y'know, the angel points this out and God thinks on it a bit and then he says, "Y'know, you're right. Give the dumb one a ..."

However, despite my membership in the touchy-feely "wishing-makes-it-so" gender, I do realize at some basic, primitive level that truth does not bend to suit my whim. So, yes, there may well be biological differences in the brain. Yes, we probably should spend time and money researching that because it is important to know the truth whether or not we like what we hear. And yes, the result of said science might be that I'll spend the rest of my brief twittering flight through this lit room as *the dumb one*. Admittedly, this is a perspective I've experienced from birth up to now, but I'm sure it will be even MORE fun when it's Proven By Science! (People who think for two shakes of a little lamb's tail that qualifying statements like "These biological differences are, in the real world, dwarfed by societal expectations and normative expectations and the range of individual variation" are going to tone down the effect of the overall verdict probably also believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.)

Assuming Science Proves It, I don't think "Separate but Equal" is going to be a workable thing to pursue here. "Yes, little girls, your brains are different from those of little boys, but it's OK. You're Just As Good, Just Different. (Note, here, that the male way-of-being is immediately and instantly assumed to be the norm. I'm sure that's just my man-hating feminism kicking in and that things won't REALLY be like that.) (Note also that when things are pitched as "Just as good as the Real Thing" they aren't, really. Not ever. If they were honestly as good as the real thing, people would keep the hell quiet about it so that you'd think they WERE the real thing. Stuff that is clearly second-rate, that stuff is pitched as "Just as good as the Real Thing".)

That said, I do still think we should investigate the matter even though I don't see any way it could possibly end well for my gender... but you know how irrational women are! *giggle*
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Now, I didn't post that as a reply to the discussion at hand. It's pretty frequent that I write stuff in that same general tone (A lot of rage, Harv...) and don't post it. I'm working hard to overcome my normal level of ass and that, gentle readers, is why I don't participate more fully in online discussion. :)

Comments

[cousin-sue.livejournal.com]

Having a lot of rage issues myself with guys who have told me in the past that "Girls Don't Game", or some such bull...oney, I agree with you.

And while there are supposedly differences (it was discovered...I am not making this up, in a study that male brains tended to be denser than females), nobody knows what the heck difference the differences make...

So...

[carv1982.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting. I don't know if the way men's brains work will be considered the norm in the near future, and I'm not so sure they are now. Every day I get a ton of jokes from friends about stereotypical men guzzling beer, laying around on the couch, and being lazy oafs. A lot of sitcoms and televisions shows make this same portrayal. A lot of standup comedians use this as part of their act, too.

[electroweak.livejournal.com]

This is, to a degree, because the easiest humor is humor that makes fun of some external target (as opposed to making fun of the humorist him/herself or the audience itself). If you're looking for an external target to make fun of, it's rather hard to build a socially-acceptable (and therefore sitcom-marketable) fan base by making fun of women using stereotypes. That's probably not going to change until society has changed to create real equality.

[carv1982.livejournal.com]

That's actually a good point, and I think you're right. It's still very annoying, though.

I don't know how many modern men would extrapolate any sexist opinions from a biological study that found differences in male and female brains. I'm sure there would be a few. But most of us men know many women smarter or better than us in one or many ways. Hell, I even know a couple women who can quite literally kick my ass in a fight.