Love the demon-child, debra!!!
As for the topic at hand, I think there is something to the stereotypes, but it only goes for the human population in general, and cannot get used in any specific situation. Men tend to be more logical and have better spacial awareness. Guys can put puzzles together easier, do well in math, etc. Women on the other hand have better emotional and social skills. They have a larger vocabulary, know the best words to describe what they are feeling, and can empathize with others better.
It's probably due to traditional gender roles. We had evolved having men being the hunter, devising traps or tools, and being able to use geographical tactics to capture their prey. Women on the other hand stayed in the village taking care of their children and interacting with others of the village / tribe. A person's creativity also tended to be along the lines of those strengths. Women were creative in their use of words and showing emotion, so they'd be the painters, poets, etc. Men's creativity lied rather along the lines of exploration, scientific experiments, and the like. So in early human existence, there probably was a selection of a mate towards those qualities that suited that particular sex with their specified roles. Thus the species evolved towards having those stereotypes.
Fast forward to today (even to a hundred years ago or more) and those roles have been eroded away. Men no longer need to hunt for our food (or bring home the bacon, for that matter), and women are not the only sex that can take care of the offspring. Both sexes are now working out of the house, both are taking care of the family, both interact with other members of society, etc. No longer are we attracted towards people with set sex-specific traits. Women may be attracted to a talkative "metrosexual" male (like Ryan Seacrest), and men may enjoy the company of a logical forensic anthropologist (eg "Bones" from the TV show). People's creative patterns also changed. Men could express themselves in fashion design and women could create multi-million dollar business enterprises. Because of this, these traits are becoming more diffuse throughout the population, making them less gender specific than they once were.
Yet we still see traces of the sex-specific traits and we may have even been taught to look for them, which is what gives us those stereotypes today. I believe that this may also be what causes some of the humorous situations that we see. If in a stressful situation, people tend to use their strengths. One of the strengths for men may be their ability at spacial awareness; they can find the car in the parking lot or can untie that ugly knot on the boat line. So when stressed, like being lost, they rely on their strength which has now become a detriment in that situation. They will drive around trying to recover their spacial awareness and figure out the "puzzle" on their own. Women on the other hand may have better social skills, and so when lost they'd use their strength of talking with someone else to get directions, which in this case turns out to be an asset. Thus it may not be that the guy is "stupid" for not asking for directions, but rather just trying to rely on his strengths too much.
Community Forum
Topic: ONLY FOR THE MEN ,DO YALL THINK FEMALES SMARTER THEN US (Read 3003 times)
February 04, 2010, 07:27:03 am
