Gender Differences.

Females and males are brought up differently. Males are more prone to more "manly" toys such as G.I. Joes and Tonka trucks while females are more prone to barbie dolls and fake earrings. I didn't agree with Restak's essay. He talked about how statistics have shown that females appear to be more intelligent that males do as they are growing up. I really don't think it is a sex thing, it must be more of how girls are raised to be and what they are exposed too. He also said "Usually such differences are explained on a cultural basis. Boys are expected to be more aggressive and play rough games, while girls are presumably encouraged to be gentle, nonassertive and passive. After several years of exposure to such expectations, the theory goes, both men and women wind up with widely varying behavioral and intellectual repertoires."

I don't really agree with this stereotype, I don't think all girls are "expected" so seen to be gentle or nonassertive. While I was growing up, I was a tomboy, my whole family thought I was going to turn out as a tomboy when throughout adolescence as well because they could never see me being a "girl." I played with the boys and played like boys are expected to be, and my family and friends accepted me like that. While I got older, I did turn out to be more feminine but the pressure of being feminine was never put on me. Girls all over the world are or were tomboys growing up, and it is accepted by society, so I don't really believe that girls are expected to be nurturing and passive.

Another thing that I did not agree with was when he stated, "Girls can also sing in tune at an earlier age." I'm not sure if this is statistically proven, but in my opinion I don't think it's correct. I think that being to do things like sing, play the guitar, paint, or write are all hereditary. They may not be, but the chances are that if two parents have to talent to sing well, then the chance that their child will be able to sing good are very high. Same goes with painting, playing instruments, etc. Of course it's not always like that, some times children are born with talents that their parents never had, or vice versa, but I believe parents' being able to sing plays more into whether or not there child can sing than their gender.

Overall I did not agree with a lot of what Restak wrote about, whether it be scientifically proven or not. I don't think that females are born with a better voice or muscles in their throat than males and I don't think all girls are "expected" to be girly girls when their younger. It all could be just stereotypes that we have in America, and while some may be true, to me, a lot of it is false in my opinion, but that's just me.