OK, I feel pretty put on the spot, here! Should I speak up and defend my gender?
One side of this attention to what men and women do differently connects -- at least in my mind -- to an issue kind of central to
Cage of Stars.
One of the issues Ronnie grapples with is what the relationship is between Scott Early's biologically-caused illness and his "character." On one level, we would say they're unrelated. But it's very hard to make a complete separation -- someone's actions are so tied up with how we judge who they are, that even a "medical" explanation for a terrible deed doesn't let us wholly see the person without reference to their actions. (I have some family experience in this regard, although luckily the person in question hasn't hurt anybody but himself).
Similarly, we could ask how we gauge the relationship between gender and character? We might say "I admire that judge because he's very sensitive for a man." Or "She's a very loving mother, but she's also tough as nails!" If the cases were reversed, we might not be surprised that the woman was sensitive or that the judge was tough. So, our estimations of character are predicated, sometimes, on gender.
So, we make judgments about character based in part on our assumptions about what biology puts in place. But that presumes that we believe men are "naturally" tougher, or women are "naturally" more empathetic -- both are subject to question.
I hope the connection I'm trying to make here seems comprehensible to others!
JackieM01 wrote:
I wish there were some guys on this serve. They'd have something to say!
Jackie M.
