Preview

The Roles of Men and Women in a Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
954 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Roles of Men and Women in a Society
The Roles of Men and Women in a Society
There is a complexity in understanding the role of men and women in a society. Scientists and biologists are challenging themselves to explain the mental and behavioral processes of genders. Natalie Angier born and raised in New York writes “Men, Women, Sex and Darwin” an essay about evolutionary psychology and the misleading perceptions it has women. She focuses on five topics that the theory argues proving them wrong, and using them for support.
The first area the theory introduces “men are more promiscuous and less sexually reserved than women are” (30). Evolutionary psychology proposes that men are always after sex. They explicitly say men hold a special force attracting them to sex which women cannot fully comprehend. Angier explains that men can be open about their sexual life, unlike women who are impacted by culture and society. Women are judged as “either chaste or trampy” (35) a woman is seen as pure or a slut. Since the beginning of time women are looked down upon when regarding their sex life. Harassment of women based on their sex life is due to religious and/or cultural influence, which has a stronghold over American society. Relating back to Christianity, if you are a virgin it means you are pure and clean, on the other hand if you are not then you are dirty and considered a lower class. I agree that women have the same sex drive that men do, but due to society and culture, women feel unconfident and unwilling to show it. I believe that it is not because “women supposedly have a lower sex drive than men do” (36) but that they have more precaution of become pregnant. Men have this need to have multiple sex partners for their own confidence. I agree with Angier that men have this competition with other males to see who can get more women. They do this for their need to be dominating other males. The ability of a men attaining more females boosts their self-motivation and satisfaction.
Evo-psychos’ second



Cited: 1. Angier, Natalie. “Men, Women, Sex, and Darwin.” 50 Essays. Ed. Denise B. Wydra. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2007. (29-41). Print. 2. Shaolin36. “untitled”. DearCupi.ORG. “n.d”. Web. 5 October 2009.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout the progress of understanding human development, the notion of gender has commonly been the topic of discussion and debate when attempting to understand its foundation. While it is argued to be a societal and cultural manifestation, others suggest it is a biological…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout history women have been denied the same social status as men and have been repeatedly excluded from things such as education, politics, and science. This has allowed men to have control over gender roles by controlling the laws, ability to obtain knowledge, and history. Until now, women have been historically excluded women from participating in science which has created a male-dominated and gender biased perspective of science. In the evolutionary sciences such as Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology, this male-dominated perspective continues to prevail in its biased reductive portrayal of gender roles which brand females with false stereotypes.…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Monogamy vs. Promiscuity: Putting Evolutionary Psychology on the Couch”, Natalie Angier brings forward the topic in regards to male female sex/mate choice distinctions in the field known as Evolutionary Psychology. Evolutionary psychology is what Angier calls to be a “cranky and despotic Cyclops, its single eye glaring through an overwhelmingly masculinist lens” (505). The reason why she sees their view as masculinist is due to the fact that the view of the behavior of males is as narrow as their view of women. She claims that the way the Evolutionary Psychologists see women and their ideas of…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gettysburg Address Thesis

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Angier explores the cardinal premises of evolutionary psychology. Examples of these cardinal premises are 1. Men are more promiscuous and less sexually reserved than women are. 2. Women are inherently more interested in a stable relationship than men are. 3. Women are naturally attracted to high-status men with resources. 4. Men are naturally attracted to youth and beauty. 5. Humankind's core preferences and desires were hammered out. She goes into great depth in exploring these principles and tells us that a lot of these socially constructed values don't go away…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Quinlan R. (2010) Sex, Evolution, and Human Nature (Anthropology 468), Lesson 11, < lms.wsu.edu >…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary and Reaction

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hubbard then focuses on sex differences between men and women. First, she discusses Darwin’s theory of sexual selection and states that since competition is more among the men than the women, “the men are in…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Barkow, Jerome H. Darwin, Sex, and Status: Biological Approaches to Mind and Culture. Toronto ; Buffalo: University of Toronto, 1989.…

    • 2338 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women and Christianity

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Farley explains that our modern society’s new understanding of what it means to maintain a level of socially acceptable sexual morality has caused “the rise in self-consciousness among women” which “has been a significant factor in the loosening of traditional sexual ethical norms” (Farley, 6). Typically, you would think that with a greater strain on the self-consciousness of women that there would be a tightening of morals that are related to anything they feel committed and/or comforted to/by, whether it be religion, family, or self-values. However, the opposite of this has taken place. With self-consciousness came a loosening of morals, which may cause one to question where the value is being assessed in these societies.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man in Relation to Sex. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981. Print.…

    • 2150 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The life course perspective is a theoretical framework which was formed in order to capture certain historical and life characteristics about the human development from childhood into old age in a particular society. The life course signifies the potential consequences of trajectories, individual transitions, and how turning points in the trajectory can alter an individual’s life course (Alwin et. al 2005). As a result, many social scientists have employed the life course perspective into research on human development and aging. This theoretical framework emphasizes social experiences in historical time and the differential roles of cohorts on human development and aging (Elder et. al 2003)…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This particular seminar was a very thought-provoking experience because of the contentious issue we were discussing. People conveyed their opinions regarding gender roles in a very explicit and coherent manner, and it really shows how my fellow peers have developed their own personal opinions regarding this social norm. The seminar began with Juliet stating that gender roles still are a part of lives and still play a heavy impact on both females and males. She referred directly to the Halloween costumes for little girls’ article that we examined couple of weeks ago, and correlated it directly to how major corporations still emphasize this discrimination between males, and females. Now, I value Juliet opinion and confidence for stating this right from the inception of the seminar.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Peplau, L.A. (2003). Human Sexuality: how do men and women differ? Current Directions in…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Role and Man

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 1920’s society, the time period of Hills Like White Elephants, a man and girl prove their gender roles in that society. The characters in the story seem to fit in and challenge their 1920’s society at the same time. In Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, The man and the girl named Jig start to fit in to what their own society’s expectations are. These expectations have to do with men being able to control women very easily, and women constantly obeying what they say. Then we see how the man and Jig evolve in the end. Gender roles change throughout just this story, and Hemingway makes it very clear, with small hints throughout. This story challenges societies stereotypes and proves that not every woman is going to follow what the man says in the end, no matter how their society will take it. In the nineteen twenties, gender roles were and always are a big part of society. Men were generally more superior to women. Women were starting to be more independent, after years passed of men being superior. Jig does this as well, showing the difference in women of this time period. In Hills Like White Elephants, Jig starts out as a dependent, and reliant young girl to an independent and decision making young woman in just a short conversation.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evolutionary Psychology

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Evolutionary psychologists would propose that differences between male and female promiscuity are a result of the evolving need to ensure reproduction. While traditional female sexual attitudes and values are evolving and females are increasingly becoming more comfortable in expressing sexual aggression or dominance in modern times, these traditional differences may be explained from the standpoint of adaptation to reproductive demands as well. Women are more limited in reproductive opportunity than men, having a limited number of eggs and a limited amount of time in which to reproduce optimally, while men have a much more unlimited reproductive opportunity with hundreds of thousands of available sperm and a many more reproductively-viable years than women. Evolutionary psychologists would propose that the differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors among men and women are directly attributable to these reproductive differences as evidenced by the innate desire of men for sexual promiscuity, as compared to the highly selective manner of reproductive behavior among women.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human Sexuality Final

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Lisa McClure Axia College of University of Phoenix PSY 265 Sally Henzel April 27, 2009 Attitudes about sex and sexual gratification have evolved from the point where sex was seen as a biological process to sex as a way of life. During the 1960s and 1970s, the secret was let out that sex could be an end in and of itself without reproductive considerations. Now comes my generation, not the baby-boomer generation, not generation X, but rather the generation that was spawned during the 80's. I believe I came right after generation X. as Jim Horning (n.d.) was once purported to have said, "Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment” (2008). My generation was the first to be hit hard by sex on television, sex in the movies, even sex on the internet, which was not even possible until my generation was in their teens. As a result I have seen many of my friends from school marry prematurely only to divorce, engage in premarital cohabitation, and premarital sex. I am of course no exception. My adolescent years were full of bad judgments. It is in this context that my female gender identity developed, my sexual relationships matured, and my environment and value systems informed my sexual decision making process in the development of my sexuality also changed. The value system that I have identified with the most is the ethical relativism. Although, I was raised with the legalism value system, being that we were raised in a Roman Catholic home. The reason why I chose ethical relativism is that everyone is different and there really is not a right or wrong moral view. There is just a personal moral view. For that reason, I do not think there is any reason for someone to push his or her views on other people, even if that person feels strongly about an opinion.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays