Do you feel that women behave in an inferior manner because we are conditioned to do so?

Question

"In the presence of a stereotype that men are better, women tend to underrate their own performance, while men overrate their own, regardless of demonstrated ability. "We find that if you compare boys and girls, or men and women, with...the exact same scores on standardized math tests, boys think they are better than girls."

"...women in this group rated their ability as lower and expressed lower goals. Thus, exposure to a generalization about one's group changes the way one interprets one's own ability—and in turn shapes one's goals for the future. These effects, says Correll, 'cumulate over women's lives and result in dramatically different outcomes for men and women.' "

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/dec2...

I think it starts at a very early age when boys are encouraged to be more more outgoing and emotionally stronger than girls. "Boys don't cry; man up & do what you have to do."

"Girls aren't supposed to fight. It's un-ladylike."

What do you think?

Answer 1

Yes. And we start young. Look at Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. This is what we teach our children. Pretty sad.

Answer 2

When a young boy is taught to bottle up his emotions by not crying when this would be the natural thing to do, this is not to be seen as an indication that men are emotionally stronger than girls. If anything, failure to express emotions in an appropriate manner should be regarded as a sign of emotional weakness. Young girls, on the other hand, learn to express their emotions in a variety of ways, so their tendency is to be able to control their reaction to things that move them better.

As far as fighting is concerned, please remember that there are many different kinds of fighting. Most of the fighting that people engage in is rather subconscious (e.g. passive-aggressive behavior). When guys resort to getting their way through physical means, once again, I don't believe this necessarily means they're more to be admired than those who can deal with their angst apart from physical violence.

Thanks for asking.

Answer 3

I wouldn't say we behave in an inferior manner, but we function, respond and process things differently due to our nature and nurture.

For instance, as little girls we were encouraged to tell mommy what's wrong. We got attention for sharing our problems, got a hug from grandma and assurance that everything was going to be OK, more than boys did. While boys played competitive games, got used to losing and rejection, girls played friendly and nice with dolls. As a result, boys learned to play more independently/individually, and deal with anxiety and competition differently than girls. The examples are many, but these are some of the reasons we move differently in relationships, workplace and society.

I don't see it as being inferior or superior, but being strong in different areas. Put a crying baby in the arms of a man for the first time and he'll have no clue how to handle it, while a woman automatically knows how to deal with the situation, even if she has never done it before.

The differences are what make us attractive and we can always strengthen ourselves in cross-gendered areas too. I feel feminine playing soft and friendly at home, but I'm not doomed to play the same role when I'm at work. I think if we learn how, when, how much, with whom, and where to turn the buttons on and off, then we may be able to enjoy the best of both worlds to some extent.

Answer 4

I'd say the whole submissive nature tends to be more inherent in women, then when society conditions women to be less present than men, you get a pretty inferior behaving product. I don't think it's only due to conditioning though, a mix of nature and nurture.

Answer 5

I think that it starting young is absolutely true - girls learn to defer to boys very early and by teenage years girls are putting up with quite a lot of putdowns that can be threatening at times. And who hasn't heard about the girls who have dumbed down in order not to get grief from boys?

Answer 6

Back in the day when I was growing up, we were told that boys didn't like "smart girls" and I thought "oh well, too bad" I'm not going to play dumb to stroke his ego.......take me as I am, or leave me alone.!

Answer 7

What do I think? I think it is much more complex than that " cut and paste " quotation would have you believe.

Too many exceptions to that hypothesis to support its validity. Sounds very much like social science blather.

Answer 8

women "intuitively" know that men should be the powerful ones. i dont think women are inferior, or men are superior, and its not because of conditioning, but because of the laws of nature.

Answer 9

Conditioned, no.
Naturally inclined, yes.

Answer 10

MALE SUPREMACY in the u.s. government.