Best of the Week: Male Brain VS Female Brain

In class this week, we talked about male brains versus female brains. Male brains are systematic and use mechanistic thinking, which means that they try to analyze, explore, and construct systems and figure things out systematically, while female brains are empathetic and mentalistic, which means that they attempt to identify the thoughts and emotions of others and try to respond the those thoughts and emotions with an appropriate reaction. To me, it's essentially figuring things out versus understanding things. If this is the case, then my brain is a dude. Seriously.

I've been a tomboy forever. I find most girly things unnecessary, painstaking, and annoying. It's always been this way. While other girls in Kindergarten were playing with dolls, I was building lego fortresses for my army men. While female classmates in second grade were jumping rope to nursery rhymes, I was acting as the leader of my "neighborhood army", a very menacing team of kids between the ages of two and nine who protected the neighborhood from demons, monsters, and evil invaders from other neighborhoods. In eighth grade when other girls were worrying about dresses and boys, I was worrying about trying to amass a knowledge of World War II so I could ace history class and talk with my brother about guns and weapons. Even now I'm out of touch with my "girly side". I have no interest in fashion, I despise wearing dresses; I'm not into really anything that girls find cool right now. Hell, I spend my time building things and getting covered in blood, sweat, sawdust, and paint everyday!

It's not just my interests that differ from most females, it's my behaviors. I hate showing emotions in public, I'm extremely bad at comforting and nurturing, and the closest I go to freaking out about something cute is when I see a picture of an adorable animal, or on occasion, a cute boy. Other than those times, I just give a nod of the head and comment, "Nice." That's as far as I go. 

So if everything about male brains versus female brains is true, I'm pretty damned sure that I have a male brain. However, there's an argument to be made here: Do I have a male brain because I don't like dresses, I used to build fortresses for army men out of legos, and I like to build things? Or do I think that I have a man's brain because the activities listed above are considered "manly" activities in our society? Based on the definition of a male brain, I'm have a male brain because I like to systematically figure things out, and I tend to lean towards activities that necessitate using machines and mechanical processes. I also have a male brain because I tend to keep emotions in check and have trouble connecting to peoples' emotions. Based on society's view, I have a male brain because of the way I act and what activities i enjoy.

It has been decided that male brain v.s. female brain is purely a way to judge how one thinks of things and reacts to them, as well as how they process that information. That's a very black-and-white concept. Society's view is much more complex.

In our society, males are given the model of being strong, protective, very physical, athletic, supportive of their family, and strong-willed. They are given toy cars and told to play baseball or football when they are younger because that's "what boys are supposed to do". Girls are given expectations of being smart, emotional, nurturing, caring, levelheaded, dependable, good wives and mothers. They are given dolls and told to play House because that's "what girls are supposed to do". These ideas are part of society's views of how men and women should act, and how they should treat each other. These views contribute immensely to peoples' ideas of how they should be, and how they should act. It's frowned upon when girls trade makeup and tea parties for over-alls and playing in the mud because it's too "masculine". It's frowned upon when boys trade monster trucks and basketball for dance and home-ec because it's too "feminine". Kids are forced to fit themselves into society's molds and choose one or the other. It's awful.

I identify as a female, and I know that I'm not the only other girl in the world with a hatred for dresses, or the only one who gets Sudden-Bolt-Syndrome when I see other peoples' emotions. I actually find it a bit easier to understand why I think and act the way I do now that I've learned the differences between the two brains. It's extremely interesting, and that is why I find to to be the best of the week.

- Emily de la Horvath