Biology is not destiny
Our biological inheritance may make us more likely to have certain character and personality traits, but that's a far cry from rigid determinism, argues Grant Brown.
Grant Brown - March 18, 2008
From the very beginnings of its modern incarnation there has been an internal debate within feminism over the question of innate differences between the sexes. The prevailing feminist view seems to be that men and women are equal in every respect, except for those in which women are superior.
Most notably, women are thought to be morally superior to men. Whereas men are hierarchical, aggressive, violent and abusive, selfish, and untrustworthy, women are egalitarian, nurturing, selfless, and dependable. If only women ruled the world, peace would reign supreme...
A skeptic might infer that feminists are not so much interested in debunking traditional stereotypes as propagating a brand new, self-serving crop of their own. But the persistent question remains: what, if any, innate differences are there between the sexes; and what, if anything, can or should we do about them? Is biology destiny, as Freud claimed?
In previous columns I have argued that the inherent asymmetries of sexual reproduction have lead to gender-role specialization in our ancestral past. This in turn has produced differences between the sexes in terms of their abilities and most especially their motivational inclinations. To summarize:
• Males tend to be much more interested in high-risk behaviour, in part because they are genetically more expendable and in part because the reproductive rewards of risk-taking are much greater for men than women.
• Males tend to be more "dominant-aggressive." That is, they are much more interested than women in scaling the social hierarchies, which often requires an obsessive perfectionism in their work lives.
• Males are more inclined to seek out random mating opportunities, whereas women tend to desire long-term pair-bonding. Thus men tend to be the initiators of courtship, and women tend to be coy until they have been able to assure themselves of the sincerity of a man’s attentions.
• Males prefer younger, physically attractive women (signs of fertility and health), while women prefer stronger, wealthier, and more intelligent men who are willing to provide protection and external resources to the family.
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