Men and Women II

Following from earlier posts (the difference, Nietzsche), I have some more experimental ideas on sameness and difference.

First, there is always a distribution, but our brains stereotype so that we can retain our sanity in the presence of people we have not previously met. Sometimes this sanity means caution, sometimes friendliness, sometimes offers of help, sometimes requests for help. The stereotype ('das man') even affects assembly of prefab furnniture. I (and many peers according to my wife's antenatal circle) see inconsistencies between what i want to do and the parts i have as evidence that ikea (or whoever) have screwed up. I improvise and 19/20 times, prove only that they were right all along. So stereotypes with the diversity eliminated are never going away.

Second, small differences get big, or perhaps, there are no small differences in society. There is a lot of feedback in the social system, a lot of space for prejudice/stereotype confirming events to be created by the stereotype. One notable experience of difference goes into the stereotype. One notable feature of the stereotype then causes changes in a lot of behaviour, expectation. If Hegel (and Dennett, and Vygotsky) are right, we depend on others for our first self-concept. How others see us becomes how we see ourselves.

Third, there are at least small differences physical and mental, between men and women. Men are, on average, larger and disproportionately strong / hardy. Women have superior peripheral vision and a better sense of smell. (These differences too fit a type - which is that men look like predators and women look like prey. The hideous pregnancy of live caterpillars with wasp larvae is not so far from human pregnancy after rape.)

Amanda Marcotte on Slate's DoubleX Blog spends a lot of energy pointing out the insidious prevalence of this stereotyping. She is right to be suspicious that this traps us in inauthentic behaviour, blindness to the reality of men and women. But the stereotype is psychologically vital - it is a basis of life. Perhaps trying to direct one's stereotypes toward the finding women and men in our time 'fascinating' or 'surprising.' That might be a step forward.

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