MEN or WOMEN or BOTH

I hate generalization as a rule (oxymoron ahoy!), but it looks like this topic has forced my hand....well here goes:

1) The majority of these trends we're discussing have their roots in evolutionary behavior, when men were hunter-gatherers (providers), and women undertook more evolutionary important duties (propagating the species, stabilizing settlement and caring for the next generation). In evolutionary terms guys, I hate to say(as I'm a man) that men play a dismally small role in furthering the basic goals of our species. We are food and sperm-providers, which the whole "macho" culture of the 80s described as a healthy trend, when it is in fact quite menial from an instinctual point of view.

2) The reason that men have generally been more successful in the modern workplace is down to two things:

a) Centuries, some might say *millenia* of discrimination in various forms, this includes women discriminating against one another- often more vicious than trans-gender discrimination.

b) Men are more aggressive and are better risk-takers than women.

"a" has been well-documented by many more qualified than me, so I'll not go into that.

"b" is a little more interesting. Women (as pepperkin rightly pointed out) are better at stable duties and multi-tasking than men- they are generally better organized and tabulate discrete information better. Why do you think most secretaries are women? Not because it's a lower-ranking job in the pecking order but because most men make crap secretaries. Empathic jobs are also better suited for women- men have a hard time empathizing when it comes down to it. This makes men poor parents outside of providers in the early years of childcare. The majority of teachers of young children have to be women, because men lose patience with small children too easily. Most college professors are men because of the mindless focus that pervades most men's minds.

3)However, although women are better organized and tabulate information better, psycological studies show that they are appalling at risk management. Compromise is found less in women than in men. That is why, even in this enlightened age, few women (if any) are entrepreneurs. I hugely admire people who can take calculated risks, and reap the benefits, that's part of my genetic hormonal make-up. The same reason explains why women make poor politicians and diplomats (think Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Madeline Albright). Men are more objective oriented, the only thing important in the hunt is the prey- nothing else matters. This is both a good and a bad thing. The downside is that men rarely see the bigger picture without a great deal more thought than women. This shows why the majority of modern artists are women- it's a bigger picture subject. It also explains why there are more women than men in primary health-care, and more male surgeons than female.

This single-minded approach in men can be beneficial. One only need look at a man and a woman down at the shops- chances are that the man already knows what he is buying, has checked it up in a catalogue, and will, without much question, buy it and go home. The woman is far more likely to just be "browsing". It can also be extremely harmful. I don't think that there has ever been a single truly brutal-minded female dictator (Imelda Marcos and Maggy Thatcher come to mind, but they just didn't have the killer edge of Abacha or Stalin). Men are more willing to kill each other, as I found when I spent 6 months in the National Guard back home. Even part-time soldiers are all too keen to study new and better ways to maim and destroy their fellow person. That single-minded objectivity has ruined many an empire and civilization (just as it helped build it).

4) In stable situations, women are the masters. Look at the *majority* of married households. The boss of the stable family environment is the woman of the house. We men may have our own petty delusions of grandeur in the work-place, but we know who's boss when it comes to running the house. I've lost count of the number of times that my fiancee has given me an order, I've reluctantly followed it, and then later realized that she was right.

So in conclusion- Men tend to be bigger risk-takers, daring and foolish at the same time- partly explaining why they have been "movers and shakers" in history a bit more.

Women are more organized, better coordinated and evolutionarily more important than men. Their prime motivations are stability, foundation of relationships and maintenance of the status quo. Women aren't big on dissention or sedition, they quest for stability in the long run.

Remember, these are all generalizations- there are always going to be exceptions to the rule. Oh, and pepperkin- I know this is being pedantic- but all those sports you mention are done by men as well- and on average, they do as well as women. In swimming, their times are considerably faster.

I agree that those sports you mention are brutal and have no place in civilized society(especially American football- I go into hibernation during the Superbowl weekend to avoid the mindless environment). But there are an equal number of very athletic and skillful sports that men participate in. Basketball, baseball, rugby, football(I used to call it soccer, but football makes more sense), fencing and cricket. These are all skill-based sports, played at a decent tempo (with the exception of cricket obviously) and with a high enjoyment level.

But men's sports still dominate- women aren't as interested in participating as are men.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus
=Carpe Diem=

Physically, men are stronger generally, and if that is genetic make up, then it's not a controversial thing to say.

So much of this debate lies in culture and society. Women in this world, according to some statistics of mine, do 80% of the world's work. Yet they earn 10% of the world's wages. And we won't even go into the issue of top job places!

I think it will change. It will take a long time, but I think perceptions are changing, roles are changing, and both men and women are gaining courage to do the things they really want to, and not just what they believe is expected of them.

What Bob said about female politicians being less successful than male, I think that will soon change too. In Sweden, right now, 50% of their parliament members are female. And that country is doing rather nicely (bar a couple of, er, guns, issues).

I could comment on tonnes of stuff, but we're dealing with generalisations here, so I will leave it. It isn't a case of who is better, because both men and women are not so impressive in our society. Like Scott Adams said:

Good trend:
Women get more political power

Unexpected bad thing about htis trend:
Women are as dumb as men.

I find girls are crapper at sports generally (and alot of the time in Ireland they are - I coach a girls basketball team and they can kick the asses of *any* girls, but rarely, rarely the boys' asses ) because there is no emphasis on the importance of sport for girls. When I was younger, I played soccoer with guys, but quit, because, due to my femaleness, they would never pass to me. Therefore it was difficult to get skilled in any way. That said, my friend Lyndsey is off to Canada to college on a soccer scholarship because she is so brilliant at it.

Anyway, we are all equally fussy, equally arrogant, and equally better at different things. But I still think girls need to get their fingers out and get some top jobs.

However, since I am planning on being a missionary, there is not much of hope of me being a top dog executive.

lol...well the difference is, pregnancy is more voluntary than periods...those suck, especially the cramps, butguys get blueballs, so...it sortof works out.
As for multiple O's, I've known guys who have had them