...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
Thank goodness we have scientists to study this kind of stuff.
Actually, the story I'm referring to, by John Stossel and Gail Deutsch of ABC News, is mildly interesting. For instance:
'So when they look at babies in the first 72 hours of life, they find that males and females are not identical in the way they behave,' [a researcher] said. 'Males startle more than females. If you give a little puff of air on their abdomen, they startle much bigger and much more likely to startle than females, and females rhythmically mouth. They suck on their tongues. They move their lips and so forth more than males do.'Uhh... am I the only one who reads anything sexual into those results?
Another tidbit:
'The male brain … actually has a harder time processing the female voice versus the male voice, which is a possible explanation to why we don't listen when our wives call us,' Dr. Billy Goldberg said on '20/20.'. . .
They said it was true that men listened less because of biology.
'Male babies make less eye contact, for instance, with their mothers than female babies,' Leyner said. 'So what we're talking about are different ways of relating to people that start at the earliest possible age.'
So can men say, 'Honey, it's not my fault. It's my brain'?
'I like to use that excuse,' Goldberg said.
And that, my friends, is what we call responsible science.
Oh, wait. No it's not.
Posted by: The Law Fairy on Sep. 30, 2006Gee, Annika,
What part of trying to talk do you find sexual? We all knew women were the more verbal of the sexes.
John and I were vollyball buddies in central park and he and his wife were in Lamaz class with me and mine 21 years ago.
I have met people who are big Gay, lesbian and transgendered drum bangers who believe that sexual orientation is an option such that if you raised your child with gender neutrality they would be more free, read healthy, to take the one that appealed to them most. I believe it's biological, that boys and girls start off differently not just with regard to equipment and that to confuse or deny this is really nuts. That is not to say, of course, that I would not support a persons choice should they wish to change their gender or sexual orientation from what it might have appeared to be at birth, but to suggest that they are excerising a choice that others have been denied because their parents did not offer these opportunities to them when they were very young is a very different idea altogether.
Posted by: strawman on Sep. 30, 2006
Dave Chappelle says there are 4 things y'all women can do for us:
1) Sex
2) Play with our balls
3) Make us a sandwich
4) Don't talk so much
I would advocate 20/20 covering the issue in this way
Posted by: Scof on Sep. 30, 2006'The male brain … actually has a harder time processing the female voice versus the male voice, which is a possible explanation to why we don't listen when our wives call us,' Dr. Billy Goldberg said on '20/20.'
Abso-friggin-loutely, Men have a SURVIVAL MECHANISM which allows us to drown out female blather. If not for that there would be far more insane men, or battered women.
Posted by: kyle8 on Sep. 30, 2006whut?
Posted by: Tuning Spork on Sep. 30, 2006Uhmm.
Really hoping y'all are being sarcastic. Call me a "humorless feminist" (because of course there's no other kind. Note, THIS is sarcasm) if you must, but there's nothing funny about beating women. Just sayin'.
straw, if you think men and women are so inherently different, what does this mean then? What is the point of saying this? Does it have to mean anything or not? John Stossel and co seem to think it means men don't have to listen to women. Or, you know, that it's okay for men to beat their wives.
Jesus, I'm glad I live in Los Angeles and not Arkansas.
Posted by: The Law Fairy on Sep. 30, 2006I like Bill Engvall's excuse better. "Hey...I'm a guy."
Posted by: Ontario Emperor on Sep. 30, 2006Law F.
I think there are differences but none of them are more important than the development of ethics and morality. Nothing excuses behaving badly. Men are predesposed to certain behavioral parigdims as are women. Murder which is predominatley the domian of men does not get excused because it may be a remnant of the aggression that was a necessary component of protecting the tribe and hunting. Culture must trump biology. I did not hear Stossel but I would guess he thinks men and women should listen to each other but has come to understand, not accept or excuse, why men may not do this as well as women.
I (heart) beating women!
Not that I'd ever have to excuse it (more like sell it) but it keps them pliable. In line!
Plus they'll keep voting for Bill and Hill - because they say they are on their side!
Posted by: true patriot on Oct. 1, 2006Who brings up beating women, but the chick who can't get laid with a fist-full of fifties.
I'm on the road this week, and this is a no-shitter. I was taking my seat at the gate waiting for my outbound flight. Just as I was dropping my bags, I noticed that there was a cackle of three women sitting in proximity, and the bullest of the dykes was in full blither. I knew that it was a mistake to take a seat there, and I physically hesitated before releasing the handle of my valise, but I fought my gut, and took a seat. Fifteen minutes later, I was forced to speak. It was only a few sentences, but I sent her into brainlock and peace ensued. Glancing to my left, I shared a silent communication with another middle-aged man... he was thanking me.
Posted by: Casca on Oct. 2, 2006Also: boys have peepees, whereas girls have hoohoos.
Posted by: Barry on Oct. 2, 2006"Who brings up beating women, but the chick who can't get laid with a fist-full of fifties."
kyle's a chick?
Posted by: The Law Fairy on Oct. 2, 2006I love the way the water breaks when you rise to the bait.
Posted by: Casca on Oct. 2, 2006And I love the way your churlish insults don't even pass 10th-grade reading comprehension muster.
Posted by: The Law Fairy on Oct. 2, 2006I'm sure some Harvard woman professor is running out of the room as we speak.
Posted by: Mark on Oct. 6, 2006