The extent to which society influences the differences between men and women
Since the time of the ancient philosophers, the fundamental difference has remained unchanged- women are emotional and diplomatic while men are aggressive and logical. Society has always considered women to be weaker than men, hence the phrases, the weaker sex and the fairer sex in that order. Much as the human race has developed over time to embrace equality in virtually all spheres of life -from politics to education- there is still differences between the two sexes. The differences are psychological, physical emotional and so on. These have resulted in the cold war between men and women popularly referred to as the battle of the sexes. What society has not been able to address effectively, and what this paper seeks to address is the question: what is the role of society in influencing these differences?
The fundamental cause of the psychological and all other non-biological differences between men and women is society or social order. The society influences the differences between the sexes through such aspects as political order, the family setting, religion and the economic forces that man creates and manipulates so as to earn a living. Arguing from the religious point of view, the difference between men and women started during the days of creation. According to the Christian Bible, it is the woman that first fell in to temptation and caused the failure of the human race. According to religion therefore, the differences between men and women are as old as the world.
In the family setting, the role of the woman in many cultures, both civilized and barbaric, is essentially one of bringing up children and taking care of the family. The fact that the man is the sole breadwinner makes him superior. In the economic field, the male species is dominant as men are seen as stronger and in a better position to struggle for the scarce resources. As such women are left out and appear to be discriminated in the field. It is rather obvious that the political arena of many civilizations across the globe is discriminatory against the female species with a big percentage being men.
