¶ … cause of gender stereotypes?
The debate about what causes gender stereotypes tends to be divided between two camps: that of nature vs. nurture. 'Nature' advocates suggest that there are profound biological differences between the sexes; 'nurture' proponents focus upon culture. Overall, although there are clear biological differences between men and women, what culture 'does' with those differences suggests that 'nurturing' or cultural context can have a profound, often hidden way in which men and women are able or not able to express themselves.
According to Natalie Angier, men as well as women can be affected by stereotypes in a negative fashion. In her essay, "Why men don't last" Angier notes that men tend to be more prone to violence, drug addiction, gambling and other negative social outlets to deal with their emotions. Women may be more apt to be depressed, but men are more likely to be 'successful' suicides. Males apparently take behavior to extremes, which Angier believes is fundamentally rooted in a culture which denies males appropriate vehicles for expressing their...
Denied expressive social connections and a venue to talk about what they feel inside, men turn against themselves or against others in destructive ways.
However, although men may be less emotionally expressive than women, this does not necessarily mean that they are less talkative and verbal than women. In her essay "Sex, lies, and conversation," the socio-linguist Deborah Tannen shows how miscommunication between the genders tends to be rooted in the different assumptions brought to conversations. Women often feel that men do not listen to them because men have been acculturated to use a different conversational style. Men use communication as either fact-finding or as a way of showing dominance; women use conversation as a means of demonstrating reciprocity and showing caring. Men are more inclined to try to take an objective view of even intimate talk or respond with silence if they feel they have nothing to say, which frustrates women who demand validation for their feelings. The values of society are transmitted through the genders' different verbal styles which they learn from…
