Feminst Neurobiology

Dear Feminists: Different Does Not Mean Unequal

I believe it was Ron Burgundy who said, "You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science," a quote that garnered laughs from its audience and its apparent incorrect old-school line of thought. Unfortunately for the feminist movement, this has actually been proven true (well, kind of. The volume of the average male brain is 10-15% larger than a female's). What I would like to inform the general American public of is the fact that gender roles, although they have some cultural aspects, are inextricably linked to our neurochemistry as well.

Americans tend to "stereotype" males as aggressive, dominant, more athletically fit, and the main money-maker of a family unit. Females, on the other hand, are seen as passive, caring, talkative, and they should stay at home to care for the children. Men dominate the fields of science, math, technology, while females remain in education and child care. Is this because society has ingrained in our heads that this is where we belong? Or is it, maybe, just maybe, because our brains are created in a way that we end up doing the things we actually enjoy?

At conception, the human brain begins as female. It isn't until 2 months into development that excess testosterone begins affecting those of males, including areas responsible for communication and aggression, and the processing of sound and sex. What effect does this produce after we're born? Exactly what we notice in society – women talk more, act less, listen more intently, and think about sex less. The increased density of the male brain leads them to be more adept at spatial reasoning and problem solving. It is also this difference that explains why boys will play with trucks and blocks, and men will be drawn to areas of science and math, decisions that allow them to exploit these neural areas. There's an anecdote in the book The Female Brain, by Dr. Louann Brizendine, in which the author's friend tries to bombard her daughter with "unisex" toys, steering clear of dolls and stereotypical female playthings, until she enters this 5 year old's room one night to see the toy truck wrapped in a blanket, rocking in her child's arms like a baby.

The increase in women branching into the fields of pharmacy, technology, engineering, does not disprove this theory. We (females) are certainly capable of the same mental abilities, although they may come with more difficulty to us. I'm more interested in baseball than America's Next Top Model, and I'd spend the rest of my life in prison before I ever agree to have kids. But maybe I was exposed to excess testosterone while in the womb. Studies with rhesus monkeys (the species closest to us in terms of genetics, and the one used most often in studies aimed at discovering more about human behavior) have shown that an increased flow of testosterone while in the womb will create an offspring with more male-like behaviors, most notably, more 'rough and tumble play.' When the pregnant mother is given injections of testosterone, even female offspring will end up like "tomboys," fighting (playfully) with their brothers while offspring whose mothers did not receive this will keep more to themselves. This is not to say that all women who enjoy sports were exposed to abnormal amounts of the male hormone, but that exposure to this will cause monkeys, and, presumably people, to act more like a stereotypical male.

The bottom line is I'm a feminist. I think women are equal, and I think anyone who considers us inferior is just ignorant. (I mean that in the literal sense of the word). Furthermore, I believe the biggest threat to the feminist movement is akin to the biggest threat to the conservative movement (and yes, I am both – a feminist and a conservative). Both parties are being overtaken by their radicals, one by the men hating women and the other by the god fearing Christians. Once we can all take a step back and realize that women are inherently equal despite our neurochemical differences, the movement towards true political equality will go much smoother.