And This Is Not About Gender Either | Clarissa's Blog

And This Is Not About Gender Either | Clarissa's Blog





No Western culture that is more gender essentialist than USA culture.  I believe this has directly to do with how much religiosity is in that culture.  I have maintained for a long time that just because someone is not overtly religious this does not mean that they have not absorbed a lot of religiosity through the cultural stream.   Consequently it is almost common sense for people to proclaim that males are innately one way and women are innately something else.   Luckily, what is so deeply entrenched as "common sense" in USA culture is not so deep in others.   We haven't had those decades, or indeed centuries of preaching about women's and men's roles.  



At the same time, Western cultures generally lean towards metaphysical notions of gender originating in Biblical interpretations.   That his how Richard Dawkins can be blind to the need to perceive Internet sexual harassment as a real problem.   Men are basically noble and it is the women who are emotional whiners.  Where does that come from?  Christian theology.



I've also been reading Steven Pinker's many ravings of late.  He comes up with some stuff, like that women are better at depth perception than men and we just have to accept that.  His whole tone is:  "Well you can see that this is ugly from certain points of view, but we just have to accept that!".  Then he gives what is in effect a guttural chortle.



It is good, in any case, to have an explanation as to why women would outclass men as fighter pilots and why male skydivers don't know when to flair and so keep slamming their parachutes into the ground.  Depth perception.  I know it's ugly, but you just have to accept that!



In general I think American culture has very much degenerated by taking these sorts of notions to heart.