Reflection: The Gender Blur by Deborah Blum

I reference this entry to a article by Deborah Blum titled "The Gender Blur".

http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/course/blur.htm

On surface reading, the author of the passage, Deborah Blum, might be writing on the different factors contributing to gender differences. However, I believe that the true intention of the passage is to evoke the possibilities of having gender equality existing in the society in her readers.

In the passage, it was brought up by Marc Breedlove, a behavioral endocrinologist at the University of California at Berkeley, that there exist a lot of opportunities to influence gender difference in the society and everyone is born with certain predispositions but ultimately it is the societal impacts that result in these predispositions either being amplified or nullified. Although, this boils down to the aged old debate on nature versus nurture, but personally I would very much agree with Breedlove’s observations. Yes, undoubtedly our genetic structure and other biological aspects does exercise their effects and influences on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing but we cannot simply just disregard the fact that events going on in our surroundings also does help in the molding of a person’s character and general wellbeing.

For example, in my line of work with children and youths, I have witness for myself how it is possible to condition a child with certain predisposition for fear of water or heights from such fears by providing them an opportunity in a controlled and safe environment to build up their confidence against such fears. Isn’t this nurture taking effect? Isn’t this alter to a person’s mental aspect which was previously biologically set leaning toward a lack of self confidence, to achieving confidence via an occurrence in the society?

However, the reverse can also take place as readily. A young child with no prior phobia for water was asked to capsize his boat during his capsize drill practice in one of my classes, ended up developing a slight fear for submerging underwater due to a failure in trying to exit the capsized boat under water. Hence, we can easily see how simple it is for a traumatic experience derived from the activities we partake in the society can lead to a major change in our physical and mental aspects.

Another interesting and intriguing question that was brought up by Blum is about the possibility of a switch of roles in the gender brought about by effects of hormonal levels in an individual’s body. It is a known fact that many females that take part actively in male dominated sports and games does end up developing male-like attributes such as muscular growth, deepened voice. This development in male-like attributes can be credited to the heighten production of testosterone in the females. However, the 20^th century coined term, the sensitive new aged guys, clearly also shows the swaying away from the traditional concepts of how the outlook and actions of a male should be. This group of males, like suggested by the passage might be the resultant of a new generation of youths brought up in a less traditional family or an overly protected family. In both cases, one involves allowing the child to explore his sexuality by self exploration and does not clamp down on the child as how it would have been in a traditional family, when he is taking part in what was previously deemed as “girly” activities such as playing with kitchen toy set.

In the other case, the overly protected parents prevent the child from exploring himself but would dictate what activities he takes part in. Most of the time, such parents would stop the child from their boyish inquisitive nature or disallow him to play a particular sports due to fear that their child would get injured. But face it! Getting injured and bleeding is part and parcel of every boy’s growth to become a man! Although it would be a sweeping statement but perhaps such liberty and prevention might have resulted in the child’s lowered production of testosterone causing them to develop in an androgynous nature swaying to their feminine side.

“It is only through exploring and understanding what makes us different that we can begin to understand what binds us together.” As cliché this might sound, its truth cannot be denied as well. By studying the gender issue the society is facing as a whole and profiling them according, we are able to better understand the mechanics that works behind its biological and social controlling factors, and just maybe one day we can achieve that idealistic gender equality.