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Selma,
You go
girl!
I'm
glad you said it before this 60 year old dude.
Bruce
Hi Harry,
I just find it very sad that you, and others like
you, cannot see women as adult persons just as capable of taking care of
themselves as are the males of the species. I could present you with all the
sociological arguments that show that the reason you take care of the woman
first has nothing at all to do with biology and everything to do with culture
and the socialization process but I doubt it would impress you.
However, it is attitudes like yours that make it
so very difficult for women to be treated equally in the professions that have
been unfairly dominated by men for centuries and that will continue to
be dominated as long as you persist in holding on to your antiquated
ideas which, however, serve the purpose of sustaining patriarchy, unless we
can somehow force you to forego a few more of your privieges.It is also very
sad to see what pride you take in the myth that you are stronger and superior
to the helpless females you have to protect.
It might be of interest to you to know that I am
an 'oldie'. I'll be 74 years old in a couple of months. I try not to let my
age get in the way of seeing as clearly as I can.
With best regards,
Selma
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 4:27
PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Women, men and
stress
Selma,
Thanks - very
interesting.
One of the arguments against women in combat is that the
men would needlessly place themselves in danger trying to protect the women.
Maybe that's changing somewhat with modern men, but it would be true with an
oldie like myself.
I recall being in a bombed building when I was 16
or 17. A man and a women were in bed mixed into the springs of their bed
(I'll leave that to imagination. Every male in the Rescue Squad immediately
went for the women to get her out first (you never know when the lot is
going to come down on you).
We got them both out - I hope to survive.
But, the woman came first without a thought. This might be called
instinctive, but I suspect that it's natural selection. The tribe that
didn't care about its women had less chance of surviving than the tribe that
cared for them.
I suspect that natural selection
is responsible for some, or all, the traits that Keith has
noted.
Harry
--------------------------------------------------------
Selma
wrote:
I thought this might be of some
interest in light of recent conversations
about biological differences
between women and men.
Selma
Sent: Monday, April 08,
2002 11:40 PM
Subject: Women, men and stress
> UCLA
Researchers Identify Key Biobebavioral Pattern Used By Women to
>
Manage Stress
>
> http://www.college.ucla.edu/stress.htm
>
Undated but from late 2001.
>
> Researchers at UCLA have
identified a broad biological and behavioral
> pattern that explains
a key method used by women to cope with stress - and
> at the same
time highlights one of the most basic differences between
> men's
and women's behavior.
>
> This pattern, referred to by UCLA
principal investigator Shelley E. Taylor
> as "tend and befriend,"
shows that females of many species, including
> humans, respond to
stressful conditions by protecting and nurturing their
> young (the
"tend" response), and by seeking social contact and support
> from
others - especially other females (the "befriend"
response).
>
> This "tend-and-befriend" pattern is a sharp
contrast to the
> "fight-or-flight" behavior that has long been
considered the principal
> method for coping with stress by both men
and women.
>
> "For decades, psychological research maintained
that both men and women
> rely on fight or flight to cope with
stress - meaning that when confronted
> by stress, individuals
either react with aggressive behavior, such as
> verbal conflict and
more drastic actions, or withdraw from the stressful
> situation,"
said Taylor.
>
> "We found that men often react to stress with
a fight-or-flight response,"
> Taylor said, "but women are more
likely to manage their stress with a
> tend-and-befriend response by
nurturing their children or seeking social
> contact, especially
with other women."
>
> The UCLA study, which will be published
in an upcoming issue of the
> Psychological Review of the American
Psychological Association, based its
> findings on analysis of
hundreds of biological and behavioral studies of
> response to
stress by thousands of humans and animal subjects.
>
> "The
tend-and-befriend method of coping with stress seems to be
>
characteristic of females in many species," Taylor said.
>
>
Just as the fight-or-flight response is based on biological changes
that
> occur in response to stress, the UCLA researchers propose
that the
> tend-and-befriend pattern may have a biological basis. In
particular, the
> research team points to the hormone oxytocin as
playing a large role in
> the tend-and-befriend response, in
conjunction with sex hormones and the
> body's natural opioid
system.
>
> "Oxytocin has been studied largely for its role in
childbirth, but it is
> also secreted in both men and women as a
response to stress," she said.
> "Animals and people with high
levels of oxytocin are calmer, more relaxed,
> more social and less
anxious. In several animal species, oxytocin leads to
> maternal
behavior and to affiliation.
>
> "Men secrete oxytocin too,
but the effects of oxytocin seem to be reduced
> by male hormones,
so oxytocin may have reduced effects on men's physiology
> and
behavior under stress. Oxytocin, along with other stress hormones,
may
> play a key factor in reducing females' response to
stress."
>
> The UCLA study also found that women are far more
likely than men to
> "befriend" in response to stress - seeking
social contact when they are
> feeling stressed, with befriending
methods ranging from talking on the
> phone with relatives or
friends, to such simple social contacts as asking
> for directions
when lost.
>
> "This difference in seeking social support
during stressful periods is the
> principal way men and women differ
in their response to stress, and one of
> the most basic differences
in men's and women's behavior," Taylor said.
>
> The different
ways that men and women respond to stress may also help
>
researchers understand why men are more vulnerable to the adverse
health
> effects of stress, according to Taylor.
>
>
"Men are more likely than women to respond to stressful experiences
by
> developing certain stress-related disorders, including
hypertension,
> aggressive behavior, or abuse of alcohol or hard
drugs," Taylor said.
> "Because the tend-and-befriend regulatory
system may, in some ways,
> protect women against stress, this
biobehavioral pattern may provide
> insights into why women live an
average of seven and a half years longer
> than
men."
>
> "The tend-and-befriend pattern exhibited by women
probably evolved through
> natural selection," Taylor said.
"Thousands of generations ago, fleeing or
> fighting in stressful
situations was not a good option for a female who
> was pregnant or
taking care of offspring, and women who developed and
> maintained
social alliances were better able to care for multiple
> offspring
in stressful times.
>
> The "tending" pattern is especially
apparent in research conducted by UCLA
> psychologist Rena Repetti,
who, in one of the studies analyzed in Taylor's
> research, examined
the differences between fathers' and mothers' behaviors
> with their
children after a stressful workday.
>
> "When the typical
father in the study came home after a stressful day at
> work, he
responded to stress by wanting to be left alone, enjoying peace
>
and quiet away from the stress of the office; when office-related
stress
> was particularly acute, a typical response would be to
react harshly or
> create conflict with his wife or children,"
Taylor said. "When the typical
> mother in the study came home from
work bearing stress, she was more
> likely to cope with her bad day
by focusing her attention on nurturing her
>
children.
>
> How did biobehavioral differences in how men and
women cope with stress
> elude researchers until
now?
>
> "Until five years ago, many research studies on
stress focused on males -
> either male rodents or human male
participants in the laboratory," Taylor
> said. "Women were largely
excluded in stress research because many
> researchers believed that
monthly fluctuations in hormones created stress
> responses that
varied too widely to be considered statistically valid.
>
>
"But since 1995, when the federal government mandated broad
representation
> of both men and women in agency-funded
medically-relevant research grants,
> the number of women
represented in stress studies has increased
> substantially.
Researchers are now beginning to realize that men and women
> use
different coping mechanisms when dealing with stress."
>
>
"This is the first effort to identify a new stress regulatory system
since
> the 1950s, and we are very excited about its ability to
explain
> stress-related behavior that has not fit in traditional
approaches to
> studying stress," Taylor said. "For example, people
under stress,
> especially women, often seek social support from
others, but until now, we
> haven't understood why or what the
biological effects of support are. We
> are much closer
now."
>
> In addition to Taylor, the research team includes
former UCLA
> post-doctoral scholars Laura Cousino Klein (now an
assistant professor of
> biobehavioral health at Penn State
University), Brian P. Lewis (now an
> assistant professor at
Syracuse), and Regan A.R. Gurung, (now an assistant
> professor at
the University of Wisconsin/Green Bay); and UCLA graduate
> students
Tara L. Gruenewald and John A.
Updegraff.
>
>
>
******************************
Harry Pollard
Henry George School of LA
Box 655
Tujunga CA 91042
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tel: (818) 352-4141
Fax: (818) 353-2242
*******************************
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