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Thanks, Bruce,
I appreciate your support. It is a sad thing to see
the writing of men who otherwise seem to be intelligent but, for whatever
reasons, simply must find ways to maintain the myths of male superiority. It is
interesting, too, to see the way their arguments are clothed in all those
specious assertions of men and women being 'just different', and then on and on
about how women are really superior as long as they remain the power
'behind' the throne.
It brings to mind an experience I had as a young
woman. My husband and I were members of a conservative Jewish Temple mainly
because our five children seemed to want some kind of religious identity and we
figured ours was no worse than any of the others. So I became acquainted with
the current Rabbi who was somewhat enlightened in some matters of the world and
was fun to talk to about a lot of things. I asked him, at one point, how he
could justify the prayer that Jewish men were enjoined to say every day thanking
god for not making them a woman. He explained, in the same way I hear these
explanations on this list, that women and men were 'just different' and that the
work women did, i.e., staying at home with the kids, was very important but did
not allow for the interruptions that would necessitate praying twice a day at
specified times, etc. But, of course, this didn't mean that women weren't equal
to men.
Try pointing out to someone with that kind of
reasoning that I would like my daughters to be able to think about having the
same opportunities to develop their potentialities as person as my sone would
have. 'Just different'; just different enough to justify the continuation of
male privilege as long as possible.
Selma
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 4:27
PM
Subject: RE: Fw: Women, men and
stress
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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