Essays

By Payman Karimi (MA Student).        Compare and Contrast Essay: A Persuasive View ________________________________________

Men and Women are not Equal.



'Man is defined as a human being and woman as a female—whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the male' (Simone de Beauvoir: 1908 - 1986). Certainly, all men will agree with the quotation, assuming men's superiority over women. The issue is more welcomed when 'women need men more than men need women.' Yet, there are people who tend to hold the opposite view, with the focus centred on female's superiority. In my humble opinion, it is essential we should contemplate the idea that the goal of equality between men and women now grows closer. When I say equal, I mean that men and women have a right to equal opportunity and protection under the law.



It is agreed that men have greater upper body strength, build muscle easily, have thicker skin, bruise less easily and have a lower threshold of awareness of injuries to their extremities. Men are essentially built for physical confrontation and the use of force. Their joints are well suited for throwing objects. A man’s skull is almost always thicker and stronger than that of a woman. From another angle, according to supporters of this ideology, the reasons why men are superior to women in the world would be : Adam was created first, then Eve. Adam, not Eve, had a special role in representing the human race. Adam named Eve and God named the human race 'Man'.



On the other hand, there is an opposing view that women have four times as many brain cells (neurons) connecting the right and left side of their brain. This latter finding provides physical evidence that supports the observation that men rely easily and more heavily on their left brain to solve one problem one step at a time. Women have more efficient access to both sides of their brain and therefore greater use of their right brain. Women can focus on more than one problem at one time and frequently prefer to solve problems through multiple activities at a time. Nearly every parent has observed how young girls find the conversations of young boys "boring". Young boys express confusion and would rather play sports than participate actively in a conversation between 5 girls who are discussing as many as three subjects at once!

Women have an enhanced ability to recall memories that have strong emotional components. They can also recall events or experiences that have similar emotions in common. Women are very adept at recalling information, events or experiences in which there is a common emotional theme. Men tend to recall events using strategies that rely on reconstructing the experience in terms of elements, tasks or activities that took place. It’s not that men and women live in completely different realities. Rather, our lack of knowledge and mutual experience gives rise to our difficulties.



The challenge facing men and women is to become aware of their identities, to accept their differences, and to live their lives fully and as skillfully as possible. To do this we must first understand in what ways we are different. We must avoid trying to change others to suit our needs.