The differences between the men and women’s behaviors are innate As time goes by, the toys have changed a lot. Today, toys are not only children’s playthings but the epitome of today’s society in that different people choose different toys for many purposes. Just as Barthes says in “ Toys”, “ All the toys one commonly sees are essentially a microcosm of the adult world”(53). In other words, toys are reduced objects of us. Different children may like different toys. For example, boys like superheroes, cars, transformers or other toys which stand for power, speed or skill.
But girls like toys such as dolls, Barbie for example, nursing tools or kitchen utensils which stand for loving-kindness and other feminine traits of a good mother. Seeing children play with toys, we can see that toys help children learn behaviors they might have in their future lives. Children choose different toys due to their different innate needs. By comparing the differences between Barbie dolls and Batman toys, we find that biology does play a role in gender identity which means socialization has nothing to do with the gender – specific behavior.
Barbie dolls show the traditional gender roles in the traditional gender myth that a woman should be a good mother who should have traits like femininity, mother love, patience and honesty. The Barbie pool’s package is full of pink, which reflects that girls should be full of love. She is wearing a swimsuit and holding a water polo with her hands. That is lovely. The swimsuit fully displays her good figure which shapes a good mother image. The water polo stands for her love of pets.
The towel she’s holding gives people a message that she’s going to bathe her puppies and she’s going to use the towel to dry her little puppies. Her actions show that she is a caring woman. Her sweet smile shows that she is very patient and lovely. The Barbie doll gives a lovely impression to everyone, and sets a perfect example of an excellent female for the girls. Conversely, batman toys show the traditional gender roles that a man should have in the gender myth of the powerful, technical and calm male.
The package is black which gives us a suspenseful feeling and shows that batman is a cool guy and he has a sharp mind. All of his clothes are black which helps to keep his actions in the deep hidden. His mask wrapped around half of his face only shows his eyes and face. White light has always been sent out from his eyes, which shows his calm and justice. That light makes every criminal afraid of him. His chiseled jaw reflects the male’s masculinity. The downward tilt around his lips shows a character that abhors evil as a deadly foe.
His symbol – a big flying bat on the front of his chest shows his action is secret and undisturbed. The golden waist belt is loaded with many different kinds of weapons, such as darts, or antitank grenades which reflect that he is a man with the latest technology. His muscles are very strong, which can give women a feeling of safety. His big black cloak plays a key role when he saves the victims, every time when he saves the weak; he always covers his victims with the cloak. The cloak seems to be a shelter to give citizens safety.
Besides his appearance, his transportation also plays a big role in every battle. For example his vehicle, the bats car, has always been the batman’s right hand to help him fulfill a task. His car is bullet proof and has a lot of technical instruments which help him to track down criminals. He also has a motorcycle in his car. Half of his car’s body is made up of the motor cycle, so when he needs to do some secret task and his big technological car is not convenient to use, his motorcycle would of a great use.
All of these are telling people that a real mature man should be powerful and can protect others who need his help. But why do males and females show different behaviors or gender roles in the society? The answer could be biology. Because of the differences in the different genders’ brain constructions, the two genders will show different behaviors. Brizendine, a famous neuropsychiatrist in California, believes that brain chemistry and genetic wiring can determine sex – specific behavior.
Just as Peg Tyre and Julie Scelfo reported in “ why girls will be girls”, “ Brizendine’s ideas are certain to spark controversy from some doctors and social scientists who think books like this undercut woman and reinforce old gender stereotypes” (46-47). She believes that the different behaviors that the different genders have are formed by the brains’ structure. For example, as mentioned in the passage, Prefrontal Cortex, Insular and Anterior Cingulate Cortex have played important roles in effecting the behavior of women. As reported, “ Prefrontal Cortex restrains the amygdala’s aggressive impulses.
Because it is larger and matures earlier in women, women tend to be more patient and pacific than men. ” Because women’s Insulars are larger and more active, so they are better at reading nonverbal cues like facial expressions. In addition the Anterior Cingulate Cortex is in charge of the human’s mood and stress, and is usually bigger in women, so women are more prone to worrying. Besides that, there are also many organs, such as the Hippocampus, Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland and Amygdala that make the differences between women and men more and more obvious.
It is said that the Hippocampus is in charge of storing and accessing memories, and because the Hippocampus in women is bigger in men, women can remember emotional events in greater detail. Hormone is an important element in affecting people’s behaviors. As Salena Baca, an editor of Yahoo Contributor Network, says that “ Gender roles have been influenced by hormones. ” It is reported that the hypothalamus is the commander of hormones, because hypothalamus directs the hormones. It becomes active earlier in women, so women enter puberty earlier than men do and are more sensitive to hormone fluctuations than men.
The Pituitary is reputedly the organ that causes the maternal instinct. It works together with the hypothalamus to control the hormone gland, it can trigger milk production and aids nurturing behavior during pregnancy. The last important organ is the Amygdala. It directs aggressive action. The strong emotions such as anger and fear are produced here. It is bigger in men than women, so it makes women less likely to take physical risks and get into trouble. The differences between Barbie and batman reflect that different genders have different ideas when they are young even if they do not perceive.
As Deborah Blum says in “ The Gender Blur”, “ Do the ways that we amplify physical and behavioral differences in childhood shape who we become as adults? Absolutely” (577). Young girls and boys will show the gender roles they might have in future secretly when they are young. Starting in kindergarten class, boys talk about wars, unknown ghosts or devils, the magic of science fiction, police forensic cases and punishing evildoers, while girls always complain to a teacher or other children and are imaging themselves as the beautiful princess in the fairy tales.
Girls are always being pleased or sad for specific things. Boys love sports competitions while girls love to dance and perform. Differences exists biologically and this also explains the reason why men and women have different gender roles in the traditional gender myth that men are more rational and powerful but women are more perceptual and feminine. So people should guide children’s growth in assuming the right gender roles in the society and remember that it is also a key that American society should pay attention to.
