Exposition-+Chong+We

1. “Women are from Venus and men are from Mars.” Are women and men truly from different planets?

I agree with the statement to a large extent. The statement is a metaphor, likening men and women to the classical Roman god Mars and goddess Venus, and asserts the notion that men and women are as different as beings from different planets. I agree that women and men are essentially different due to their distinct biological characteristics which in turn drive their much different behaviour in life.

Firstly, men and women generally approach problems differently. Men usually approach problems with a task-oriented perspective, aiming to solve the problems as efficiently as possible, while women typically solve problems more creatively and are more aware of feelings even when dealing with such problems. This is because men tend to process better in the left hemisphere of the brain while women tend to process equally well between the two hemispheres. As the left hemisphere tends to be analytic, problem solving, task oriented, detailed, and verbal this helps to explain male behaviour. A female brain can also process in this manner, but the non-dominant hemisphere that can process emotion, meaning without words, empathy, tone, and disposition is also engaged by the female. Thus, such a different approach to solving problems renders the career choice of each gender different. For example, task-oriented jobs such as engineering and computer sciences are usually male-dominated, while jobs that require more emotional details such as nursing and care giving are usually female-dominated. The different approaches to problem solving as a result of their brains processing different thus make men and women different.

Secondly, men and women react to stress differently. This is because in times of stress, the hormone oxytocin is released, which helps to relax humans. Oestrogen secreted by women tends to enhance the effects of oxytocin, resulting in calming and nurturing feelings whereas testosterone, which men produce in high levels during stress, reduces the effects of oxytocin greatly. Thus, men tend to have a "fight or flight" response to stress situations while women seem to approach these situations with a "tend and befriend" strategy. An example to depict this difference would be the aftermath of a heterosexual couple’s quarrel. The male tends to withdraw from communicating until they find a solution to the problem. Even if he does not intend to find a problem, the retreat is also necessary for the male to distance himself from the problem so that his brain can focus on something else, which helps the male to revisit the problem later with a new perspective. Women on the other hand, find the male’s retreat hard to understand, because when they are stressed their natural reaction is to talk about issues in order to find a solution. Therefore, due to each gender’s different hormonal secretions, men and women react to stress differently which make their behaviour in many situations different.

Lastly, men and women utilise and interpret language and information differently. This is because men tend to process language only in their dominant hemisphere, whereas women process language in both hemispheres, which results in the fact that two sections of the brain responsible for language are found to be larger in women than in men. In general, female brains tend to employ both sides of their brain to process information while male brains tend to rely primarily on their dominant or language side to process. The dominant hemisphere in men tends to be analytic, while the non-dominant hemisphere that can process emotions is also engaged by the female. This helps to explain why men and women struggle to communicate with each other. Men tend to be more isolative, less talkative, and focused on solution. Women tend to be more group-oriented, more talkative, and focused on the means and not necessarily the ends. Men may thus have difficulties reading between the lines, especially when women go round in circles. A good example to examine the different ways men and women interpret language would be to view a debate, as it is found out that men tend to focus on content while women focus on both content and style. Another example would be the fact that women prefer longer foreplay due to the emotions aroused that help them to enjoy sex more thoroughly, while men usually just want to get on with it. Thus, the different ways men and women process information make much of their behaviour different.

In conclusion, I agree with the statement as men and women have distinct biological characteristics which drive their much different behaviour in life. They approach problems different, react to stress differently, and also process language and information differently.