COLUMN: Just a Rib

From Shawn Klein's "Cunning Linguistics," Fall '94 So now it is time to address their particular position in our thankfully diversified society. The Feminist -- where did she come from? In the history of our species ours has always been a male dominated world. The issue is not whether this is a good or bad thing but that this fact is only correct. It is the men who have led humanity's social systems from bands of nomads on to our present staggering nation states. Men have made the majority of contribution in the sciences, art, and literature. To be far from comprehensive, history has been man's. And while I certainly haven't been alive through all of it to verify this myself, those in control write history as they deem fit and given that, men definitely have been in control. Women in our society need their own special "Women's Studies" just to read about themselves (I highly recommend HIST 035). Even Star Trek, that ultimate bastion of liberalism, just a few years ago referred to "...where no man has gone before." Hell, God is generally considered to be a man (and he made woman from just one man's rib. Not the brains or the heart. Just a rib. Adam didn't even need it.). The fact is that males have always had dominance (if we cannot agree on that, then write your angry letters now and read no further). The question becomes, why? The reasons for this become more and more clear as the time frame considered grows to the hundreds of thousands of years of our intelligent evolution -- it's in our very genes. Previous to any technology, a woman's most important job was child bearing and rearing. Barefoot and pregnant, if you will. Only she could carry a gestating baby within her womb. Only she could give birth. Only she could nurse the precious young. Evolution had given females by far the most consequential of all tasks. But with the role of child support came a degree of immobility. Females could hardly leave the children behind and go out for the hunt. As a result, females needed to be provided for. They needed food and shelter. Who would get this for them? The men. In a world where both sexes had smaller brains, brute strength ruled the day. Intelligence had its up-and-coming evolutionary significance, but if someone outsmarted you, well, why not just club him on the head? Men, who had been designed for strength and speed, were able to fight the good fight and hunt with better success. Might made right and men assumed the roles of leadership and protection (okay, it's way more complicated than that but this is an itty bitty column space). Male societal leadership has easily translated to modern eras. But times are different now. As technology exploded and laws came to rule the lands, physical strength was eliminated as a requisite to control. If one were to kill someone, one would get substantially penalized. If one went to hit another with a club, a gun could be dissuading. Personal strength in the forms of intelligence, drive, and charisma were now crucial. Fortunately, men have been equipped with these things as well. That's why they still control much of the world. But women have those qualities too. And they seek to apply them. Ours is a society where women may very well lead just as effectively as men. Now, a woman can choose to forgo family altogether and enter the job market. Or she can attempt both (but the jury's still out on how well the family does without her there). Women are capable and often willing to take charge, but men just aren't all that ready to give up their positions of power. Not that it's all as conscious as that. Men are not making a coordinated effort as a sex to prevent a gradual shift in traditional forms of power from the male to the female. It's just kind of worked out that way. Men know that to be a "man" they should be the breadwinners of the household (Translation: Men shouldn't work under women, among other things) and be a paternal, coddling force to the women in their life. Men protect the women they love and fight for them when they must (Translation: No women in the military). The point is that women who want control over themselves or others and who want governing responsibility and economic means, now are well-suited in our new technological culture. But power transfers, even somewhat subtle ones (though this one gets less and less so) are rarely smooth. Men will have a hard time giving up their position (if they do so at all). This is where Feminism (all you grrrls) comes in. In essence, the biological evolution which has supplied our "old-fashioned" gender roles has come into conflict with a relatively new cultural evolution which seeks an equitable distribution of power. Feminists seek what they perceive as a piece of their pie. They'll fight their fight. And joke as I might, there can be nothing wrong with that. But the common genetics in us all make theirs an uphill battle. Anyway, if it's all the same to you, I think advancement in the workplace should be based solely on the ability to reason abstractly in spatial dimensions. : ) Shawn Klein is a senior Biological Basis of Behavior major from Livingston, New Jersey. Cunning Linguistics appears alternate Fridays.