My Breasts are Bigger Than His

I will probably alienate some of my readers with this post. All I can ask is for you to give it some thought.

By now we all know the comments that put Harvard president Larry Summers in the hotseat, burned to the point that he felt compelled to apologise.

As a woman, I'm am angry at the outrage of other women over this. I have no doubt in my mind that women and men are innately different, in fact I often celebrate the differences. I'm certainly not offended when someone recognises that his own daughter is struggling with a certain concept and voices his concern. I am terribly offended when I see a chance to perhaps look at a problem and try to find a solution and it's once again brushed under the rug with loud voices of disgust. Just what was so threatening about his remarks that sparked the amplified outrage? I just don't get it. In fact, I just don't get it the same way I just didn't get math and still don't.

My father was a mathematician. Even he couldn't get through to me. Just as there are different ways to learn to read there are different ways to manipulate numbers. Yes, for me I think it was a difference in gender. I simply think differently than men. I know that. Perhaps I was also slighted a bit as a girl because it is fairly common for teachers to teach math and science to boys because they would have to teach differently to girls. Why then can't we recognise the differences and learn different ways of teaching the same concept? We can't rectify it if anytime the subject is brought up it is shouted down.

Give us all a chance, that's all I'm asking. My daughter could have used a chance too but didn't get it. Celebrate the things you do better than men, but find a way to help other women expand where they are weak instead of acting like it isn't a problem.
(I'll save the nature vs nurture debate for another time)
UPDATE: Intelligence in men and women is a gray and white matter
"While there are essentially no disparities in general intelligence between the sexes, a UC Irvine study has found significant differences in brain areas where males and females manifest their intelligence." posted by Cyndy | link | | |
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