Between The Sexes A Great Divide Summary

Gender: We’re More Similar Than You May Think “That isn’t ladylike!” “Be a man about it!” Chances are you’ve probably heard these phrases at some point in your life whether they were directed at you or someone else. But what defines ladylike and “being a man”? Some may argue it’s inherent human nature and beyond our control. Paul Theroux and Anna Quendlin explore what they believe to be the differences between males and females in their essays “Being a Man” and “Between the Sexes a Great Divide” respectively. Gender differences are constructed by societal pressures. Society inflicts what it believes to be gender appropriate interests, activities, and behaviors upon its members making gender differences a result of a societal construct. Most
People are discouraged from participating in activities reserved for the other gender. If they do choose to stray from their approved recreation it is often at the expense of their femininity or masculinity. Theroux recalls his struggle with accepting his desire to become a writer “I found it impossible to admit to myself that I wanted to be a writer. It was my guilty secret, because being a writer was incompatible with being a man” (168). This demonstrates external expectations tampering with internal desires. Theroux did not want to be less of a man therefore he struggled to come to terms with his desire to write. Boys are encouraged from a young age to partake in sports. Girls are expected to have tea parties and play dress up. This continues into adulthood as well. For example, the United States Women’s soccer team made less than half of what the men’s team made despite winning the world cup. This is a punishment for straying from the norm of the gender. Instead of celebrating the women’s victories they were reminded that they were not the ones that should be dominating the sport. Men are the ones society has chosen to excel in athletics. When people do not participate in society’s approved activities they are faced with