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Anscombe
talk covers
gender
differences
Boris Spiwak
Princetonian
Staff Writer
The
Anscombe
Society
sponsored
its first
event
Wednesday
night, a
talk
titled
"Androgynous
Feminism's
War Against
Women" led
by Dr.
Steven
Rhoads
'61.
Rhoads,
a professor
of politics
at the
University
of Virginia,
focused
on medical
and
psychological
data that
points to
biological
differences
between the
sexes. He
criticized
what he
termed
"androgynous
feminists"
for
largely
ignoring
these
differences.
Rhoads kept
the talk
largely
nonpartisan,
disagreeing
with views
traditionally
taken by
both liberal
and
conservative
politicians.
Claiming
that gender
roles have a
place in
modern
society,
Rhoads
argued that
women are
more
"relationship-oriented"
than men and
are
inherently
happier when
married with
children,
while men
are more
aggressive
and tend to
be
independent,
preferring
to work
outside the
home.
Rhoads
argued
against the
popular
feminist
claim that
"gender is
socially
constructed,"
saying he
tries to
"break
through an
androgynous
understanding
of
sexuality."
The talk
included
data from
his latest
book,
"Taking Sex
Differences
Seriously,"
to buttress
his claims.
He also
emphasized
that women
are
naturally
"better with
children"
than
men.
"Stereotypically
feminine,
median women
are
fulfilled
when married
with
children,
especially
when they
spend
adequate
amounts of
time with
[the
children],"
Rhoads said.
"Although
some women
have more
testosterone
and hence
will enjoy
some of the
activities
more
typically
enjoyed by
men,
women are
statistically
happier as
mothers with
part-time
jobs. Many
feminists
claim that
this is due
to society,
but
scientific
evidence
shows
that biology
is a big
factor."
He
concluded
with the
remark that
understanding
"sex
differences
can
help women."
In an
increasingly
liberal
culture, he
said, women
may feel
pressure to
engage in
sexual acts
with
multiple
partners at
a young age.
This sexual
experimentation,
which may
lead to
depression
for teenage
girls, could
be avoided
if more
women
understood
their
natural
gender
differences,
Rhoads said.
Rhoads'
views
elicited
strong
responses
from the
audience;
the
40-minute
talk was
followed by
a
question-and-answer
session that
ran as
long as the
talk itself.
The audience
was evenly
divided
between
students
in support
and in
opposition
to Rhoads.
"I came to
the talk out
of
curiosity
because I am
very
interested
in gender
issues,"
Trish Morlan
'05
said. "I
think many
of the
things he
said are
fascinating,
but I
disagree
with the way
he dismissed
social
construction
in gender
roles. It
seems
anti-intellectual."
Vince
West GS,
however,
agreed with
Rhoads.
"It was
an excellent
talk," he
said. "He
achieved a
middle
ground that
is hard to
achieve . .
. We should
not deny
basic facts
about human
biology." |
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