At the start, females are the stronger sex
By Judith Kleinfeld, March 2010
When we see a tall, muscular guy, able to lift and carry heavy weights, or run fast up the
stairs, we think of men as the stronger sex. We confuse stronger muscles with general
physical healthiness. But the research is showing that in many ways men are actually more
fragile than women.
The weakness of males is obvious even before birth. If a woman has a miscarriage the fetus is
more likely to be male, reports Ruth Nass in "Sex Differences in Learning Abilities and
Disabilities." Boys are also born with more physical difficulties than girls. They are more apt
to suffer virtually every neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorder of childhood.
In an interview about her book "The Sexual Paradox," Susan Pinker puts it this way: "Males
are more vulnerable to maternal stresses – female premature babies are almost twice as likely
to survive as male premature babies. "Boys are twice as likely to have attention problems,
four times as likely to have language or reading disabilities, and 10 times more likely to have
Asperger syndrome. "Males are more susceptible to almost all chronic diseases, including
heart disease, cancer, liver disease and AIDS. They have much shorter life spans. "They are
more aggressive and take more risks, which is one reason why there are more male prisoners
(the ratio of male to female prisoners is 10 to 1) and male suicide. "Victims of work and
school violence are 93 percent male.
Males catch postsurgical infections more than women do, and more die from these
infections." While the gender gap is declining, women still live longer than men, on average
about five years. But what is the reason? In his new book "Male, Female, The Evolution of
Human Sex Differences," David Geary suggests an interesting explanation for some of these
differences. Due to male competition and fighting with other males for females in traditional
societies, males needed to grow large and muscular.
Males may also have needed to grow large and muscular because they specialized in activities
that require substantial strength, like hunting and warfare. Such greater growth requires a
longer time of maturation. Males grow more slowly than girls but continue to grow for a
longer time. Males reach puberty later, for example, and males reach their adult heights at a
later age. "Boys are born 'premature' relative to girls," according to Geary. "They have higher
activity levels and higher basic metabolic rates than girls, resulting in higher caloric
requirements for normal development."
Boys are more vulnerable while they are maturing. In well-nourished populations of boys with
caring parents attentive to their health and mindful of the risks if their boys take dangerous
chances, the greater vulnerability of males is not obvious, Geary argues. But put both boys
and girls in poor conditions and the greater vulnerability of males will surface. One study
examined the health of 22,873 infants to 6-year-olds in New York City, children who came
from families that were not well off. Thorough physical examinations showed that 64 percent
of the girls were in good health compared to 58 percent of the boys. Furthermore, eight times
as many of the boys had multiple disorders.
Another study followed very-low-birth-weight boys and girls for two years. During the first
year, 41 percent of the boys died but just 19 percent of the girls. And twice as many of the
surviving boys were likely to have medical and developmental problems. This is not to say
that girls don't have higher rates of other problems, like anxiety, depression, suicide attempts
and eating disorders. But the next time you see a tough and muscular guy, keep in mind that,
yes, they may be tough and muscular, but you can also look at males as the more fragile sex,
especially vulnerable to all kinds of developmental disorders and earlier death.
Men: The Stronger Sex?
By Rich Maloof, 2008
When it comes to good health, women generally do better than men. They smoke fewer cigarettes,
drink less beer, visit the doctor more often, and maintain better diets. Statistics may prove that women
live longer, but occasionally nature gives men a few advantages. Sometimes men really do have better
health than women..
Migraine Headaches
Women experience migraine headaches far more frequently than we men do, and not just because they
have to deal with men and their problems. The American Headache Society acknowledges that sexual
hormones may play a role. Research shows that before puberty, the prevalence of migraines is nearly
matched between girls and boys; but once puberty arrives, migraines afflict girls at three times the rate
of boys. Sharp drops in estrogen levels at the beginning of a woman’s menstrual cycle are believed to
be to blame. The reluctance among men to miss a meal may further explain why just 6 percent of
males, compared to 18 percent of females, are prone to these serious headaches. “The migraine brain
is sensitive to any type of disruption in the normal day, and it likes to have consistency,” says Dr.
David Biondi, a specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “One of the more important factors for
people with migraines is not to miss a meal. When a meal is missed, a person can become low in
blood sugar. That’s what starts a migraine for a lot of people.”
Arthritis
The number of people with arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the U.S., has been steadily
increasing as the population gets older. A national health survey completed in 2005 found that a
surprising 25.4 percent of adult women had been diagnosed with the condition. Arthritis affected 17.6
percent of men in the same age group. Why arthritis and its related conditions are tougher on women
than men is unclear. David M. Parrack, a spokesman for Men’s Health Network and Chief of Surgery
at Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, says researchers are considering
the roles of genetics, testosterone, and exercise to explain the gender gap. Parrack also notes, “Women
tend to seek help to learn more about their arthritis. Men tend to seek help to relieve their symptoms.”
Asthma
From birth to teenage years, and again in late adulthood, males with asthma outnumber females. But in
midlife, asthma is more severe and more common among women. No one is quite sure why, but since
2004 experts have considered the impact of estrogen on the respiratory system. A study presented that
year to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology emphasized the interaction of
sex and age, and said that "breathing problems may be influenced by sex hormones.” The theory
holds, for the time being, while researchers try to understand how gender influences chronic asthma.
Meanwhile, middle-aged men can breathe a bit more easily.
Eating Disorders
Watch two minutes of a reality show or any commercial for “body spray” and it’s clear that young
men today are bombarded with messages about body image, much like their female counterparts.
There has long existed significant social pressure—evolutionary pressure, even—for men to be strong
and fit. Yet, for every 10 females with an eating disorder, there’s just one male coping with a
condition like anorexia or bulimia. Men “tend not to want to lose weight but gain muscle to improve
their physique,” says Susan Kayne of the National Eating Disorders Association. Not only are men apt
to deny and conceal a condition perceived to be reserved for females, but “since eating disorders are
typically seen as women’s illnesses, they are often not even considered by doctors when examining a
male patient,” she says. Studies suggest the risks of eating disorders—including death—are the same
for males and females alike. As the pressures mount on teenaged boys, we hope more of the 1 million
men out there with an eating disorder will seek help.
Depression
Depression is so complex a disorder, and often so mixed up with other mental and physical conditions,
that generalizations about gender can be misleading. For example, bipolar disorder affects men and
women in equal numbers; women are more likely to have anxiety disorders; and men are far more
likely to die by suicide, though women attempt it three times more often. However, depression appears
to be about twice as common among women as among men, according to the National Institute of
Mental Health. Genetics, biology, and social factors may all contribute to the differences, and several
theories revolve around the emotions brought on by changes in sexual hormones, to which men are far
less susceptible. “It’s important not to stereotype a disease like depression” as a female condition,
emphasizes Dr. Michelle Riba, professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Riba, a past
president of the American Psychiatric Association, notes that men generally do not seek professional
help even when the symptoms of depression emerge. It’s interesting to note, as Anne Case and
Christina Paxson of Princeton University did in a 2004 paper, that women may be more susceptible to
conditions that contribute greatly to suffering—arthritis, headaches, vision problems—but relatively
little to mortality. Men, however, are significantly more likely to have deadly illnesses such as heart
disease.
.
One thing is clear, as science gains a deeper understanding of how gender affects the start of disease,
men and women alike will live longer, healthier lives.
Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust
By Tamar Lewin - July 9, 2006
Nearing graduation, Rick Kohn is not putting much energy into his final courses. "I take the path of least
resistance," said Mr. Kohn, who works 25 hours a week to put himself through the University of North
Carolina, Greensboro. "This summer, I looked for the four easiest courses I could take that would let me
graduate in August." It is not that Mr. Kohn, 24, is indifferent to education. He is excited about economics
and hopes to get his master's in the field. But the other classes, he said, just do not seem worth the effort.
"What's the difference between an A and a B?" he asks. "Either way, you go on to the next class." He does
not see his female classmates sharing that attitude. Women work harder in school, Mr. Kohn believes. "The
girls care more about their G.P.A. and the way they look on paper," he said.
A quarter-century after women became the majority on college campuses, men are trailing them in more
than just enrollment. American Department of Education statistics show that men, whatever their race or
socioeconomic group, are less likely than women to get bachelor's degrees — and among those who do,
fewer complete their degrees in four or five years. Men also get worse grades than women. And in two
national studies, college men reported that they studied less and socialized more than their female
classmates.
It is not surprising, then, that at elite institutions like Harvard, small liberal arts colleges like Dickinson,
huge public universities like the University of Wisconsin and U.C.L.A. and smaller ones like Florida
Atlantic University, women are walking off with a disproportionate share of the honors degrees. It is not that
men are in a downward spiral: they are going to college in greater numbers and are more likely to graduate
than two decades ago. Still, men now make up only 42 percent of the nation's college students. And with sex
discrimination fading and their job opportunities widening, women are coming on much stronger, often
leapfrogging the men to the academic finish.
The gender differences are not uniform. In the highest-income families, men 24 and under attend college as
much as, or slightly more than, their sisters, according to the American Council on Education, whose report
on these issues is scheduled for release this week. All of this has helped set off intense debate over whether
these trends show a worrisome achievement gap between men and women.
On each campus, the young women interviewed talked mostly about their drive to do well. "Most college
women want a high-powered career that they are passionate about," Ms. Smyers said. "But they also want a
family, and that probably means taking time off, and making dinner. I'm rushing through here, taking the
most credits you can take without paying extra, because I want to do some amazing things, and establish
myself as a career woman, before I settle down." Her male classmates, she said, feel less pressure. "The men
don't seem to hustle as much," Ms. Smyers said. "I think it's a male entitlement thing. They think they can sit
back and relax and when they graduate, they'll still get a good job. They seem to think that if they have a
firm handshake and speak properly, they'll be fine."
Such differences were apparent in the 2005 National Survey of Student Engagement. While the survey of
90,000 students at 530 institutions relies on self-reporting, it is used by many colleges to measure
themselves against other institutions. Men were significantly more likely than women to say they spent at
least 11 hours a week relaxing or socializing, while women were more likely to say they spent at least that
much time preparing for class. More men also said they frequently came to class unprepared.
Linda Sax, an associate professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, has found
similar gender differences in her study of 17,000 men and women at 204 co-ed colleges and universities.
Using data from U.C.L.A.'s Higher Education Research Institute annual studies, she found that men were
more likely than women to skip classes, not complete their homework and not turn it in on time. "Women do
spend more time studying and their grades are better," Professor Sax said, "but their grades are better even
more than the extra studying time would account for."
Researchers say such differences make sense, given boys' experience in their earlier school years. And some
experts argue that what is being seen as a boy problem is actually maleness itself, with the noisy, energetic
and foolishness of young boys are now redefined as a behavior problem by teachers who do not know how
to handle them.
There is also an economic rationale for men to take education less seriously. In the early years of a career,
Laura Perna of the University of Pennsylvania has found, college increases women's earnings far more than
men's. "That's the trap," Dr. Kleinfeld said. "In the early years, young men don't see the wage benefit. They
can sell their strength and make money." Men in the work force have always done better in pay and
promotions, in part because they tend to work longer hours, and have fewer career interruptions than
women, who bear the children and most of the responsibility for raising them. Whether the male working
advantage will persist even as women's academic achievement soars is an open question. But many young
men believe that, once in the work world, they will prevail.
GUIDELINES FOR THE WRITING PROJECT
1. The Writing Project essay writing will be on Thursday, May 21 at 18:00.
2. You can get your three texts one week in advance from the Photocopy Centre
(14.05.2015) or you can print from the electronic version on the university main
webpage. The texts will be about a topic related to your faculty. You can also do
further research about the topic yourself.
3. When coming to the exam, you need to bring the assigned texts with you to use as
sources for your citations. You are allowed to take short notes on these texts.
However, you cannot have big sections of sentences or paragraphs. You cannot have
sentences from other sources and cannot have prepared paraphrases of the text.
4. You are required to write a full essay answering one of the questions making sure that
you include at least:

two paraphrases (or one paraphrase and one summary)

one quote
in the correct format.
5. You can only use your paper dictionaries while writing your essays. You cannot use
electronic dictionaries, cell phones or computers.
6. The exam duration is 110 minutes.
7. You are expected to write a minimum of 350 words. If you write less than the
minimum, you will lose marks.
8. You cannot ask any questions once the exam has started.
9. Your essay will be graded on the following bases:
Language Use
10 pts
Lexical resources
16 pts
Coherence
10 pts
Task Achievement
52 pts
Quote/Paraphrase/Summarising
12 pts