[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by tsa

There have been a few 'experiments' in bringing up babies of which the sex could not be determined easily like girls, who eventually turned out to be boys. Because of the fundamental difference between girls and boys, these people had a very hard life.

I looked at some of those articles about boys raised as girls, and it's not clear from them how much of that suffering was due to the gender switch and how much of it was due to how weirdly everyone was treating them throughout their lives. What I understood from reading the articles was that the adults around the kids all knew the kids were weird, and treated them accordingly, but that the kids weren't told why. That must be torturous for a kid. I can easily see that kind of low self-esteem turning into transsexualism, especially if the kid is physically fit enough to identify with boys. (These "girls" were obviously stronger than any of the other girls.) So I think it's jumping to conclusions to say that the study proves anything about genders. The behavior of the kids can be explained too easily as the effect of social and physical circumstances.

Originally Posted by geggis

If we're physically different then it's surely not unreasonable that our brains are formed differently even before society has had an effect on us or we are aware of our differences. I think it's a shame that society compounds any gender disparities but I think even in isolation there would be very different behaviour patterns.

It is true there are significant hormonal and physical differences between men and women, and it is also true that male and female brains are significantly different. This could mean that the physical differences are compounded by the mental differences, resulting in radically different behavior between men and women. Or it could mean that the differences in the brain are necessary to negate the effects of the physical/hormonal differences. (Which are there for reproductive reasons, I imagine.) It's not so clear-cut a question.

Originally Posted by tsa

1. Would you rather be a nurturing women than a dominant man?
2. What do you think are good characteristics of a boss/manager?
3. Do you see any differences in the way female bosses and politicians handle their work compared to men in the same position? If yes, what are those differences?

1. There's a time for being compassionate, and there's a time for being decisive. But if I absolutely had to fit myself into a narrow and uncomfortable stereotype, I think the "nurturing woman" sounds like a marginally better role to play.
2. A single-minded pursuit of what needs to be done, the willingness and eagerness to take criticism and throw out bad ideas, the empathy to understand each worker's strengths and weaknesses, and the strong desire to make every worker feel useful.
3. No.

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1. Do you know any women who are especially decisive or aggressive?
2. Do you know any men who are especially good with kids or empathetic?
3. What's your favorite platformer?