Women are better than men

Great Debates
1

I’m sure some of you are surprised to see this coming from the Gay Guy, but I’ve always believed it to be true. Not to generalize too much, but women on the whole mature faster, are more in touch with their emotions and themselves, are more sensitive, and have better fashion sense :wink: than men, plus they bear children (and for millenia have raised them by themselves). The only advantage I can see that men have is natural physical strength; other than that, they’re uncouth swine in comparison.

Maybe it’s my upbringing, but I’ve often said that the secret to my parents’ 42 years of happy marriage is that my father puts my mother up on a pedstal, and my mother is pleased to be there. (Even Dad always says, “We have an equal relationship - what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is hers,” and said without a trace of bitterness.) I was brought up to be a gentleman - I open doors for women, I take my hat off, I stand when they stand at the table, I give them my umbrella, I give up my seat on the subway, etc. I do do some of these things for men, but if I had to choose between a man and a woman, a woman wins no question.

It’s not that I think men are bad, it’s just that, in the Great Grand Scheme of Things™, I think women are superior to men.

Now, have at it. :smiley:

Esprix

2

What makes things like an earlier maturity, being more in touch with emotions, and better fashion sense superior, instead of just different?

3

Esprix, you astonish me. Sexist generalizations from the Gay Guy?(although if you are the Gay Guy, I guess I’m just a gay guy.;( )

Nonsense. some men and women are raised to have good manners and to consider the feelings of others; others are not. Women live longer than men and they endure pain better than men do, but that doesn’t make them inherently “better” than men, any more than men being able to lift weights and throw footballs long distances makes them better. Both genders have their virtues.

4

…I agree with you. I would also add that, on the whole, they are more intelligent.

Caveat–

Nature seems to have a way of equalizing things. My father, for instance, is brilliant. When it comes to language and critical thinking I’d stand him up against the best. Put a screwdriver in his hand though and he becomes a complete idiot. It goes beyond merely lack of experience or education he lacks what most of us would consider common sense in this area. It’s truly remarkable to see such a smart person completely defeated by the simplest mechanical chores.

It’s as if nature compensated for his extreme brilliance in one area by reducing his capacity in another.

It seems as if women get handicapped as well by being slightly less stable than men. Call it a more fragile psyche if you will. I realize this is a GROSS generalization but my experience seems to bear this out.

Of course, there’s always the possibility I and my fellow men-kind are to bloody stupid to comprehend the mind of a woman (akin to trying to know the mind of God…it’s simply beyond us).

::Jeff dives for the nearest hole::

5

Kind of a hijack but Who decided that being in touch with your emotions is a good thing? From what I can see being in touch with your emotions is a synomym for being emotional to the point where it limits your efficiency(hehe I sound like the Borg). I do believe that A lot of the reason America and the Western World in general became such a powerful force in the world was because of the Protestant ethic of not being Emotional, and if it requires it, supress your emotion so it doesn’t interfere with your work.

6

No ladies have jumped in yet?

Just wondering: Since this whole topic is sexist in nature, what would be the reaction to the same topic had a female poster presented it? Or if Esprix had posited that men were inherently superior to women?

But as to the OP:
“women on the whole mature faster”
True enough. But it’s like saying “men age more gracefully.” I don’t see it as inherently better.

“are more in touch with their emotions and themselves, are more sensitive”
Which some would claim is a hindrance. As long as we’re using stereotypes, does “PMS” or “mood swing” ring a bell? One complementary argument that comes from this way of thinking would be that “Men are more rational,” so I don’t necessarily think that this argues female superiority.

“have better fashion sense than men,”
Men’s attitudes toward their clothes is far more concerned with utility and comfort, while women have over the years worn clothing that greatly restricts their movement, limits their activities, and is often terribly uncomfortable even to the point of pain.

“they bear children (and for millenia have raised them by themselves).” …because the men were all out hunting food, ploughing the fields, building the homes, and fighting off the Huns.

I, for one, don’t buy it Esprix. I would argue that such stereotypes as we have both brought up aren’t particularly useful or illuminating, and in no case do they indicate superiority of one gender over the other. I do believe we have inherent differences to some degree beyond the arrangement of our plumbing, but the values we assign to those differences are too much a matter of individual (or cultural) preferences.
(Besides, most of them throw like girls! :slight_smile:

7

I will agree with the OP in public only inasmuch as it increases my personal chances for getting laid.

8

As other have expressed, this is impossible to address except in terms of sweeping generalizations.

I couldn’t let this one go by, though:

Quote:

“they bear children (and for millenia have raised them by themselves).” …because the men were all out hunting food, ploughing the fields, building the homes, and fighting off the Huns."

  1. In hunter-gatherer societies women provided (and continue to provide) most of the food.
  2. Men may have ploughed, but women (and children) harvested and processed food.
  3. It takes more than a framework to make and maintain a home.
  4. Wars kill women and children, too, no matter who the aggressor is.

People act as if childrearing meant sitting around watching “Tellytubbies.”

Yeah, historically speaking, women have raised kids–and gardened and harvested and butchered and brewed and cooked and cleaned and woven and sewed and and and…

9

cher3, I believe you may have missed the point slightly. When Esprix said women “bear children,” I think he meant exactly that–they carry and give birth to them. No matter how cool men might be, they can’t do that.

10

Any man who wants to bear children is either a communist or a fag. And that whole deal on women being smarter is utter BS. Girls study more, but thats it. They excell in English where studying is needed, but what sex are all the mathamatical and scientific geniuses? Male.

11

If trapped on a deserted island for an extended period, it would be far better to be trapped with a woman than another man. But hey, that’s just me, I could be wrong.

12

As a woman it would be easy to read such a complimenting comentary on women and say…thank you…thank you very much.

However, I don’t agree with the OP. I too think they are just differences. And the differences are meant to compliment each other, not out-do each other.

My husband can’t bear a child, but he’s a damn good Dad. And sometimes, better at being a parent than me.

13

**

There’s quite a myth out there that girls mature faster then boys. From what I’ve seen 16 and 19 year old girls make just as many stupid decisions as boys that age. And even if they did mature faster so what? From what I hear they also have a lower sense of self esteem then boys their age.
Being in touch with your emotions isn’t a bad thing. But then I think I’m in touch with my emotions without displaying my feelings to the whole world.

That better fashion sense has got to be a joke. You can’t tell me women in this country actually enjoy all the stuff they’ve got to wear.

Men aren’t uncouth swing and it is unfair to refer to us in such a manner. If you want to get right down to it men are the ones who almost universally own everything and run the world. I suppose by that standard we are the superior sex.

Marc

14

HomeSlice:

I don’t know much about his political views, but Esprix IS the Gay Guy. I don’t think he actually wants to bear children, though. It’s a rather painful business.

That’s funny. I have never felt any need to study the language that I have spent most of my life speaking, hearing, reading, and writing, and yet I have done quite well in English over the years. Perhaps YOU need to study English, but not all of us need to put extra effort into mastering our native language.

If you think they were ALL male you need to brush up on either your counting skills or your basic biology.

15

pldennison:

I was responding to pthalis, whose reply seemed to imply that bearing and raising children was the soft option made possible by men’s bravery and hard work.

(Note: I do not dispute that many men are brave and hardworking.)

16

Must we still mire ourselves in the sexist generalizations of the past, the depressing idea that biology is destiny, and the divisive attitude that any difference must reflect a difference in value?

My wife is a better artist than I.
I am a better mathematician than she.
She undeniably has beter fashion sense than I.
I am far stronger than she.
It must be because I have a Y chromosome and she doesn’t, n’est ce pas?

Of course, if you come by the house some weekend you will likely find her out puttering with tools I barely know the names of while I relax with a book of poetry and some music. (Well, at least until September – then it would be a book, music, and a football game on tv.)

Maybe we need to undergo genetic testing? Our chromosomes seem confused.

17

I’m sorry, was I generalizing? Hey! This whole post is a damn generalization. We are nothing but generalizers!!! Damn us!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!! :rolleyes:

18

Esprix, what does being better mean exactly? Moral superiority? Greater inate worth? Being More suited to govern nations? No, the first two statements have been used as an arguement to prevent the last statement from occuring.

Pthalis has summed up my concerns with these thoughts nicely. I’ll add - physical strength, or the perception/lack-thereof can be a pretty big advantage. My parents didn’t let me, or my sisters, go as many places in high school (those many years ago) as they let our 6’ brother go. A small limit to my freedom, yes, but indicative of society.

**

Esprix, I’m glad to hear you do those things. Politeness is almost always a virtue. Would the woman really win if she were 20 and the man were 90? (I’m sure the answer is no.) But times have changed, and I do not believe that women should expect most (or any) of these things anymore. (Nor do I believe they do.) You and I are roughly the same age; if we are both feeling well, there is no reason why I should sit while you stand, or why I should be dry/warm while you are wet/cold because you gave me your jacket or umbrella. If you offered it to me because we happened to be friends, that is one thing. I hope that would extend to all friends, regardless of gender. But the fact that I have breasts doesn’t mean that I deserve more consideration than you do, or Goboy does, or Pthalis does.

Can someone supply me with the quote & its author about women being trapped on pedestals? (And I am not, in any way shape or form, implying anything about your parents’ marriage.) Maybe I’ll just paraphrase Mary Wollstonecraft - I don’t want to rule men (or be their goddess,) I just want to work with them.

19

Being the only person here that is neither man nor woman, but rather of a more muffin-like orientation, I feel that I am the only one who can give a truly objective opinion.

[WARNING, GROSS GENERALIZATIONS FOLLOW]

Hands down, women are better.

But I’d also like to say that the main problem here is we’re assigning value to something that just can’t really be judged by any black and white, cut and dry guidelines. Assigning any value at all gets pretty shaky. For instance, upper body strength can be more handy than intelligence, and vice versa, depending on what’s needed at the time. And times change rapidly. Men tend to be very one-sided in their talents, like Jeff said about his dad. A man will be an amazing scientist, and suck at anything artistic or emotional. Or he’ll be a great artist, but can’t change the oil in his car. Or he can fix you car but can’t tell you what nine times nine is. That and men have far more geniuses and far more idiots.

Now, on the female side, you tend to have a much more balanced talent base. They tend to be much more equipped to handle a wide variety of different things. Somewhat artistic, somewhat scientific, somewhat… you get the idea. In the workplace this often times leads to men getting paid more, because most high-paying jobs require you to be really talented in one thing and only one thing. Whereas the main requirement for an assistant is to know a little bit of everything. Think about it, every assistant you ever see is always harried by a huge plethora of different things. So it becomes rather obvious which one will endure in which role. Is it fair? Absolutely not. The assistant should get paid more than he does, or at least the same amount, because he needs her more than she needs him (not to mention she does more works). He relies on her to fill in on all those miscellaneous things. He relies on her because he can’t find his ass with both hands. This extends to the social arena too. In general men need women more than women need men.

We’ve all heard that line, behind every great man is a woman. And it’s absolutely true. Women are the glue that hold men together. I think the main problem with the somewhat antiquated concept of the stay at home woman wasn’t that she was oppressed but that she didn’t realize how powerful her position was. She took care of his life. She knew where everything was. She knew how the place worked. It was essentially her house. But more importantly, he just needed her around, or he would fall apart at the seams. And if she had just realized this, things would have been a lot different.

So yeah, most of your really great scientists, and artists, and architects, and cooks, and sports players, and so on, are men. And women will probably never get as much coverage in history as men. And they do have to put up with a lot of crap. But at least they can smile self-satisfactorily, and remind themselves who actually has The Power.

But when it comes to basketball, hands down, men. Sorry ladies, but the WNBA sucks.

[FreakFreely’s words do not reflect the opinions of The Straight Dope, nor should they be construed as having any bearing on the matters of gender, equality, politics, foreign relations, worldwide weather conditions, cosmic philosophy, or the number 42]

20

I get tired of this idea, that somehow women are superior because they can have kids. How the hell would they have these kids if it weren’t for men? Sperm doesn’t make itself.

I love women. I respect them greatly, but if you want to get into it, I’ll do that too. Here are some things to think about.

Women are usually thought of as the ones who cook, but most of your most famous chefs are MEN

Women are usually thought of as the ones who sew, but most of your tailors are MEN

Women are often thought to be smarter on the average, than men, but then you have MEN, like Einstein, Newton, Marconi, Edison, etc., etc., etc…

I’m not a woman basher by any means, but I don’t see the point in arguing who’s superior. Or even if we’re equal for that matter. If men and women are “equal”, then the next time the Olympics roll around, let the women compete against the men. Also, if were equal, make all of your daughters register for the draft when they’re 18.

It’s bullshit to say we’re “equal”. What I say is we’re “equally important”. I liken it to writing a letter. You need a pen, but you also need a piece of paper (I know you can write a letter with a pencil, or a computer, etc., but for the sake of argument, we’re using a pen and paper, OK??). Well, which is more important, the pen or the paper? You can’t write the letter without either of them. They’re equally important. But are they equal? NO!!! If you think they are, try writing with a piece of paper, or try folding a pen into an airplane… :smiley:

BTW, at my house, it’s just me and my wife. I do ALL the cooking, ALL the cleaning, 90% of the dishes, and about 50% of the laundry. I’m much cleaner than my wife. My manners are usually better, I’m more patient with people, and I’d even say I’m probably more maternal… I refuse to be categorized!! :wink: