Week Four: Nature or Nurture?

Nature or Nurture is sometimes a heated debate, and I can see why. I see the same arguments daily on similar topics, like "Religion vs The Big Bang Theory", "Pro-Life vs Pro Choice", even "Democrat vs Republican" can get pretty ugly.

When it comes having to side with the Nature side of the debate, I can see that side. But I could not just choose a side, as I personally feel a little of both is "the right side".

Nature, for obvious reasons: men have more Testosterone, therefore are considered to be the main provider (by some), or the hunter. Women are biologically the only ones who can give birth to children. These are the obvious, but they are there. Women are born with a competitiveness in them, back to the cave person days where the women fought competitively to get the mate they wanted, and have strong children. The same can be said all these years later, but in the form of reality television, winning at competetions to win the man.

When it comes to the nurture side of the debate, this is just as important. In our society, children learn at very young ages how to act like boys, or how to act like girls; Boys get monster trucks and G.I. Joe's, and girls have dresses and Barbie dolls. They are pushed in at this young age, even as infants, being dressed in all pink, or all blue. With the girls, you sign them up for dance classes and tea parties. Boys play in dirt and play football. Eventually they grow up and think, as a child, "this" is the way they are supposed to be. Anything out of the norm is looked down upon, according to the society of the twenty-first century.

Example: The little boy who wanted to wear dresses and his father wore a skirt to support his son. Should our children be allowed to express themselves individually like this? Some of the reponses I recorded was this parent should have child services called on him, and some saying he will be to blame when his child gets picked on. Very rare did I see a parent or any adult cheering him on to do what he felt was right for his child, to step out of the approving eye of today's society. Maybe instead of these children picking on others for not following our countries' social norms, we should teach our children to be tolerant and accepting of others. Parents need to learn by example.

Society definitely has a major influence on how our children today are raised. Even hundreds of years ago, men were automatically considered the hunters, the more superior. Was it because they were larger? I am sure there are women in those villages that were more smart than some of the men. Because the women were smaller, it is my belief they were seen as less superior, and just learned how to stay at home and raise children.

I wonder what society will bring in another 100 years....