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Julia Patterson

Final Reflection Paper



Coming into this class, I had few preconceptions about sex differences
between males and females in terms of either personality or behavioral traits or
appropriate roles within society. I had always been skeptical of any generalized
distinctions of behavioral patterns based on sex or gender. With this perspective, I
was at first surprised by some of the early readings we completed for this class. In
particular, I found arguments rooted in evolutionary theory concerning male and
female preferences to be particularly unconvincing. However, I did find that many of
the facts presented in relation to sex-based differences in communicating styles, and
priorities to ring true. As the semester progressed and we read many pieces that
were inherently at odds with each other, these arguments concerning inherent
differences in the way males and females approach human interaction seemed to me
the most convincing.
While the readings provided ample examples, I found the most compelling
evidence to come from my own experiences. With these new concepts in the back of
my mind I immediately began to notice many of these trends reflected in the
behavior of my boyfriend, my male friends, and even my dad. The preoccupation
with independence, competition, and hierarchy seemed to be subtly present. One
example that stands out to me is that my boyfriend sometimes gets very quiet with
me when we are alone. In general and around our respective friends he is very
outgoing, talkative and loud so this behavior somewhat confused and bothered me.
However, the readings that focused on differences in male and female
communication patterns seemed to accurately explain these circumstances. I found
that keeping this information in mind also made me subconsciously reflect on my
own behavior and consider these differences. This information was highly
applicable in my own life and has helped me within my personal relationships.
This applicability between what we have learned this semester in the
classroom and understanding the world in which I live in such a straightforward
and tangible way is clear evidence to me of the value of studying humanities based
disciplines. As an Anthropology major this has already been the focus of much of my
studies but I found this class to be of particular interest as it focused on a subject of
which I had little prior knowledge aside from personal experience. I think there is
inherent value in classes such as these that challenge our perceptions of the society
in which we live and help us to better understand our interpersonal interactions. I
additionally appreciated the meshing of the humanities based learning with the
biological components presented as well. This offered a perspective congruent with
reality where culture and science cannot be fully separated. This viewpoint
provided especially interesting insight in terms of looking at the nature versus
nurture debate and understanding how both biology and society play a role in
shaping sex and gender differences.
As the topic of this class was of particular interest to me, I was inspired to
choose a topic for my Anthropology capstone research project that related back to
some of the themes presented in this course. I wrote about an American
anthropologist, Beatrice Whiting, and her research, much of which concerned cross-
cultural comparisons of childrens development and how it is affected by different
child rearing techniques. I found her studies on sex differences of children to be of
particular interest and they tied right into much of the information we looked at in
class. She also used an extensive interdisciplinary and comparative approach, much
as we did. This research combined with taking this class made me appreciate the
importance of learning in a way that transcends one particular major or field of
focus in order to get the most accurate picture. I hope there will be more classes
offered in the future through the honors program that provide this same insight.

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