Gender Differences

This week we've been discussing a topic that many of us became aware of at a very young age: gender differences. One of the areas that we focused on was a talk that was given by Sheri Dew during the October 2001 General Conference entitled: It Is Not Good for Man or Woman to be Alone. Which you can find here: Sheri Dew. Here are a few excerpts that I found especially powerful.

"Satan understands the power of men and women united in righteousness. He is still stinging from his banishment into eternal exile after Michael led the hosts of heaven, comprised of valiant men and women united in the cause of Christ, against him. In the chilling words of Peter, “The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Lucifer is determined to devour marriages and families, because their demise threatens the salvation of all involved and the vitality of the Lord’s kingdom itself. Thus, Satan seeks to confuse us about our stewardships and distinctive natures as men and women. He bombards us with bizarre messages about gender, marriage, family, and all male-female relationships. He would have us believe men and women are so alike that our unique gifts are not necessary, or so different we can never hope to understand each other. Neither is true."

"Said President Harold B. Lee: “Pure womanhood plus priesthood means exaltation. But womanhood without priesthood, or priesthood without pure womanhood doesn’t spell exaltation.” 

"...there is no end to the good works of righteous men and women who respect each other and who thrust in their sickles and reap, side by side, in the Lord’s vineyard. If we are going to build the kingdom of God, we as men and women of God must build each other."

 

"Our Father’s patterns help us avoid deception. Look to the Lord and not to the world for your ideas and ideals about men and women. For, my young friends, you are the mothers, fathers, and leaders who were reserved for this unprecedented time because our Father knows you, and He knows you have what it takes to face the world and to be fearless in building the kingdom. Do it together, for it is not good for man or woman to be alone."

I feel that the world is sending so many mixed messages about the divine nature of gender, but when we go back to the fundamentals that we do know there is no doubt that each of us were created individually and specifically for the challenges that we will face in this world.

As we discussed more about gender differences we created a list of masculine and feminine traits, characteristics, and stereotypes so that we could compare and contrast how they were different or the same. Here is a condensed version of those lists.

Masculine:
* "Be tough"
* "Don't cry"
* Physical
* Dirty/Stinky
* Aggressive
* Insensitive
* Stronger
* Lack of commitment
* Bad
* Funny
* Blunt/say what they mean
* Leaders
* "Fixers"
* Bad listeners
* Single minded
* Less drama
* Logical

Feminine:
* Emotional
* Neat/Clean
* Not good at sports
* Relationship oriented
* Sensitive
* Weaker
* Dedicated
* Boring
* Whiney
* Drama
* Insightful
* Committed
* Manipulative
* Better communicators
* Judgmental
* Vulnerable
* Socially and emotionally observant

After we created these two lists (giving credit that every man or every woman doesn't have 100% of these qualities) we discussed how these people were perceived in our culture. It was brought up that it is more socially acceptable for women to have male qualities such as being more athletic, competitive, or more aggressive than their female counterparts. We also discussed how as a culture we deem it completely inappropriate for men to have more female qualities such as being compassionate, forgiving, or nurturing. After we explored this concept a little bit in our discussion we made another list on the board.

Characteristics of Christ:
* Loving
* Humble
* Nurturing
* Wise
* Caring
* Patient
* Compassionate
* Charitable
* Diligent
* Leader
* Perfect
* Strong
* Faithful
* Pure
* Forgiving
* Listener
* Self-less

Our instructor then asked us a question. If the purpose of us coming here to earth was to become more like Christ then why do we make fun of, demean, or look down upon those that have Christ like qualities, even if they may be socially unacceptable? I've been thinking a lot about that question this week and I think that it's important as individuals to treat each other the way that Christ would treat them. Especially when it comes to those that act, think, or believe differently than we do.