Position Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Position Paper - Essay Example This in a way is a debate of nature vs. nurture. The fact is that some of these differences are strictly biological whereas others can be influenced by the environment children are raised in. People’s mental and emotional performance as adults has a strong connection to their parents perceptions of their genders during their childhood. Although many parents in the contemporary society tend to provide their children with the same kind of upbringing without any distinction on the basis of gender thus educating them alike and offering them same opportunities of play and recreation, yet prejudice ultimately causes them to restrain the physical activity of their daughters unconsciously. The way children and their behavior is perceived by the parents shapes the way they treat their children as well as the experiences children are given. â€Å"Since life leaves footprints on the very structure and function of the brain, these various experiences produce sex differences in adult beha vior and brains—the result not of innate and inborn nature but of nurture† (Begley, 2009). Parents raise their children with definite perceptions that instill in their personalities over time. Daughters are raised with this perception that they would have to leave the home one day to live with their husbands. This perception is inculcated in them that shyness, delicacy, and cleanliness are the expected behaviors and/or traits from them. On the other hand, boys are raised with the perception that they would have to earn and support the family one day and that the expected traits of them include physical strength, aggression, and smartness. Understanding these overt or hidden messages received repeatedly from their parents, children start working toward attaining these goals, thus developing differences across genders over the passage of time. Although parents may influence the mental and emotional performance of their children, they have no control over their physical de velopment. Parents having only daughters in the conservative societies where women are not empowered have a tendency to raise at least one of the daughters as a son. This concept is frequently captured in many movies and newspapers frequently. Even recently, a Saudi woman named Saliha disguised herself as a man with consent of her father in order to be able to become a bus driver and earn some money to assist her family financially, news reported in Al-Sharq Arabic Newspaper. Saliha said, â€Å"I live with my parents and four sisters and our conditions are very difficult†¦ I looked at [my father’s] poor health condition and advanced age and I requested him to allow me to replace him, especially that I was a good driver† (Saliha cited in â€Å"Gender no bar†). Even in such cases, the parents might develop a greater level of comfort between their daughter and men in the society so that their daughter can interact with them without hesitation that typically pe rsists between men and women during interaction, yet they cannot change her biological features. Such characters in the movie are overly dressed in baggy clothes to hide the curves and artificial moustaches are applied on the face. In spite of the obvious link of the physical differences of men and women to biology, biology alone is not responsible for other physical behaviors that are displayed by men and women e.g. their susceptibility to diseases. â€Å"Rarely does biology act alone to determine health inequities. Social