If women are so smart and equal to men, then why are almost all of the fashion, sports, music, corporate, artistic, and STEM geniuses men? (I could've kept going but I stopped there)

MenandBoysareGood · 2015-12-30T21:29:21+00:00

In the overall scheme of things (in terms of averages) men and women are equal. Women's intelligence forms a Gaussian Distribution whereas with men its bi-modal. Whereas the greatest geniuses are men - men also make up for the dumbest people. My own theory is that men and women's intelligence are more equal than what IQ tests will tell us. The real reason I believe men stray off from the "norm" is because they tend to be obsessive and focused on a particular endeavor. Some pick quantum mechanics, while others focus and obsess over catching the biggest bass in the lake! In one case the boy studies hard to get to college while in the other one he is only concerned about getting a job and sitting on a boat somewhere.

In my earlier life I was always obsessing about things. At one point I was obsessed with the rearrangement mode of a particular polypeptide associated with immunoglobulins. I spent years researching and concocting theories....it was nuts when I think back. Then my doctor suggested I go on antidepressants and as soon as I did the degree of my obsessiveness diminished.

Which brings up an interesting point. With some twenty-something million people (in the US alone) taking antidepressants are we hindering great advancements to science, music, inventions...etc?

Of course this is only my theory.

2015-12-30T23:19:44+00:00

I suppose the stock explanation for any such difference is that women were not encouraged, or were not appreciated, or were discouraged from being creative. That’s certainly what the Imaginary Feminist will tell us. As usual, when one rejects the idea that men have ability than women, one is left with the explanation that men must have oppressed women.

But I don’t think this stock explanation fits the facts very well. In the 19th century in America, middle-class girls and women played piano far more than men. Yet all that piano playing failed to result in much creative output. There were no great women composers, no new directions in style of music or how to play, or anything like that. All those female pianists entertained their families and their dinner guests but did not seem motivated to create anything new.

Meanwhile, around the same time in history, black men in America created blues and then jazz, both of which changed the way the world experiences music. By any measure, those black men, mostly just emerging from slavery, were far more disadvantaged than the middle-class white women. Even getting their hands on a musical instrument must have been considerably harder. And remember, I’m saying that the creative abilities are probably about equal. But somehow the men were driven to create something new, more than the women.

Roy Baumeister - Is There Anything Good About Men?

bufedad · 2015-12-30T21:28:54+00:00

Well... in my opinion, STEM is the only one that would be a valid comparison.

Art and fashion don't depend on genius, but on people liking your work. What I've seen of fashion and artistic geniuses... seems more like people want to be cultured and like the weirdest things.

Fashion and Art are bigger circle jerks than any feminist organization could be....

Sports is a physical arena, and women are not as physically capable as men...

Music is more machine made than man made any more.

Corporate genius... I'm not sure there really are many of those. People have called Steve Jobs a genius, but he was more of a marketing genius than anything else. Sell the hype, and people buy. Most companies run fairly well, unless someone at the top screws it up, or the industry changes out from under them.

Now STEM... STEM is an area where we objectively have geniuses. These people make strides far past others in their fields.

The lack of female geniuses in STEM could be because those women aren't entering into STEM. We'll never know that. All we really know is that we don't have them now.

Hesitant_Observer · 2015-12-31T07:18:51+00:00

Women are the constant, men are the variable. There are far more stupid drunk men than women as well. having the geniuses is a double-edged sword.

2015-12-30T21:40:27+00:00

Because when you get nonstop validation and prizes for existing and having genitals the motivation to do something exceptional is lesser

iainmf · 2015-12-31T00:31:48+00:00

Men are more variable than women. This shows up in lots of areas from blood characteristics to birth weight to IQ. From this we would expect to see more men at the top and bottom and less men in the middle.

cmumford · 2015-12-30T21:10:26+00:00

Because of the patriarchy - don't you read? /s

Greg_W_Allan · 2015-12-30T22:27:16+00:00

Feminists often make triumphal noise about how many women are starting businesses. Something they wont tell you is that virtually all of them trade ONLY with women. There are very few women who have been able to create for and sell or market to men. There are many examples of the reverse.

ThePigmanAgain · 2015-12-30T23:10:32+00:00

Because women are not equal to men, that's why. Not a popular opinion 'round these here parts, but a fact nonetheless.

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