Asante Magazine : Fall 1997 : [Editor's Note] No

Fall 1997
Volume 2

Number 4

[EDITOR'S NOTE - Common Threads Among Us]

Are men and women really all that different? It depends on whom you ask. A small child understands that both Mom and Dad are terrific. A male tennis player knows he can hit a stronger serve than his female opponent. An ardent feminist believes that men and women are equal. Popular literature claims that the two sexes come from different planets. The law states that you cannot discriminate based on gender.

Perhaps part of the answer can be found in examining the issue from a physical perspective. Although no one would argue the anatomical differences between men and women, the results of a recent Parade Magazine survey on American health reveal that there are other clinical and behavioral differences between the sexes. For example:

More women than men go to doctors.
More women (31 percent) than men (20 percent) suffer from arthritis.
Twice as many women as men diet.
More men (28 percent) than women (23 percent) smoke.
Women use more health services than men.
Men take fewer prescription drugs (43 percent) than women (54 percent).
Women live longer than men.

What these statistics don't explore is the emotional, mental and spiritual side of males and females. Intuitively, we know that women cry more than men, but does this mean that men don't feel emotions as deeply, or that our culture dictates that they not express their emotions as freely? Are men incapable of a stronger spiritual faith than women, or is it the other way around?

Tough questions, until you place them in a personal setting. Clearly, the loss of a parent is as devastating to a son as to a daughter. A joyful grin following the birth of a long-awaited child stretches across Grandpa's face as largely as Grandma's. It is these bondsÑthe love of family, the desire for happiness, the anguish of deathÑthat form the common thread among us. Our lives are woven together in a tapestry of life, and it is to our benefit to diminish the differences between us and concentrate on the wondrous fabric of our mutual existence.

Are men and women really all that different? In the aspects of our lives that are most important, most meaningful, we think not.