Tag: feminism

Power Structures and Gender Theory

Why does society look and function the way it does? What impact does industrialization and social development have on humans, on an individual and social level?

Testosterone is the hormone responsible for many male characteristics. It can be increased through physical activity, or any kind of assertive or dominating gestures or power postures.

Prolactin is an essential neurotransmitter responsible for learning. Stimulant medications such as Adderall affect the dopaminergic pathways that facilitate the release Prolactin, with concentrations naturally higher in females due to their production in the mammary glands.

“Highly elevated levels of prolactin decrease the levels of sex hormones — estrogen in women and testosterone in men.[6] The effects of mildly elevated levels of prolactin are much more variable, in women both substantial increase or decrease of estrogen levels may result.” -Wikipedia, Prolactin, Sept. 10, 2012

Does the passage above provide insight into why developed nations have lower birth rates than undeveloped nations?

“Prolactin levels may be checked as part of a sex hormone workup, as elevated prolactin secretion can suppress the secretion of FSH and GnRH, leading to hypogonadism, and sometimes causing erectile dysfunction in men.” -Wikipedia, Prolactin, Sept. 10, 2012

From an evolutionary perspective, I wonder if females contain more Prolactin because they evolved to mirror social information and other group behavior necessary for establishing communal norms. The process of mirroring is more passive, as it requires reflecting back information rather than asserting or creating totally new information apart from preexisting contexts.

Does the suppression of testosterone increase Prolactin and the ability to learn?

“During pregnancy, high circulating concentrations of estrogen increase prolactin levels by 10- to 20-fold. ” -Wikipedia, Prolactin, Sept. 10, 2012

Prolactin promotes neurogenesis in maternal and foetal brains.[10][11] -Wikipedia, Prolactin, Sept. 10, 2012

Does this explain why females are increasingly found to flourish in academic settings, such as academic institutions?

Does a society with ever growing and increasingly complex norms, conventions and collective practices produce more androgynous people? By emphasizing the kind of passive, non-engaging learning put forth in modern day formal education, are we effectively increasing the demand for those with greater Prolactin, or effeminacy, and decreasing the demand for testosterone , or assertive declarations?

Which hormone produces more individuality? Which facilitates greater creativity? Which facilitates greater conformity?

Do imposing social norms and other oppressive social structures increase Prolactin?

“High prolactin levels can also contribute to mental health issues.”  -Wikipedia, Prolactin, Sept. 10, 2012

Does this explain the higher level of mental health issues in developed or industrial societies? Or is it simply that these countries have developed a lexicon extensive enough to index a greater number of psychological phenomena?

In countries with more stringent social norms, do we find more androgyny? more homosexuality? more uniformity? I can’t help but think of the many stereotypes belonging to Asian cultures.

More thoughts later.

Home-makers.

I don’t like this question- or my answer- too much. It’s hard to differentiate between the environmental and genetic contributors. Females rear children. This is not a gender stereo-type, this is a genetic fact. In a society filled with avarice and cupidity its no wonder women are abandoning their roles as the homemaker to pursue lifestyles that demand more. There is a warped perception of successful living. Half the world lives on two dollars a day, that’s less than $750 a year. In America, the average annual income per capita is over $35,000. Is this necessary? The average child per household has been declining ever since the industrial revolution. Women are physically made to birth, breast feed, and emotionally nurture their children. This is true from a physical as well as psychological position. Continuing this trend throughout the children’s adolescent years solidifies the typical behavior woman adhere to throughout the rest of their life. Considering it a stereotype is a misnomer. It’s a fact of life that most women reject in modern society. Tilling the fields, raising cattle and the likes are suited for individuals, men, where their offspring are not wholly dependent upon them. Women have a duty to be home with the children. No matter how much a male wants to breastfeed his children, or give them a mother’s loving emotionally support, it’s not realistic, healthy or pragmatic to replace this figure.
The role of women as a home maker was established in their DNA- outlying cases aside. As far as how it’s being perpetuated throughout society today? Religion, specifically the doctrine of Christianity in our society, perpetuates these notions. Penned several thousand years ago, one might say it outdates the current times, but we were the same genetic people several thousand years ago that we are today. We were the same genetically even two thousand or one thousand or five hundred years ago. In the span of a few centuries we’ve taken our genetic code and its practical out-working’s of a successful family system and tossed them out the window in order to justify our self-indulgence.
Is it any wonder why we have a male dominated business world? Who raises the children? If the mothers are there to breast-feed and emotionally raise their children, who is? Strangers in daycares dowsing infants with concocted formulas? Who is teaching children their moral and ethical values? Strange school systems designed to program future industry employees? We’ll have to wait to see how this manifests itself in our society. Is it a matter of competency or resilience? This I would never argue. Women are just as capable. The issue is of the raising a healthy family. As long as raising a healthy family is at the forefront of society and concerns, the ‘stereo-type’ of mother’s being home-makers will continue to perpetuate.
Maybe I’m biased but this is a quaint subject I’d like to explore and understand more thoroughly.