Women are more complicated than men

While it is commonly believed that women are more “complicated” than men, I will argue that both genders are, in fact, equally “complicated.” As my opponent points out, “All people are complex in general.” This is undoubtedly true. However, complication and complexity are inherently relative concepts. What is complicated or complex for one person often seems relatively simple for another. It is difficult, then, to logically argue that any one segment of people is more “complicated” than another. You can’t measure complication. What many perceive as “complication,” it seems to me, is merely a lack of exposure to the tools required to reach complete understanding. You do not understand because you were never taught how. Therefore, it seems complicated. Now, on to gender. Before I proceed with my argument, it is necessary to distinguish between “gender” and “sex.” Your “sex” is defined only by your biological parts--whether you have a penis, a vagina, both, or neither. Your “gender,” on the other hand,” is purely social--whether you are “masculine,” “feminine,” or somewhere in between. Gender has nothing to do with the parts you have, and everything to do with how you understand yourself in relation to the world around you. This might seem like petty distinction to some, as 99% of the time it seems that gender and sex match up perfectly. This is not, however, always the case. Nor is it a matter of biology. Biologically men and women are essentially the same; our sex organs develop from the same embryonic tissue. Females, however, have essentially just undergone one more step in the human developmental process: ovaries =testes labia majora (outer lips) = scrotum labia minora (inner lips) = underside of the penis glans (head of clitoris) =glans (head of penis) shaft (erectile tissue) of clitoris = shaft (erectile tissue) of penis) vagina = no comparable structure in male. So, to bring it back to the topic at hand: Biologically, inherently, women are no more “complicated” than men. The differences between the two are a result of the gendered characteristics we as a culture have assigned to the sexes. It comes from how we raise our kids. Hence the communication difficulties in a majority of heterosexual relationships. The reason women seem so sneaky, so manipulative, so “complicated” and “crazy” is because of how “femininity” has been defined culturally over time. If you are born with a vagina, you aren’t raised to be forward and direct and speak your mind. You say what is right, what people want to hear, because confrontation isn’t “ladylike.” You sit in the corner and you play with your dolls and you quietly and quaintly observe the happenings around you until the day you die. Hence the reason we are, generally speaking, fantastic “testers, analyzers, and observers.” If you’re born with a penis, on the other hand, it’s nearly the exact opposite. You’re raised to be strong and powerful. That’s what masculinity is all about. It is your JOB to speak up and speak out, to get things done correctly and quickly. That’s how you become a successful provider and therefore a successful male. You play outside with your fake tool sets and you learn how to build fires and change tires. You get stuff done, and you do it ‘til you die. Hence the reason men are, generally speaking, more “direct and to the point.” And this directness, this inability to take the time to stop and think, to look, to analyze, to just observe and think about OTHERS for once--this keystone of masculine “simplicity”--it proves no less complicated than a woman’s seemingly inherent knack for what is commonly perceived as deceit.