> A Man is more of a thinker, and a woman is more emotional. Is this something bad?

[Qatada]

:


A man is more of a thinker, and a woman is more emotional (sometimes even placing emotions before logic.) But who said this is something bad?

Each fulfills their role well i.e. a woman gives the right care through emotion to her baby, without this love and emotion - the baby could die.

Guys aren't as good at that, but children require a role model and protective figure who they can look upto for safety, he is more suited to this than women. Each fulfilling their role well, naturally.


That's why societies have always preferred emotional women as an attractive female attribute, and men to be more formal and intellectual, there logic usually overriding their emotion, causing this to be more attractive to women.



Do you think there's any reality to this?

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

I find this sexist and downright misogynistic. That is, the reality of what “man is more of a thinker and woman is more emotional” implies and justifies. There is no need to go to the extent of saying man is more of a thinker than women and therefore she’s more prone to emotions as opposed to logic, reason and common sense. Both men and women have the capability of being rational and there is no real tangible argument conclusively proving that women are prone to emotions as opposed to reason (thinking). And by stating the quoted phrase above, it implies that men are more rational than women when it is no so.

And if we were to adopt this line of thinking, then who is more prone to anger (crime statistics carried out due to anger is higher among males than females).

There is, of course nothing wrong with being emotional, but this does not mean emotions necessarily restrict one from rational discourse.

[Abdul-Fattah]

Selam aleykum,
I don't think it's condescending or misogynistic to neutrally state that there are differences between men and woman. Is it also misogynistic to say that men have more muscles than woman? Or to say that men have more hair-production over their body? And of course, you will find among the population men who scarcely have these qualities, and you will find woman who have these qualities to a great extend, but those are exceptions. When studying the general population, these differences between men and woman are quite clear.

And there are actually many studies confirming this. These are just what I found after 5 minutes of google-ing the subject, the list goes on... :
1) How fetal testosterone influences the systematizing vs. empathy ratio (this one got my interest immediately since it discusses autism ^_^ )
SpringerLink - Book Chapter
2) Visual thinker vs. Symbolic thinker
Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?
3) Structural differences in the brain
Male and Female Brains

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

Originally Posted by Abdul-Fattah

Selam aleykum,
I don't think it's condescending or misogynistic to neutrally state that there are differences between men and woman. Is it also misogynistic to say that men have more muscles than woman? Or to say that men have more hair-production over their body? And of course, you will find among the population men who scarcely have these qualities, and you will find woman who have these qualities to a great extend, but those are exceptions. When studying the general population, these differences between men and woman are quite clear.

There is a difference between stating the distinction between men and women and stating that men are more prone to thinking as opposed to women, hence my statements.

[Abdul-Fattah]

There is a difference between stating the distinction between men and women and stating that men are more prone to thinking as opposed to women, hence my statements.

Selam aleykum, but the distinction is exactly that; that is to say, the scientific distinction shown by the book in the first link is that men are indeed more prone to systematizing thinking vs empathy as opposed to woman.

[Al Habeshi]

Originally Posted by Ruwayda Mustafah

I find this sexist and downright misogynistic. That is, the reality of what “man is more of a thinker and woman is more emotional” implies and justifies. There is no need to go to the extent of saying man is more of a thinker than women and therefore she’s more prone to emotions as opposed to logic, reason and common sense. Both men and women have the capability of being rational and there is no real tangible argument conclusively proving that women are prone to emotions as opposed to reason (thinking). And by stating the quoted phrase above, it implies that men are more rational than women when it is no so.

And if we were to adopt this line of thinking, then who is more prone to anger (crime statistics carried out due to anger is higher among males than females).

There is, of course nothing wrong with being emotional, but this does not mean emotions necessarily restrict one from rational discourse.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem,

as-Salaamu Alaykum,

You seem to be displaying a lot of emotion in your post, for one, this doesn't make sense in this discussion;

Both men and women have the capability of being rational and there is no real tangible argument conclusively proving that women are prone to emotions as opposed to reason (thinking).

No one has said that one does not have the capability. There is a difference between having the capability and acting upon that. The point is not that such and such is not capable, but that such and such is more inclined to do this or that.

Secondly, it does not have to emotion in opposition to reasons, the though process may just be different, whereas one detaches oneself from emotion, another may have the emotion and then reason things out.

Br.al-Habeshi

[Umm Sufyaan]

i agree @ the first post. i think it would be good to do some research on what psychologists and researchers have said to back your statement, and im quite sure that there would be something about it.

i disagree with this part though:

That's why societies have always preferred emotional women as an attractive female attribute, and men to be more formal and intellectual, there logic usually overriding their emotion, causing this to be more attractive to women.

there would be factors affecting that particular societies reasoning so you need to be specific as to which societies think like that, whist taking into account why they may think like that. every society has their own standards of doing things, etc hence every society is bought up different, so consequently their mentality and intellects differ. for example, society x may find your reasoning spot on, but society y may find it incorrect as the mind set of society y differs from your opinion.

so this part is essential to back up with the proper evidences, etc.

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

Originally Posted by Abdul-Fattah

Selam aleykum, but the distinction is exactly that; that is to say, the scientific distinction shown by the book in the first link is that men are indeed more prone to systematizing thinking vs empathy as opposed to woman.

wa `alaikum salam bro,

Your first link does not work, and it does not prove that men are more prone to thinking than women.

Empathy and systematic thinking, what is this about? Can you please qutoe the relevant part of the book.

Also, one study does not act as conclusive evidence to back up your points. There could be contrary studies (which we don't know about).

Originally Posted by Al Habeshi

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem,

as-Salaamu Alaykum,

You seem to be displaying a lot of emotion in your post, for one, this doesn't make sense in this discussion;

Both men and women have the capability of being rational and there is no real tangible argument conclusively proving that women are prone to emotions as opposed to reason (thinking).

No one has said that one does not have the capability. There is a difference between having the capability and acting upon that. The point is not that such and such is not capable, but that such and such is more inclined to do this or that.

Secondly, it does not have to emotion in opposition to reasons, the though process may just be different, whereas one detaches oneself from emotion, another may have the emotion and then reason things out.

Br.al-Habeshi

wa `alaikum salam bro,

What are you talking about? I'm sorry I can't follow your line-of-thought or thinking. My point is essentially that even if women were prone to using their emotions it does not necessitate that they are less of a thinker as opposed to men. And this is in reference to the statement made which implies that a man is more of a thinker as opposed to a woman.

[Abdul-Fattah]

Selam aleykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

Originally Posted by Ruwayda Mustafah

wa `alaikum salam bro,

Your first link does not work, and it does not prove that men are more prone to thinking than women.

Yes it does, and yes it does.

Empathy and systematic thinking, what is this about?

The empathizing–systemizing (E-S) theory seeks to classify people on the basis of their skills in two factors of empathizing and systemizing. It measures skills using as Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ).
The E-S theory has been extended into the extreme male brain theory of autism, which hypothesizes that autism spectrum disorders are an extreme of the typical male profile. This theory divides people into 5 groups:

• Type E, whose empathy is significantly better than their systemizing.
• Type S, whose systemizing is significantly better than their empathy.
• Type B (for balanced), whose empathy is as good as their systemizing.
• Extreme Type E, whose empathy is above average but whose systemizing is challenged.
• Extreme Type S, whose systemizing is above average but whose empathy is challenged.

In other words, it seems that one ability comes at the cost of another.

Can you please qutoe the relevant part of the book.

The book I linked to discusses studies that show this is linked to high levels of testosteron some embryos are exposed to during pregnancy:
Autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) may be an extreme manifestation of specific male-typical characteristics. Evidence for this theory is provided by the empathizing–systemizing (E–S) theory of sex-typical behavior, which suggests ASCs as an extreme form of the male brain (EMB). In this chapter, we review the evidence supporting EMB theory and examine the effect of hormones on the development of sex differences related to ASCs. An important candidate mechanism for the development of sex-typical behavior is the effect of fetal testosterone (f T) during pregnancy. Evidence that elevated levels of f T may be a risk factor for ASC is also discussed. Many neurodevelopmental conditions occur in males more often than females, including autism, dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and early onset persistent antisocial behavior [1]). Autism in particular has been described as an extreme manifestation of some sexually dimorphic traits or an “extreme male brain” [2]. In this chapter, we review the reasons why this condition in particular has been viewed in this light and the evidence related to it.

Also, one study does not act as conclusive evidence to back up your points. There could be contrary studies (which we don't know about).

I posted 3 links, not one, and if you would take the trouble to do some research yourself, you'll see that there are far more.

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

The abilitiy to rationally think comes at the cost of being emotional? So If I'm being emotional right now my ability to rationally response is close to 0. I will further research on this (first link gives me a error, so don't tell me it does work when it obviously does not work for me).

And secondly, like I said regardless of how much 1/2/3/4/5 studies attempt to prove, it is rarley accepted as conclusive evidence. But inshAllah I'll look into this and see what I find.