....in 2003.....''the gender bias''

There are several reasons, some historical, some biological – for the gender bias. Women’s work has long been downgraded & devalued when compared to man’s work; male muscular strength has been prized above the female capacity for physical endurance; men have been the owners of wealth, property, the wielders of authority, the holders of power, the achievers, the doers, the go-getters etc.. & so on: while women have been barred from such apparently desirable positions or behavior over the centuries.

I feel, in sum, to be a ‘MAN’ is something of an effort, something to be fought for bit by bit &, when won, defended with the utmost vigilance. As if it is something which can be weighed or measured, something quantifiable & as such open to comparisons - about how ‘manly’ a man is. Perhaps the same applies to the biological reasons for the seeming frailty of the male: ‘cos not only do the women live longer than men, but for women, the act also involves no effort to ‘prove’ oneself. Whereas a man believes (rightly or wrongly) that he has to ‘perform’ & prove his masculinity, & that his performance can be assessed or measured. It sounds like a dreadful, anxiety inducing business ! But then this is what works behind the whole psychology of rape as well – to ‘conquer’ the errant female, to possess her, to subdue her, to control her & show the ‘male might’ by subjugating her, punishing her, crushing her body, her self esteem, her ego, her reputation & her whole being. Male psychology really sucks then !