Blame it on Biology?

Blame it On Biology

A Valentine's Day, Gender Role Special 

Everyone's writing about the whole "gender roles" thing, and I'd hate to be that person who clogs up your feed with yet another post about more or less the same thing. That being said... I kind've invented the discussion about gender roles, you know what I mean? (Mean Girls reference) I want to devote the rest of my meaningless life studying (and studying) all about this big mess of nature and nurture, boys and girls, etc., etc. So, that being said, it's only fair that I should get a piece of this gender-role pie (a small piece, of course, because girls need to be skinny, wink). 

But there are so many things to talk about! And you guys have taken some good blogs already! And I wrote that blurb in Alyssa's newsletter about toys already, so I didn't want to go back so soon and write about toys (though there is a lot to say about it). I figured I had only one choice before me: Write a little about Valentine's Day before it's too late. Now , after that long introduction, my blog post shall begin. 

I would first like to turn all of your attention to this annoyingly catchy song, "Blame it On Biology" from A Very Fine Line by Andy Revkin. Listen to the song-- just do it! Look at the lyrics and read a little bit of a blurb by clicking here, my dear friends. 

Exhibit A- "Blame it On Biology". What did you all think of this song? (Will it be stuck in your head for the rest of the day?) Do you think this guy is throwing all the blame on biology? I hope this guy wasn't serious when he wrote this song. Or maybe there is something within our biology that makes men and women unable to communicate properly? For some reason that's difficult to buy. In class we spoke of some biological differences between men and women. Men build muscle easier, and women have more fat. Men are more likely to be color blind. Stuff like that. Even as a joke, it's a little ridiculous to blame biology for the fact that you and your girlfriend are having communication problems. But I get it- it's just a song, right? Not exactly. People like to 'blame it on biology' all the time when it comes to gender differences because it's an easy out. Biology is a science, it's fact. If we arbitrarily attribute something to biology, it must be true! Have you ever heard people say, "Oh, women can't do ____ because they're just wired differently.." Yeah, that person is blaming it on biology. Don't let the argument end there if you know any better, though! There are certain basic things that are biology, but many other things are way more complicated that that. Thoughts? 

Okay, enough of that catchy song: let's talk about chocolate. Come on, how were we supposed to talk about Valentine's Day without talking about chocolate? We all know that chocolate is the universal symbol of love. Go into Kroger on V Day and they'll be selling heart-shaped chocolates (and, yes, flowers) left and right. Do women naturally crave chocolate? Is there something deep within us that recognizes chocolate as a form of affection? Read this short article "Sex and Candy" by Samira Kawash and then come back here and we can chat about it. 

Part of why I find this whole discussion of gender roles so interesting is that there are a million different contributing factors (that's also why it's so frustrating). One of the major players in the field is the Advertising Agency. Advertisers are very sneaky- they somehow manage to key into feelings that we already have and introduce feelings that we'll assume we've had all along. (I encourage you all to watch Mad Men, by the way.) For a long time, it's been the advertisers who have been depicting women as drooling over chocolate. Even before the advent of Ad Men, though, chocolate was promoted as a love potion and an aid to conception. Maybe chocolate does have inherent magical powers? What do you think led the advertisers to choose chocolate as the gift of sweethearts? Starting in the 20th century, candy manufacturers began advertising fancy boxes of chocolates and emphasized the connection between the chocolate and female sensuality. Here's some examples of some classic chocolate advertisin

1890s

1936

1943

1942

I challenge you all to find analogous ads featuring men instead of women... Good luck! What do you think about these ads? Meaningless? Who cares? Or odd?  Maybe you think they're a little outdated. People don't look like that anymore! Well, you're right. Here's a more recent chocolate ad: 

What do you gain from that ad? Does it make you want chocolate? Once again- have you seen anything of the sort with a male lead in the commercial? While most commercials featuring women are in some way about sex and feature women who are scantily clad (or mothers), most of the ads with men have men in suits or men drinking beer. We have to think twice about advertisements because they drive much of the way we think. I'm not sure we can blame this one on biology... women drawn to chocolate biologically any more than men are. And yet... Right. If you gained anything from this post, let it be this: take note of the ads you see, and think about how they might influence your thought. Whether the ads desensitize us to sexual images or reinforce gender stereotypes- chances are any given ad is influencing us in some way.