Dismantling Evolutionary Psychology and the presumed 'natural' differences between men and women

Abstract

When equality between the sexes is discussed, stereotypical ideas and double standards are often not talked about. A lot of qualities are seen to be natural to men and women and thus do not need to be addressed. In this thesis it will be shown that typically masculine or feminine qualities have different origins than is commonly believed. ‘Natural’ female or male behavior is mostly seen to derive from hunter-gatherers who have influenced us in our actions. We are still fitted with a hunter-gatherer brain and therefore women can’t park cars and men can’t multi-task. This traditional idea has fundamental flaws and has a lack of theoretical foundation. It should be dealt with if we ever want more equality between men and women. If we continue to teach women that they should be caring, thoughtful, nice and generous, we are holding them back and are locking them in a certain stereotype. The same applies to men and the masculine qualities it is believed they should possess.