Masculinity Vs. Femininity

See edit at bottom

As I have already stated, I have been reading "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan. Though this may cause you all to gasp and wonder what kind of weirdo I am, I must say that the author has several interesting points. I think that many so many young women base their whole lives on marriage. They think of nothing and no one except that one man they don't even know and finding him. What a waste of time! I even find myself doing that. Instead of getting interested in things I like or getting closer in my walk with God, I can have a tendency to concentrate way too much on the future and who may be in it.

If and when I ever did get married, I have always had the conviction that I would like to keep pursuing my interests-working in the field of animals or biology part-time, reading, playing soccer-the same things I do now. At some point, I want to be a Mom, but I would really like to split a lot of those responsibilities with the person I may marry. For example, I think it would be great if both my husband and I worked part-time and then both of us dedicated time to homeschool kids. Anyway, those are some good things in the book.

However, some of the negative aspects of the book include the fact that the author appears to have some sort of desire to differentiate in no way between the male and female genders. I have strong convictions that there are many differences-anatomical and otherwise-that make us different. My problem is that generally the female sex seems to be the one with the weaker traits. Pardon me if I hurt anyone's feelings, but it seems to me that stereotypically, women are the weaker ones, the ones that take lesser roles (specifically in churches), and so forth. Now to clarify, it has been scientifically proven that most women cannot gain the same muscle capacity as men and there are some roles that women cannot take in churches-certain teaching roles. I have always felt like the lesser gender in this sense. However, it appears to me that possible women have these traits in different areas. Strength in other areas and teaching roles in other places.

Here is an interesting article!

I will keep researching this issue and until then do the things I love to do that may not be typically girly. I have my own tile business-which gives me some muscles enabling me to beat guys at arm wrestling. Bwa ha ha! I love that....
I'll play soccer harder and longer than a lot of the boys on the field.
I will get ready in the morning faster than many of the guys I know. Who needs half an hour to do hair....?
My guitar, not my makeup, will be one of my favoritest possessions.
I will refuse to wear a dress until I absolutely have to-I'm planning the day I get married. :)

But then I can also once in a while do some of the silly girly stuff. Once in a while, I will drag myself to the mall to shop with my sister. (Even though I may visit the game store while everyone else buys t-shirts.) If I ever love a guy, I would probably wear some makeup and dress up a bit. But only because I loved him. :) I'll write in my notebook-not diary-religiously everyday. I'll look at all the baby girl clothes and Wally World and think they are way too cute. Girlmore Girls will be one of my favorite shoes.

But no matter what happens, I am determined to wear white Converse with my dress if I ever got married. There will be no talking me out of it....

So, I don't know. Are there traits that characterize EVERY single girl or guy in the entire world? Or is it just physical differences?

*Edit* Okay, so TBQelite says the following: "The lesser gender? I think not.

Perhaps, though, the gentler one. Most certainly the fairer of the two.

As to your last question, I would say that: yes, as a general rule there are traits that I'd attribute specifically to guys or gals. But that's just a generalization and there are certainly exceptions to it."

My question is this: If there are generalizations, within which exist exceptions, what really is it that makes guys different from girls. Is it solely anatomical differences?