Comments on: Are Men More Likely Than Women to Become Heroes and Villains?

By: Morgan

Morgan — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 03:35:59 +0000

This part of the blog stood out to me the most because it has to deal with men and women and who is usually the hero. I liked the Titanic reference because it shows that men are always looking to protect the women and children, which is how I think it should be.

By: Zach L

Zach L — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 08:13:48 +0000

This article is so dividing for me. If I were a woman reading this, it would hard to not see this as an assault on my ego. However I would say to them it’s not about what they can’t do but what evolution has done to us, that we are now undoing in a new era of social evolution. Our technology has removed so many pressures.. and we’ve been challenged to use it for good. It falls on both today’s men and women to use it for equity and become tomorrow’s heroes.

By: Stephanie Swisher

Stephanie Swisher — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:15:14 +0000

I think this post is very relevant to the current debate of women in combat positions in the military. If Baumeister believes men are more expendable, and that woman have evolved to avoid physical risk, wouldn’t that make women who choose jobs that put them in the front lines more heroic than their male counterparts? Women must overcome these evolutionary drives, as well as socialized and physical disadvantages.

By: Byambaa K.

Byambaa K. — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:04:34 +0000

I’ve never really thought about this topic in depth before our discussion and this blog. I don’t necessarily agree that women are less risk taking and that we play it safe but it is an interesting way to look at this.

By: KStarr

KStarr — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:54:33 +0000

After discussing Baumeister and his theory in class, I was intrigued. I had never thought about the possibility that men could represent both the best and worst of human society. Though I definitely feel that Baumeister’s ideas have some validity to them, I am conflicted, because I also think that by seeing society in the way that he has suggested, it allows for us to accept that women will always remain in the middle of society, never fully able to achieve the greatness of “risk taking” men.

By: Mary Elizabeth Lovelace

Mary Elizabeth Lovelace — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:15:02 +0000

I really enjoyed exploring Baumeister’s arguments in our class discussion and in reading his article and this blog post. Typically when thinking about gender issues, we are quick to look at the history of men as superiors. I had never thought about the idea of men being on both ends of the spectrum, the best and the worst, and found this aspect of Baumeister’s argument to be fascinating. While I’m not sure if I completely buy into his argument, I think Baumeister raises several good points, and he supports them well.

By: Abby Goethals

Abby Goethals — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:53:45 +0000

.I had never thought about this topic in depth, and I feel that Baumeister does a great job delving into gender roles. One aspect of this blog that I found particularly interesting was how men are both on the top and bottom of society

By: Paige Venables

Paige Venables — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:24:54 +0000

This is an interesting argument based on biological roles, however I tend to disagree with Baumeister’s assertions. I feel that more men than women are able to become heroes or villains not due to their “expendable” roles in reproducing, but due to societal pressures and expectations for each gender. Also, I feel that Baumeister is dismissing what makes many women heroes, like being great mothers and teachers, and also ignores the fact that many women have indeed accomplished great deeds and become heroes. I don’t believe that the reason women are not becoming heroes or villains as often has much to do with the fact that they are needed to reproduce more so than men.

By: Jessica Partlow

Jessica Partlow — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:30:50 +0000

I think this topic, and Baumeister’s article are fascinating. I don’t know if I completely buy into it, but it was interesting to realize that there is truth in the idea that men are at both extremes of the spectrum. I realize that there are some gender issues and differences in things like pay in America that people are quick to point to when discussing inequality; but compared to issues facing women in other countries this seems trivial at best. I say we work on bringing the rest of the world up to the level of equality we are at before we work on petty details.

By: Stephanie Koko

Stephanie Koko — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:47:39 +0000

I really enjoyed reading Baumeister’s article. Issues such as the gender wage gap and gender inequality in the professional world are very prevalent in today’s society. I think many people try to make excuses for the inequalities and are quick to assign blame to both genders. I appreciated Baumeister’s argument because he made perfect sense to this issue that usually is very confusing. This is one reason why I love psychology and enjoy your Heroes class so much!