Computer Games Reinforce the Gender Gap - Essay Example

Gender Development Article summary: The internet and computer games reinforce the gender gap This article claims that computer games have the ability to strengthen the gender gap. Boys and girls of the same age group may have different perceptions about technology and relationships. Women are more interested in using the technology as a tool to do things whereas men use it as a weapon. In other words, women are keen in creating some thing whereas men always talk about the power of it. Women go for the flexibility whereas men go for the speed when they use computer games, internet software etc. Computer games manufacturers know this difference and mostly make action packed games for the males and only a few computer games are targeting the women community since boys are keener in playing computer games compared to girls. The more emphasize given to the interests of male community is actually steering away girls from computers. Internet and video game operators/manufacturers should focus more on creating games suitable to the needs of the girls also. Online puzzles and interactive activities related to everyday problems may attract more female community towards internet and computers. Article analysis It is a fact that both males and females have different tastes as far as their leisure activities are concerned. Boys always like action packed activities because of their muscular dominance whereas girls look for developing their soft skills which are connected to beauty and aesthetic concepts. The article calls the video game manufacturers to make more games suitable for the taste of girls in order to stick the women community in front of the computer. At the same time we must remember that such segregation of male and female are not visible in other areas of our social life. Nowadays women are capable and willing to do any type of jobs which were earlier dominated by the male community. This article is right in claiming that boys and girls have different perceptions about relationships. But, I am not sure whether the same thing is right in the case of technology also. Even for the space exploration cases, in most of the missions, women are involved. If women are capable of undertaking such risky jobs, there is no point in generalizing that women have different perceptions about technology. This article generalizes so many things with respect to the attitude of males and females towards computers and internet. It is a fact that different individuals have different tastes. There are males who don’t have many interests in action packed computer games. At the same time there are many females who are interested in action packed computer games. Moreover the article has not mentioned any detailed study to prove its claims. It relied the words of some prominent people to justify the claims. Criticism of the website This article website has accurate information about the author and her address. The author is LISA RABASCA, Monitor Staff of American Psychological Association. But the author has not provided an email link to reach her. Moreover, the author has not disclosed her credentials or academic qualifications in this article. Since it is published in APA website, we can assume that the author belongs to a reputed community. APA.org is a reputed website and most of the articles published in this website are genuine and worth a watch. There are too much advertisements in this website like Del.icio.us, Digg, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace etc which actually reduces the objectivity of the article. No data from published researches or studies have mentioned in this article which means that the objectivity is further lessened. The major advantage of this website is that we can view the article for free and its loading speed is good How do nature and nurture interact to define us as a male or female?  Nature and nurture has significant roles in the gender development. By nature most of the females are soft compared to males. But nurture can sometimes make them tougher than males. Biologically, females are weaker than the males physically. But nurture can make them stronger physically and mentally. Learning occurs with the constant interaction of nature and nurture and this interaction can play a vital role in the shaping of a male or female. Gender Similarities and Differences  Physically, males are stronger than females, but same thing cannot be said about the metal health. Moreover physical appearances of both males and females are also different. In some cases females exhibits more strength than their male counterparts. Social relationships of both males and females have not many differences. Beauty concepts and aesthetic values are also different for males and females. Females are more concerned with their body figures compared to males. Gender and aggression  It is generally believed that males are more aggressive than the females. But in rare cases, it is quite possible that even females may exhibit aggressive behaviours. Who can forget the incident in which a Sri Lankan woman suicide bomber killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi while he was addressing a public meeting as part of his election campaign? Males are short tempered compared to females. On the other hand, females have more patience and temperament compared to males. Gender, Social Power and Social Connectedness  Women have more socializing power compared to males. They make friends easily and have the ability to communicate effectively and attractively with their friends and beloved ones. In most of the countries the number of women diplomats are more compared to the male diplomats. For example, in America, Hillari Clinton is working as the secretary of state whereas Nirupama Rao is working as the secretary of foreign affairs. Moreover many countries have women prime ministers or presidents at present. For example, Prathibha Patil is the President of India whereas Angela Merkel is the chancellor of Germany at present. The Nature of Gender  Risk taking attitudes are more in males compared to females. On the other hand, females are keener in taking low risky jobs. Females always have more concerns towards their children because they are the ones who ultimately suffered the pains of carrying a baby and hence they are more attached towards their children. Soft skills are more among females than males. The Nurture of Gender  Nurture influence both males and females equally. Nurture can make or break a person. It is possible that well nurtured males and females become good citizens whereas bad nurtured males and females become antisocial elements. Gender roles  Normally, males have the responsibility of finding the livelihood whereas the females have the responsibility of the home duties and looking after their children. Child rearing and education are visualized as the duties of the female community even though there are exceptions in the current world. References The Internet and computer games reinforce the gender gap Boys are more adept with technology because they spend more time playing video games than girls do, psychologists said. By LISA RABASCA Monitor Staff October 2000, Vol 31, No. 9 When adolescent boys and girls are asked to design a machine, boys typically will draw a vehicle--something fast with twin valves and piston turbojets. Girls, on the other hand, will design something practical, like the "Feed-and-Chore Doer," a contraption created by one girl that converts into an umbrella, a shovel and a rake, depending on the weather and the owners needs. The reason, said speakers at the Presidential Miniconvention on Women in Science and Technology at APAs 2000 Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., Aug. 4­8, is males and females view technology and their relationship with it differently. "Women talk about technology as a tool to do things with, men talk about it as a kind of weapon," said psychologist Cornelia Brunner, PhD, a researcher with the Education Development Centers Center for Children and Technology in New York City. "Women talk about using it to create, men talk about the power it gives them. Women ask technology for flexibility, men ask it for speed. Women talk about using it to share ideas, men talk about the autonomy it grants them." These differences are reinforced by the Internet, computer software and games, which are typically targeted at traditional male interests, such as action-related sports, games and computer programming. In comparison, few Internet or computer games or software programs target girls, except Barbie Fashion Design, a program that allows girls to create outfits, jewelry and hairstyles for Barbie. "We are inadvertently steering girls away from computer technology," said psychologist Sandra Calvert, PhD, a professor at Georgetown University and director of the universitys Children in Media Project. "Video games are childrens gateways to computers. And ultimately this has ramifications for the kinds of careers people choose." In fact, a 1999 Kaiser Foundation study found that boys, by a three-to-one ratio, play more video games than do girls, said Calvert. In addition, she said, girls computer use tends to focus on verbal activities such as sending e-mail or visiting chat rooms rather than activities that help them understand technology or build visual spatial skills. The Center for Children and Technology is trying to close this gender gap by creating an interactive design space on the Internet for girls ages 8 to 12 called "Imagination Place!" which is aimed at showing girls they can shape and create technology rather than merely use it. The program, now in its third year, is funded by the National Science Foundation. "Girls technological imaginations need a little help," said Dorothy Bennett, the projects principal investigator. "Females tend to look right through technical objects at their functions in ways that arent conducive to helping them think of themselves as potential designers and makers of technology." To foster girls mechanical imagination, the Center for Children and Technology created a virtual design center where girls can identify everyday problems such as how to organize things, find the perfect pair of jeans or remember to come home on time from the library or a friends house and design and invent solutions. They can also engage in online puzzles and interactive activities that help them perceive everyday devices such as sewing machines and dishwashers as a culmination of a series of design choices, animate inventions they create by using Internet-based multimedia tools and chat with peers and female designers and engineers about their ideas. "Some of the girls participating tell me that its the first time anyone asked them about their ideas about technology," said Bennett. The design center encourages participants to invent devices, then provide views of them from different angles--side, top and X-ray views. The X-ray view is the most important, said Bennett, because it allows them to speculate about how technology works. Recent inventions include the Dirt-to-Food Machine, which transforms dirt into food; the House Masters 2000, which allows homeless people to repair burned-out buildings; a shuffle box, which organizes things; and Back-in-Time Machine, which allows the user to go back in time and live the life of a relative. "The program gives girls a new way to look at design and invention and themselves as people who can build something," said Bennett. http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct00/games.aspx Read More