The Distrust Between Sexes By Karen Horney

Since the beginning of time there has been a distinct division between the sexes. Through sheer definition there is a physical difference between the two but as time has passed there has been an indisputable recognition of the differences in personality and cognition. There are also undeniable differences in the life experiences had by the two sexes that

Over the course of history, men and women have be faced with a communication barrier. The differing communication skills between men and women present challenges that can lead to foreseeable problems in relationships. These problems arise out of differing purposes, styles, traits, and emotions that accompany communication between the two sexes. Unless an understanding is reached, these barriers may never be broken down.

Karen Horney would give a lecture titled The Distrust Between the Sexes. This is basically about how men and women are different. She gives many reasons as to how they are, but the top ones are physically, hostility, emotionally, with attitude, intellectually, and with childhood conflicts. She was born in 1885 and died in 1952. Suzanne Raitt writes, “In 1922, at a panel over which Sigmund Freud presided during a meeting of the Psychoanalytic Congress, a young Berlin-trained psychoanalyst delivered a paper that began one of the fiercest and longest debates in psychoanalytic theory. The analyst--the first woman ever to deliver a paper on feminine psychology at an international psychoanalytic meeting--was Karen Horney, and the paper, "On the Genesis of the Castration Complex in Women," was her famous response to the claim of her own psychoanalyst, Karl Abraham, that all women unconsciously envy the penis and want to be men. As she gave her paper, Horney was nervous but respectful. She carefully acknowledged the extraordinary significance of Freud 's work before going on to deliver a searing analysis of the masculinist bias of most of his theories on women. This challenge to Freudian psychoanalytic theory set the tone for Horney 's subsequent career.”Karen Horney’s The Distrust Between the Sexes identifies three

Men and women have always been unequal, and it has always been an issue of women wanting to be equal, and men wanting to be superior. Maybe in other countries across the globe they are more equal, but in America they are not as equal and women want them to be. Women are portrayed as the ones that are supposed to stay home and take care of the kids and cook and clean the house all the time. Men are supposed to be the workers of the family and they are not supposed to be the ones that cook the meals or clean the home. The man is supposed to be the worker, the woman is supposed to be the housewife, and women are supposed to give birth to kids

In Karen Horney's "The Distrust Between the Sexes," she attempts to explain the problems in the relationships between men and women. She writes that to understand the problem you must first understand that problems stem from a common background. A large amount of suspiciousness is due to people's intensity of emotions.

In Dr. Horney’s “The Distrust Between the Sexes,” she explains the “several psychological reasons” for the unease in a relationship. Dr. Horney explains the discomfort in a couple’s bond with three causes. Horney argues there are “individual factors” that causes “poor relationships between men and women” that might “be pertinent ones” (340). The reality of what she argues however is in her “commonplace” theories. These theories help give the reader better comprehension of the problems or distrusts in a relationship. To better understand Dr. Horney’s theory as to the causes of the “Distrust Between the Sexes,”

“Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”, says Aaron Devor. Women and men have always been seen as totally different people, but is it right to say that women are different from men. Many research findings support these gender differences. The range of critical response to the topic of the gender is clearly discussed in the reviews written by Aaron Devor “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes,” Deborah Blum “The Gender Blur,” and Mariah Burton Nelson in “I Won. I’m Sorry”. Marian Burton Nelson, a former Stanford University and professional basketball player and author of sit book on gender identity. Deborah Blum, a Pulitzer Prize Winning professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Aaron Derov, a sociology professor at University of Victoria. All three articles have similar and different opinions, but they are all about gender differences. While Devor and Blum talk about the origin of gender differences in men and women, Nelson focuses more on strong women; all three articles focus their discussions on aggressiveness, gender behaviors, and male domination.

For thousands of years, established gender roles have been a part of our society. Women are commonly known as sensitive, emotional, or passive. On the contrary, men are described as rational, competitive, independent, or aggressive. Believing women are more emotional than men is stereotyping. However, the stereotype is not entirely untrue. Development of gender roles is often conditioned more by environmental or cultural factors than by hereditary or biological factors. The development of gender roles between men and women involves the inference of peer community of each gender, the communication style of male and female and the intimacy or connection level of men and women.

Sex and gender play a big part in american society today and are often misconstrued. These two topics have become progressive as people are starting to express their gender and sexuality in ways other than what is and has been considered the norm. Many people believe that sexuality and gender are synonymous with one another. Gender is socially constructed while sex is biologically determined. In society’s past, Americans often strayed away from discussing controversial topics, but with the rise of different ways of addressing people, it is deemed more important to understand. Along with the blurred lines of gender and sex comes sexuality, who someone is attracted to sexually. When people stray from society’s heteronormative mindset, they are often faced with many more challenges than the average hetero man or woman. People often have the preconceived notion that if something does not concern them, then they should not be involved in it. A person who could be your neighbor, co worker, or even child, may have to deal with the troubles of people confusing their gender identity with their sex. While also facing challenges that deal with the sex of the person they choose to love. Learning the difference between gender and sexuality will open the eyes of many people and see how the two are different but relate to one another very much.

Society has established roles in which differentiate men and women, by focusing on how they, as individuals, should portray different characteristics. This allows for the opportunity of mislead perceptions, by the displays of gender in an unequal manner. If a man shows any characteristics that only a woman should have, he may be seen as weaker or maybe even deviant. This is true for a woman too, as that if she portrays too much aggression or competitive characteristics, she may be too manly, instead of fulfilling what should be her more nurturing role. Both men and women seem to face gender inequality, not just one more than the other. They both can face criticism, unequal treatment and stereotypes based on whether they choose to follow the exact way society has classified the gender “norms.” Although society has created these labels, it solely comes down to the individual on whether or not they choose to be deviant against them completely, in some ways, or simply not at all.

The author also explains some of the other stereotypes associated with women. These include the ideas that women are the caregivers and men are the warriors. Tavris stresses this point throughout the entire book. This is a stereotype against both men and women. Tavris counters these stereotypes by bringing in facts from scientific studies. It turns out that women and men are generally the same in these two areas if they have to be. It depends on other stimuli such as money, power, and prestige. These stereotypes cause men and women to act in certain ways, and suppress certain emotions in order to comply with societies idea of normal behavior. Tavris points out that women’s inequality has to do with inequality of power and money rather than gender.

Gender stereotypes can have many different effects, but they are oftentimes negative. Utilizing it as a basis, society can create impossibly high standards. Failure of these standards evokes a sense of guilt within people. Such results stem from a bigger societal problem, which is that people live in a patriarchy—a system in which men hold the majority of powerful social and professional positions that shape society. According to Deborah Tannen’s “But What Do You Mean?”, the speech of women and men frequently creates conflict between the two sexes. Likewise in Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, Jim Burden perceives women solely through his patriarchal view of life. Lastly, through “Kim Wilde,” Marjane Satrapi reveals that women are often bound within the gender roles set by society. While many lenses can add to one’s perspective, gender has a stronger influence; therefore, people must actively attempt to view life beyond the single lens of gender.

The emotional differences of men and women vary in temperaments of emotion which indicates a disconnection in communication, moral motivation, stereotypes, and chemical reactions in the brain.

Nature vs. Nurture? The debate has obsessed the minds of psychologists and philosophers for many years, each arguing their idea is the right way. ABC aired a TV documentary "Boys and Girls are Different" hosted by John Stossel to show some of the leading feminists ideas and their opponents thoughts.

“Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”, says Aaron Devor. Women and men have always been seen as totally different people, but is it right to say that women are different from men. Many research findings support these gender differences. The range of critical response to the topic of the gender is clearly discussed in the reviews written by Aaron Devor “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes,” Deborah Blum “The Gender Blur,” and Mariah Burton Nelson in “I Won. I’m Sorry”. Marian Burton Nelson, a former Stanford University and professional basketball player and author of sit book on gender identity. Deborah Blum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Aaron Derov, a sociology professor at University of Victoria. All three articles have similar and different opinions, but they are all about gender differences. While Devor and Blum talk about the origin of gender differences in men and women, Nelson focuses more on strong women; all three articles focus their discussions on aggressiveness, gender behaviors, and male domination.