By Skyler T in opinion —

Gendered responsibility

The belief that the biological differences of men and women result in different economic duties (incomplete)

Argument

A friend of mine described an argument:

Key claim: The biological differences between women and men, justify the greater economic responsibility than men have compared to women.

  1. Difference in biology: Women have reproductive burdens (e.g. periods and pregnancy) that men do not, and on average, women have lower physical strength.
  2. Difference in capability: Because of (1), women face greater obstacles to sustaining economic production than men — particularly during their reproductive years.
  3. Difference in outcome: Because of (2), men tend to accumulate more material wealth and social status than women.
  4. Duty to redistribute: Those who are advantaged have a responsibility to share resources with those who are disadvantaged.
  5. Responsibility of genders: Because men are more advantaged relative to women (3), they have a greater responsibility to provide resources (4). Women, being disadvantaged, are not obliged to reciprocate.

Responses

There is a jump from (1) to (2):

First, are the obstacles that women face best explained by biological factors? Or historical, legal, and cultural factors?

Second, I don't think we should describe these gendered differences in terms of broad generalisations, but in terms of the particular biological symptoms that affect each individual. Because many women don't face strong reproductive burdens, they don't have painful periods and aren't pregnant. So, in (2), I would say women with painful periods face greater obstacles.

Third, how important are gendered differences compared to all other factors that impact one's ability to work at a job (like mental and physical health)? To support (2), you have to argue that the gendered differences (1) pose a significant, outsized weight. This is a whole different and harder thing to prove, than simply stating an observation of biological differences.

In my opinion, painful periods are only one factor among many. It would be more accurate to describe general profiles, comprised of the cumulative effect of various symptoms, that shape one's overall health status compared to others.

(This third point also raises the question of inclusivity. Why is it a default expectation in many jobs, that one has to work 9-5 for every day of the week? Can jobs be restructured in a way which makes them more inclusive to pregnant women and people with health issues?)