We are one in terms of our humanity, but when it comes to the sexes things are very, very different. Sure, you can claim different but I’m going to use examples and I’d love to hear your opinion.
I cannot comment from the perspective of the women – or any of the non-binary genders – so I’m going to use the only perspective I can claim any real knowledge of, that of a male. Extrapolate the behaviour described and decide for yourself if you believe women are likely to exhibit the same patterns.
Examine therefore, if you will, the very recent case published at Click on Detroit. An unnamed 26 year-old male decided to jump Detroit’s Fort Street Bridge “Dukes of Hazzard”-style. This is one of those drawbridges that raise to allow shipping traffic to pass.
It is suggested the chap in question was under the influence of whipped cream accelerant, also known as “whippits”. This is seemingly a method youngsters are using to get high. Watch the video, while it doesn’t show the jump in question, it remains highly entertaining while we wait for whatever security camera footage might be available.
Now, you might claim that it would be equally possible for a woman to perform this feat, and likely it either has or will happen at some point in history. What needs to be appreciated here, in order to spot the difference between the sexes is the reactions to this Darwin Award-worthy stunt.
Read the comments at the bottom of the Click on Detroit article and you’ll see “That’s Awesome”, “There has to be video of this, right?”, “The story went from awesome to phenomenal when the whippits were introduced” and you’ll see a similar trail of comments on other questionable acts – from men.
While a woman is quite capable of doing something spectacularly bizarre, men are not only more likely to do it but also more likely to encourage each other to do it, or congratulate the perpetrator.
Men just deliberately indulge in riskier behaviour by default than their female counterparts. If this case isn’t convincing, then let me direct you to the Darwin Awards. They’ve been around since 1985 and are awarded specifically to people who have a misadventure that ends in death.
Reading through the site listing, you’ll see a depressing pattern of “Male Name” or “He” or “His”, etc. Go read through the list on the site, and you’ll find the story of Tedzu who decided that street clothing and a complete lack of preparation was good enough to climb Mount Fuji in winter. Bradley Streeter’s story of doing a handstand on the guardrail of a sinkhole in Australia will leave you wondering about his motivation – until you find out he was doing it at 03:00 and showing off to his friends.
Age and wisdom are clearly not partners in the case of Michael Sexson who, at 58, talked a 65 year-old friend into going treasure hunting in the Rocky Mountains – not once, but twice! Already 350,000 hopefuls had failed to find any treasure before them, four of those having died in the attempt. On the second attempt Sexson succeeded only in losing his life, with the pair yet again having found nothing.
The list of jaw-dropping fatalities is seemingly endless, plane crashes, death by animal, by booby-trap, dynamite, welder, geo-cache, road rage, whalebone and drone. They all share the same common thread … the perpetrators, victims and casualties in almost every case are men.
There is no glass ceiling at play here, no patriarchy, no old-boys club and no exclusion of women – or anyone else – by anything other than their own choice. How do you feel about it, are women simply not recognised for their efforts in dubious decision-making or is this a clear difference in the sexes?
On a final note, today (18 September 2020) marks the very first International Equal Pay Day which advocates for equal pay for work of equal value, irrespective of the sex of the people involved. You can find out more at the United Nations’ website.
Morne Condon 