Aggressiveness in Females: Biological or Sociological?
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| Title: | Aggressiveness in Females: Biological or Sociological? |
| Creator: | GatorJen |
| Date(s): | early 2000s? |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | Buffy & Angel |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Aggressiveness, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Aggressiveness in Females: Biological or Sociological? is an essay by GatorJen.
It is one of many essays at Octaves, a Buffy and Angel website.
"Gator Jen takes an academic look at agressiveness in females...using Buffy as an example."
Excerpt
Women are pushed into the background. Practically every culture in society has taught its members to believe that it is unacceptable for females to show any type of ambition for success and we, as females, have permitted this to occur. Certainly some of this passiveness derives itself from our biological makeup. Virginia Adams' article "Male and Female: Differences Between Them." leans towards the idea that women's submissiveness derives primarily from biological roots. The TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer also suggests that biology plays a factor in determining just how submissive women are, but additionally introduces the idea that culture plays a role in deciding female aggressiveness. A females' aggressiveness is not only derived from biological makeup but cultural situations as well.
"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." This quote comes from the opening of the TV program Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show that follows teenager Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer, through her endeavors to rid the world of evil. Stereotypically, men are stronger, can run faster, and jump higher than women. Buffy doesn't fit stereotypes; she is stronger and faster than any other human in the world and dominates those around her. When she makes a command, others jump to attention and follow her lead. Buffy is a female that is not only physically strong but aggressive as well. In her article, Virginia Adams introduces scientific research done regarding the effects of the different hormones of estrogen and androgen in humans (Adams 17). She notes that the female hormone estrogen reduces aggression and enhances sensory perception while the male hormone androgen promotes aggression. What we are seeing with Buffy is not only an abnormal amount of estrogen that enhances her sensory perception, allowing her to detect the quietest of sounds, but also a high amount of androgen that permits her to fight aggressively and effectively. This combination of heightened senses and fighting ability make her a formidable opponent, seemingly unbeatable.