Men are compassionate but are not taught to show it. Chinese martial arts movies would have you believe that it is all a matter of perception. A 2005 study, for example, found that women would support legislation that would reduce income differences but would also oppose the legalization of marijuana. Other research suggests that women are socially compassionate but morally traditional. Gilligan says that most people will base their choices on either one of these perspectives even if they are aware of both. Those with the care perspective base their ethics on care, compassion, and empathy. In her 1982 book In a Different Voice, described by Harvard University Press as the "little book that started a revolution," Gilligan suggests that people with the justice perspective (mostly men) base their ethical decisions on impartiality, fairness, rights, and justice. Gilligan's research posits that ethics follow two parallel paths: the justice perspective and the care perspective (no prizes for guessing which sex has which). Kohlberg's conclusions were challenged by his student, Carol Gilligan, who suggested that morality and ethics are based on gender and culture. His research was considered groundbreaking at the time and continues to be widely cited. In it, he posited that males are morally superior to females because they scored higher on tests that measured impartial justice and equality. In 1958, Harvard psychologist, Lawrence Kohlberg wrote his dissertation on what would come to be called Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. Research is both fascinating and conflicting on whether women are more compassionate than men. But even if you take the Dalai Lama-given as he is to simple, playful remarks-out of the equation, the question remains: are women more compassionate than men? )Īmerica's Deep Rift on Gender Issues Olga Khazan He calls us compassionate and we call him sexist. People pay us a compliment-heck, the Dalai Lama pays women a compliment-and some of us, me included, take it amiss. (This is the problem with us feminists: we bristle. Are women truly more compassionate than men? In responding to the sexist saga that has Australia all a-twitter, is the Dalai Lama himself being sexist? But my mother was so wonderfully compassionate." On a few occasions I also got some beatings.
In my own case, my father, very short temper. "Females have more sensitivity about others' wellbeing. "In that respect, biologically, females have more potential," he said.
And in his mind, that means the world needs more female leaders. The world, he said, needs leaders with compassion. The Dalai Lama responded to the gender question by referring to rising economic inequality around the globe. "Even when women ARE at the table, we're still on the menu," tweeted a woman in response. Gillard called the menu "grossly sexist and offensive." The menu has gone viral and evinced reactions all over Australia. He said that the opposition leaders had not seen the menu. It carried the line: "Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail: small breasts, huge thighs and a big red box." The chef who created the menu called it a joke that never made it out of the kitchen. Earlier this week, a menu for a Liberal Party fundraiser was leaked on social media. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been accusing her opposition Liberal Party of being sexist and removing women from the political sphere. His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso was then asked about the bitter gender debate that is permeating Australian politics. "If the circumstances are such that a female Dalai Lama is more useful, then automatically a female Dalai Lama will come," he said. Speaking at a press conference, the exiled 78-year-old leader, suggested that women were better equipped to lead the world in the current time. The Dalai Lama's recent comments in Australia about how his successor could be a woman only added light to my eyes, and made me exhale into a perfect Lotus pose. As a Hindu, I often think that if I wanted to choose another religion to follow, it would be Buddhism-and not just because I might get to hug Richard Gere.