The analogy stating men are from Mars and women are from Venus is an ongoing debate that passes on from one generation to the next. Men have always been generally viewed as being more violent, aggressive and warlike, while women have come across as more peaceful beings. This idea stems back to the evolution of mankind and the hunters-gatherers society in which men attained the role of hunting and killing for survival, suggesting their warlike, violent and aggressive nature, while women took the role of gathering food, suggesting their peaceful nature. Even in today’s post-industrial society where violence is widespread, men are seen to play a key role in world politics – world politics that constitute a forceful, hostile behaviour – through the great power they posses. On the other hand, there have been many incidents that demonstrate how women can take the stage as the aggressors. For example, the photos illustrating the torture of prisoners in ‘Abu Ghraib’ show a female soldier practicing and supervising the cruel acts. Moreover, the article written by Margaret Mead, “Warfare is Only an Invention – Not a Biological Necessity”, suggests that war with its violent and aggressive nature is not merely an act done by men, but that women can also attain a warlike personality, since violence is a human characteristic that is engraved in both men and women alike.
This essay discusses the accuracy of the analogy, men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and whether it is only a stereotypical myth that has been heating up the battle between the sexes. This essay is divided into four parts. The first extensively discusses the fact that men tend to be more warlike and aggressive, while women tend to be peaceful based on biological, social, historical and political evidence. This discussion is supported by an article written by Francis Fukuyama, whose main belief is that men are violent and women are peaceful. A brief focus on the peaceful nature of women follows,...