Why Can=t a Woman be More Like A Man?, Professor Henry Higgins asked plaintively in My Fair Lady. He was dealing with a much different time period and social system, but the question is still being asked, along with its counterpart B Why can=t a man be more like a woman?

The question itself is enlightening. Henry Higgins= basic premise was correct; there are differences between men and women. But the professor fell into the same trap most humans do B we want members of the opposite sex to react in the same way we would. Our way feels like the natural way B the right way. In fact, most of the time we don=t even realize that there=s another way to react, a way which is totally different but equally valid.

And that=s why writers sometimes get into trouble when we create characters of the opposite sex B because we show them talking, thinking and behaving not as their gender suggests they would, but in the way we would react if facing the same situation.

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"Why Can't A Woman...?"