Question: Are males naturally less mature than females?

Now before I go on, I must make a short little disclaimer. Many people will read this post and say that I am prejudice toward women because of the tone in this piece. My position in this post is not to attack women but to rather defend the notion that men are innately less mature than women.

Let us begin with my argument. This will also be apart of my "Why I don't watch TV that much anymore" piece. Most people believe that some of the subject matter that the media portray are malicious towards women. True enough, the problems that women face with body image, proper etiquette and cultural adaption are present in the media. However, there seems to be a very ominous cloud appearing in the light of male dignity in TV shows, films and even video games. I could write posts upon posts about this later on but let us start with probably the most common theme.

Most of the human populous has come to a consensus that men are generally less mature than women. Although it is true, many never question why and believe that it completely relies on genetics and the nature of the male species. The position I like to take is, that it probably has less to do with genetics or biological purposes and more of how most cultures are structured in their understanding. For instance, the male psyche seems to be obsessed with masculinity (naturally) as a means of impressing the female species and avoiding disappointment. Ever heard someone say that men were made for victory? Mostly men say this, but what do women think?

Now, I do believe that men and women play specific roles in the context of natural human development, but that is pretty much as far as it goes in terms of how different we are. There is a huge argument as to why men act less mature than women and genetics can only explain half the problem. Psychology has proven beyond doubt that genes can be turned on and off. A simple Google search will suffice to support that claim (because it would take too long to explain here). Beliefs and practices are also decisive in determining how one will perceive oneself and others around them.

For instance, a boy (whom I will refer to as Joe) who is taught by his father (an adult male whom he is greatly influenced by) that a boy becomes a man the moment he loses his virginity, will more than likely believe this, especially if this view is reinforced by other older males and peers. To some women, this idea is down right silly and makes no sense whatsoever. Even though one will find that women heavily disagree with this, some men still believe it because they have convinced themselves (with the reinforcement of their male peers) that the loss of virginity is necessary to mature into an adult male. After belief comes practice which provides greater reinforcement to what Joe believes.

Once Joe has lost virginity and now defines himself as man in the context of his early upbringing, he will likely pass this knowledge on to younger generations. In a perpetuated cycle, we have a distorted (and very uneducated) understanding of what true maturity is. The power of the spoken word is exemplified in this example, in that the beliefs, words and practices of an older male even affect the guidelines of maturation for the male species. The apple really does not fall far from the tree and ladies have identified this problem even before men have.

So when does a young boy become a man? There is not a single answer to that question simply because what is reasonable to one person in not reasonable to another. If you want this blogger's opinion as to what true maturity is (philosophically) in the male species, I would tell a younger male that he has reached adulthood when he learns to apply common sense, not believing everything without questioning it first and investigating it for himself, and learns how to be set apart even if it is at the cost of certain pleasures. Any man self-respecting man and woman would agree that losing your virginity (or sexual activity in general), drinking, gambling, and playing sports have nothing to do with becoming a man.

If more men would define and analyze themselves through the natural lenses of human development and put these beliefs to practice whilst passing it on to younger generations, one will find that males are not inherently less mature than females.