The Office of Campus Life and Leadership sponsored the XY Gender talk campus event on November 8, 2007, just outside the office in the dining area. Mindy Johnson, coordinator for Campus Life, mediated a panel of students addressing questions that had been submitted by students during the previous week.
The student panel was composed of three males - S.D. Ikuegbuwa, Joe McGrew, and Gromyko White - and three females - Emily Richardson, Denita Jones, and Megan Brown.
Asked what had prompted the event, Jones, the student organizer, said "This was a good opportunity to get questions from our student body and address them and help the opposite sexes understand each other better."
Some of the more controversial topics: why men are afraid of commitment; what are the attributes of a "lady;" why aren’t the sexes more honest about what they want; how do you define a bad boy; do you choose beauty over personality/intelligence; what makes a man a man; and a real potboiler, should women who have multiple sexual partners be offended with the name people call them?
There was lively discussion among the panelists, with some audience participation from the intimate crowd. Gary Wilson, audience member and Penn Valley Public Safety office coordinator, zealously contributed.
The male panelists made a lively - if not overly emotional - response to a question about men not showing emotion. They explained that being less emotional is in their nature, and besides, they express emotion differently from females. Ikuegbuwa contended that boys are raised differently from girls, so that for males, "when we do become emotional growing up we are told to 'toughen up, don’t cry.'"
A female panelist responding to the same question said, “We are nurturers and manipulators.”
Asked why men will say they are exclusively with one person yet will sleep with others, Ikuegbuwa's answer was, “We want as much as we can get.” White said, “We have to fulfill needs.”
The female panelists effectively agreed that the most attractive attributes in a man are “a good personality, attitude, nice teeth, confidence, and nice smile.” Other answers included “his swagger.” Pressed to define “swagger,” Richardson explained that you can tell a guy’s attitude from his swagger, and that will determine his attractiveness.
Johnson said the panel was an opportunity to open discussion between the sexes, prompt self- examination of how one thinks about these topics, and if something offends, to ask oneself why.
Jones summed it up with, “It takes a lot to understand and learn about the opposite sex, be open-minded, learn and grow.”
There seemed to be plenty of interest in the topic. Although there are no plans to continue this dialogue, perhaps the panel idea will spur on other planned talks about important subjects.
Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College