Different But, Equal By Olivia Judson

In the article “Different but (Probably) Equal”, Olivia Judson makes her claim stating male and females are inherently different due to different factors such as genetics and brain chemistry, but this does not necessarily make one sex better than another. The author uses mainly logos, or logical facts, such as examples of differences in appearance or behavior throughout the animal kingdom to prove her point successfully. Judson backs up her claim with scientific evidence and ultimately proves her point efficiently and effectively. Judson opens her article with a hypothesis: male and female humans are virtually indistinguishable when it comes to behavior and intellectual prowess. She then proceeds to use examples from different species to disprove this hypothesis, saying female elephants are more social and verbose than their …show more content…
She uses scientific fact, or logos, to prove male and female humans are not inherently the same, but still equal by using examples from other species to prove her point. Judson uses species ranging from the almost androgynous jackdaw, to the green spoon worm, where females can grow to 200,000 times the size of the males. She shows she sympathizes with a reader who may be hesitant to recognize the uniqueness of the sexes because of past prejudice that stemmed from these opinions, then uses different studies and research to show that, while different, male and female humans are equal in mind and spirit. Judson also poses the question of why different sex characteristics appear at all in almost every species to persuade and spark interest in others to look into the world of sexual and gender differences. By using a unique mix of arguments, Olivia Judson formed her argument, that while different, male and female humans are still equal, skillfully and