The belief that one gender is better than the other is often based on stereotypes and can lead to some serious, yet unnecessary, disrespect on both sides. For example, the belief that men are better at sports, that women are more emotionally mature and better communicators, that men are better at STEM and better leaders, are all stereotypes. 

There are multiple factors that go into something or someone being better than another, whether it be situationally, culturally, or individually. In fact, I would argue that it is not a matter of being better but rather having an advantage. For instance, biologically, some factual advantages of men in general are that they are stronger and have better reaction times, while women are more flexible and pain-tolerant. However, biological advantage does not automatically mean this is true for every person.

Firstly, every person is different. Everyone has their own set of unique talents and interests that they grow and develop, both themselves and their skills, around. A girl with an interest in athletics might be stronger than a boy who outsmarts her with an interest in history. Going off of that, based on those abilities, the same girl might excel at the physical part of soccer while the boy excels at the strategic part.

Continually, the aspects and abilities that a male or female could have an advantage on compared to the other also rely on situation. Education, upbringing, personal effort- all of these situations have a part in this. A girl who grew up with older brothers may be more physically inclined than a boy who grew up with older sisters, the same way that boy may be more creatively inclined than the girl. A boy may be more versed in a specific sport than a girl in the same family or vice versa based on their own interests and motivations. 

All of this is to say that no male or female is generally better than the other gender. Rather every person is inclined to their own level of skills no matter who they are. No boy should disrespect a girl because they believe they’re better at overall sports and no girl should disrespect a boy because they believe they are overall smarter