Week: 610.4

Guest: Desmond Morris, author The Naked Ape, producer -The Human Sexes

Topic: Women & equality

Host/Producer: Steve Girard

NEMA: Gender equality....coming up....

SPOT: The best emergency is one that doesn’t happen. The National Emergency Medicine Association. Visit us at www.nemahealth.org.

NEMA: Desmond Morris’ says women have always been different from men, but always equal...though society has not always represented that fact. Morris’ new TV series is The Human Sexes, which examines gender roles throughout history. Today’s women weigh the challenge of career and the pull of biology....

MORRIS: ...because it’s extremely difficult for women today to have a major role in business or commerce, or politics, or any other aspect of major importance in society, and at the same time to rear a family of children. That’s a terribly difficult task for her, and we’ve devoted an entire program to what we call, ‘The Maternal Dilemma’ because they still have strong maternal urges, and want to rear a family. And I’m afraid the rebellion has to go a step further...it has to actually see a change in the structure of society that enables women to do both at once. And that’s something that has to be...that’s a problem that has yet to be solved, if women are going to get equality back without losing their femininity and their maternal satisfaction.

NEMA: Other segments in The Human Sexes include looks at gender symbols, different methods of couple relationships, rituals of passage, and gender wars. The series begins February 2nd on The Learning Channel. I’m Steve Girard at The Heart of the Matter.