In 1994 Warren Lamb wrote: “Twenty years ago I began to be aware of consistent differences between men and women in movement, and was intrigued also to find that these differences were cross-cultural; they appeared to transcend social, religious and economic considerations.”
This is a bold statement, but one that could shed light on some of the complexities troubling male and female interactions. Lamb claimed to have hard evidence for the flow patterns he observed, but sadly, his notations have been lost.
Nevertheless, I see Lamb’s notes on male and female movement as a potentially rich area of research for movement analysts. Can we confirm that men and women are capable of doing the same things, but execute them in different ways? And can we spell out those differences in movement terms?
Here is my challenge. The holidays are times when friends and family gather, and these gatherings provide lots of informal opportunities to observe men and women doing things together. Take some time to focus on how effort and effort flow are combined, and how shape and shape flow come together. If you are stuck watching a football game, see if the players combine binding with fighting efforts. If you go to see your nieces and nephews play soccer, watch how the girls and boys do the same things.
Then maybe, just maybe, the movement analysis community can come at the battle between the sexes from a different angle!