Do you think men and women are 'of equal value but different' or actually 'the same'?

That's why Michael Moore put a page of contact details for sperm banks and stepladder sellers in one of his books, LI

I am short, and if I can't reach something, I much prefer to ask a woman who is taller to help, than a man. Asking a man makes me feel inferior - asking a woman doesn't.

Anyway, that digression aside, I think a). Not different in that we are differently able, but clearly we have different physical attributes. I think maybe it's a case of 'more men than women will be good at XXX' but that doesn't mean that only men will be good at it and that only men should have a chance of doing it.

Neurosexism is responsible for a lot in my opinion. <a class="break-all" href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/?id=102202&story=www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/15/girls-boys-think-same-way" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this article is a useful antidote to those who like to point out that men are naturally better at x, y or z.

I am of the opinion that men and women are basically the same. There is far more variance within the sexes, than between.

I think there are average physical differences but there is such a large range that it is not safe or reasonable to make any judgements based on them. It needs to be individual.

I think with anything non-physical you get into difficulties with measurement.

Physically - I'm talking bits here - there are obvious differences, although of course there is a huge area of intersex that is not talked about much. In terms of strength & height and face shape etc, I agree with the OP - average small differences, but not really worth getting het up over, unless you really need someone who's 7 foot tall, in which case a man is your best bet.

But mentally/psychologically I am inclined to think we are basically the same. Or rather, we are all different and grouping by sex is probably a bit of a red herring. However the things we are taught to be good at, and ways we are taught to behave by society are often very different. I was trying to explain this recently by saying that if you are trained to be a truck driver from birth, presented with pictures of trucks, toy trucks, games to improve co-ordination etc, it's no surprise that your brain develops in a way favourable to truck driving. If a boy is allowed/encouraged to play computer games that promote quick reactions and concentration, while a girl would be prevented from doing the same (possibly by worries about being "anti-social"), it's not surprise if the boy becomes better at mechanical stuff and not so good at communication.

We are different physically but of the same value. I think that the problem arises when people use our average physical differences and confer a value difference from them.

For example:

It is 'better' to be stronger.
The average man is stronger than the average woman.
Therefore men are 'better' than women.

We, as feminists, take exception to the (erroneous) conclusion but I think we often struggle to engage with people in a way that highlight how illogical these type of conclusions are.

Well of coirse it's a. Of course they are not actually the same.... one's a man one's a woman!

They are not physically the same - a man can never have a baby and I can never grow a beard (oh: I need a better example than that!)
But mentally, I would like to think that we are the same blank canvas so that either sex could fulfil what are traditionally gendered roles eg doctor/nurse, breadwinner/carer etc.

I think the average woman is different from the average man, but I think men seem to enjoy a position or a status which is based on the better than the average and perhaps it's the opposite for women.