Philosophers have been studying the human body and its interaction with the world since Descartes first established the dualism implied in his quote "I think, therefore I am."  Since this time, the solution to the mystery of the "mind/body" problem has fascinated and eluded great thinkers who still subscribe to the medieval idea that truth requires certainty, that there must be a physical location for consciousness.  Studying the phenomenon of gender roles is one more way of studying the body in action in the social world.