Oomis, my husband is often impressed with my analytical abilities, especially in discussing parsha or other Shabbos table discussions. I may well have the brains to learn, but I have no desire to. Despite the trend of the education Bais Yaakov provides, most girls are seriously machshiv Torah but don’t have the inclination to learn gemara. We’re just not wired that way. And there’s still so much to learn for those who want to – Tanach with meforshim, sifrei machshava, mastering halacha l’maaseh, etc.
Tzippi, we don’t disagree fundamentally. I do believe, however, that the girls who like you, do not feel a desire to elarn Gemarah, have not been exposed to it. I don’t believe it has so much to do with hard-wiring as it does a basic lack of exposure to Talmud study. Most of us females are not offered the opportunity from grade five on, as boys are. I learned Mishneh when I was in 6th grade, and Gemarah (to a limited degree) when I was in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades (Ailu Metziyos, Hamafkid, Hameiniach). I loved it, and I was really sorry that I could not continue through further study in high school. I was very excited when I realized how much of our civil tort law is based one exactly what I had been taught. I would NOT have wanted to learn Gemara on a full-time basis, but more as a shiur, but I think there is value in the learning for any woman who is desirous of doing so. Likewise, there is nothing bad about a woman who does NOT want to do so. I don’t like expressions like “wired” to do or not do something. Everyone is different, and what you feel from having grown up in a BY environment (which totally colors you hashkafa – and nothing wrong with that), might be different from what someone in a different Yeshivah might feel. if you grew up thinking women should be in one type of category, you will probably not easily want to see them in a different category.