WHO’S TRULY THE WEAKER SEX?
You may be surprised, as we reveal the scientific evidence to settle the battle of the sexes in every aspect of our lives
For centuries, the battle lines in the war of the sexes have been clearly drawn. Women, it was believed, had the upper hand emotionally, with more empathy and insight. Men, meanwhile, were more physically robust and better at giving directions.
But these foregone conclusions have been flipped on their head of late, as both men and women challenge the traditional boundaries of what either gender can achieve.
The once-feminine world of ballet is one example. Former prima ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell recently said male dancers are now better than the
women, both physically and technically: ‘I see incredible talent with the men nowadays and, actually, the girls coming through are finding it hard to keep up with the guys.’
Meanwhile, in a range of traditionally male- dominated fields, it’s women who are increasingly taking the lead. research has found women make safer pilots than men, and studies show women are more likely to survive a heart attack if treated by a female doctor. And let’s not forget that the England women’s football team is now ranked third in the world — one place higher than the men’s.
So, where do we — men and women — really stand? Here’s the science behind the new, improved battle of the sexes . . .
Men reign over flatpack furniture
A STUDY by the university of Tromso in Norway found that, although women were more likely to read instructions for flatpack assembly furniture, men were at least one minute faster at getting the job done.
researchers said this could be due to men’s brains being better at mentally rotating objects and imagining them in 3D.
However, when it comes to hitting the nail on the head, women have the upper hand. According to researchers at the university of Massachusetts, women are better at hammering.
To test this, men and women in the study were given targets to hammer.
The men tended to use more strength, but women were better at hitting on target.
The researchers put the difference down to men thinking that they need to use brute force and women assuming they have to exercise more care.
Why women will never forget a face
IF YOU’RE a woman who feels like you’re constantly having to remind your other half who they’ve just been talking to at a party, you could be right.
Scientists who tracked eye movements found women look at new faces longer than men and so memorise them better, possibly because they are more interested in reading emotions.
When it comes to recognising facial expressions of people about to lose their temper, however, men do it better.
According to a 2006 study for the journal Current Biology, while women interpret happiness, sadness, surprise and disgust more quickly, males are better at spotting anger sooner — particularly in other men.
researchers suggested that men may have developed this skill because, in the past, they were more likely to need an early warning that another male was about to attack them.
Ladies hit harder by a hangover
WHEN the alcohol is flowing, plenty of us could do with an inner voice that tells us when we’ve had enough. But there’s good news for women, according to researchers at Glasgow Caledonian university, who asked people aged 30 to 50 about their drinking habits.
They found women were better able to monitor changes to their bodies when they drank and to know when draw the line. Just as well — because women also suffer worse hangovers.
researchers at the university of Missouri surveyed more than 1,230 students and found that women complained of common hangover symptoms — such as PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED BY PRESSREADER PressReader.com +1 604 278 4604 . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY ORIGINAL COPY COPYRIGHT AND PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW
dehydration, tiredness, headaches, nausea and vomiting — much more severely the morning after. That’s because females have fewer of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol and smaller livers to process it, so their bodies had to work harder for longer. Psychologist Wendy Slutske, who led the research, said: ‘Women tend to weigh less and have lower percentages of body water than men do, so they should achieve higher degrees of intoxication and, presumably, more hangover per unit of alcohol.’
Green-fingered goddesses rule
ALAN TITCHMARSH may beg to differ, but studies show women are better gardeners. Psychologists asked 25 men and 25 women to find a selection of plants hidden among other species in garden displays. The women were almost 20 per cent faster and more accurate than the men.
Dr nick neave, who led the study at the University of northumbria, said: ‘Women are more accurate at identifying plants and do it significantly quicker.’
he believes their superior skills date back to our history as huntergatherers, when it was a woman’s role to pick plants that were safe to eat.
however, it’s not all bad news for men, who will be better at finding their way to the garden centre in the first place — because a range of studies have found they are much better at orientating themselves in unfamiliar surroundings.
Scientists say this may be down to the hormone testosterone, which is more abundant in the male brain and is associated with spatial awareness, which men may historically have needed while hunting animals.
Psychologist Dr cecilia Guariglia says: ‘men have been reported to be quicker in developing and using maps and in spatial memory.’
You should drive — but get him to park
It’S long been the subject of acrimony between couples: who is better behind the wheel?
When it comes to safety, women take the crown. One study tracked more than 200 drivers at london’s notorious traffic hotspot hyde Park corner. They were marked on 14 different aspects of driving, from checking carefully to going too fast.
Women easily did better than men, scoring 23.6 points out of a possible 30, compared with 19.8 for men.
men’s worst offence was aggressive tailgating. more than a quarter drove too close to other vehicles, compared with just 4 per cent of women.
however, when it comes to parking, men may be almost as good as they think they are.
Psychologists at ruhr University in Germany asked 65 volunteers of both genders to park a large Audi in a car parking space.
They found women took up to 20 seconds longer to do so accurately in the 15ft by 6ft space.
Parallel parking showed up the biggest gender difference, with men 5 per cent better at manoeuvring the vehicle into the space.
Sharing a keyboard? Give his a quick clean
if you’re hot-desking at work and borrowing a man’s seat, you may want to give it a wipe down.
in tests of 90 offices, it was found that men have more bacteria on their workspaces, computers and chairs than female colleagues.
According to the study in the journal PLOS One, men had 10 per cent more bacteria on these surfaces than women, possibly because males wash their hands less often.
however, it may be too soon for females to feel smug about being the cleaner sex.
in another study in 2008 for the national Academy of Sciences, women were found to have a greater number of different types of bacteria on their hands.
microbiologists believe this could be because men tend to have more acidic skin — killing off some of the germs.
Another possible reason is that women tend to use more moisturisers and cosmetics, making their hands stickier and, therefore, more fertile breeding grounds for bugs.