Uterus is a more appropriate term than womb. Pregnancy lasts 39-40 weeks, longer than nine months. I have so many questions about several of of your assertions, but I really question the notion that women have lower pain tolerance. Childbirth? C’mon.
Oy! Lot of pop human evolutionary biology here. I researched and taught behavioral ecology for 40 years. Let me just say it's a lot more complicated than represented here. You raised the biggest caveat at the end of the article: our physiology, anatomy, and much of our behavior evolved 4+ million years ago. These traits and their underlying genetic bases change slowly. Our current culture, however, is quite recent and always changing. This makes it challenging to interpret something as complex as sexual dimorphisms in anatomy, physiology, and behavior in terms of current culture. They make more sense in terms of small groups of related humans foraging on the African savannah and then other habitats as humans migrated from Africa. Once you recognize the disparity in time scales between biological and cultural evolution, and the lag of biology compared with culture, some of the oddities of human behavior start to make sense. Incels, for example!
Among animals there is great diversity in patterns of mate choice, with ecology playing a large role. When it is difficult for males to protect critical resources, like in marine mammals, females may choose males on physical vigor as shown in combat: think elephant seal bulls fighting on a beach. When resources like food or nest sites can be defended, then females may choose males by the resources they accrue: think red-winged blackbirds. And when resources are evenly distributed, females may choose males on attractiveness and ability to help feed offspring: think most songbirds which are monogamous; females in these groups may increase the genetic diversity of their young by engaging in sneaky extra pair copulations. Like I said, it's complicated. The impulse to understand our own mating behavior in terms of evolution is understandable, but should be done with caution and modesty.
Nomenclature recommendation for this series - Use “sex”, not “gender” whenever you are referring to sex. Gender is a social construct, and using the terms interchangeably leads to confusion.
Me ha encantado el enfoque atrevido y realista del artículo. Estoy en completo acuerdo con las diferencias entre ambos sexos por necesidad de conservar la especie. Todo lo demás, es agregado a las relaciones no procreativas pero lo básico, las diferencias existen y no deberían molestar a un feminismo mal entendido. Gracias por dar unas explicaciones tan claras y científicas aunque a muchas les pesen. Yo me lo he pasado muy bien leyendo lo evidente.
I was very surprised by the claim that men have more pain tolerance than women. I was a martial arts instructor for thirty years and I thought the opposite. In my experience, men are better at tolerating physical blows (punches, kicks), where extra muscle mass can help to disperse the force; however, women always seemed more resistant to the pure "pain techniques" like joint locks, nerve strikes and pinches.
Oh my, Tomas, I admire your willingness to explore a topic that has obsessed me for the last 40 years, ever since I read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins at age 20, as part of my Biology degree. For now, a couple of small points. Beards on men are a sign of sexual maturity. They also serve to hide a non-square jawline. After menopause, women also grow "beards" (alright, chin hair). Women also hunt (think Diana, the huntress, and lionesses). How else can they feed their offspring when men are away for extended periods? So the answer to your question is sexual selection, like for the lion's mane and deep roar. The muscles are just for fighting.
BTW I'm another one who questions the pain tolerance studies.
Your viewpoint may have been relevant a century ago, but the sexual revolution and women's liberation have changed things significantly. Nowadays, men can be held accountable for child support, which discourages irresponsible fooling around. Additionally, women now have access to birth control, which empowers them to decide whether or not to become pregnant. Furthermore, better relationship between the sexes inspires shared parenting, with greater involvement from fathers. Today we are only beginning to witness the social ramifications of these changes.
As a biologist, sexual selection is One of my favorite topics especially for educating people on evolution. That was a fun article. It needs some editing... Also, it would be better to use the word "uterus" instead of "womb". Then there's the word "gender" which refers to a person's choice. You should replace "gender" with "sex" when referring to phenotype.
Don't forget to include in follow up articles, the evolutionary reasons for "sneaky f***ers" and rape.
Solid start to a series. Looking forward to the rest. Two points:
1. You're talking about median, or typical characteristics. Everything in nature is distributed. Acknowledging that is vital; in modern society, valuing the individual, the "characteristics" of a group - the median and distribution - are relevant to the assessment of individual abilities and match for a social position. Too much political controversy is grounded misunderstanding of this simple point.
2. A great resource - https://carta.anthropogeny.org/archive with material on everything from male violence and the evolution of our species to grand-motherhood.
There was big bottleneck in Y chromosome diversity that seems contemporaneous with agriculture and complexification of society. Our long hunter-gatherer past may not have shaped male selection as much as we thought until recently.
It is commonly thought that human genetic diversity in non-African populations was shaped primarily by an out-of-Africa dispersal 50–100 thousand yr ago (kya). Here, we present a study of 456 geographically diverse high-coverage Y chromosome sequences, including 299 newly reported samples. Applying ancient DNA calibration, we date the Y-chromosomal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) in Africa at 254 (95% CI 192–307) kya and detect a cluster of major non-African founder haplogroups in a narrow time interval at 47–52 kya, consistent with a rapid initial colonization model of Eurasia and Oceania after the out-of-Africa bottleneck. In contrast to demographic reconstructions based on mtDNA, we infer a second strong bottleneck in Y-chromosome lineages dating to the last 10 ky. We hypothesize that this bottleneck is caused by cultural changes affecting variance of reproductive success among males.
Can you please explicitly state what your thesis is of this article series? I feel that would be immensely helpful, as this first article appears headed in a direction of misogyny, racism, and transphobia. Please, what point are you trying to prove? Will it be helpful to marginalized groups? Or will it be used as a weapon by those that feel bodies different than their own are inferior? For example, please consider that it is well documented that the medical profession is often dismissive of pain in people with a uterus, and even more so, the pain reported by people of color with a uterus. What implications does a bold statement like "men have a higher tolerance of pain" carry? Can we make any statement regarding relative pain tolerance (which is subjective by nature)? Why make such a statement?
I appreciate based on your earlier comments that you do not have the capacity to read everything your readers suggest, so let me leave you with something thoughts from a book that I routinely reflect on. In "The Body is Not an Apology", writer and activist Sonya Renee Taylor asserts that there are 3 "peaces" we all must come to: (1) make peace with not understanding, (2) make peace with difference, and (3) make peace with your body. It is possible that this series is an attempt at #2 - making peace with difference. Please take the time to reflect on implications of this series. They are immense.
Cheers to you for tackling this topic at all, let alone doing a broad and deep dive into it. Not many people have the grapes to discuss things like this in public at all, because it just leads to massive pushback and accusations no matter what they say. Which is a shame - where are we as a culture if we can't even talk about what makes us us.
Very interesting article as usual. And, as is always the case when we see the extent to which DNA shapes everyday behaviours that most people do without being aware of it, and without being aware of what creates them, this raises the question of free will. I'd be curious to see an article from you on this subject!
Good article. Moreover, unlike other hominids, the sapiens penis is larger and has the shape of a plunger. This suggests that there is competition within the uterus between males to reach the egg. In addition, the refractory period between intercourse is longer in men than in women. Perhaps evolutionarily the woman is interested in several men thinking that they are the parents of the new offspring
Am looking forward to this series. Dont stop Tomas, unlike the fertility series where I felt you stopped short of developing your argument all the way.
What Makes Men and Women Different?
Uterus is a more appropriate term than womb. Pregnancy lasts 39-40 weeks, longer than nine months. I have so many questions about several of of your assertions, but I really question the notion that women have lower pain tolerance. Childbirth? C’mon.
Oy! Lot of pop human evolutionary biology here. I researched and taught behavioral ecology for 40 years. Let me just say it's a lot more complicated than represented here. You raised the biggest caveat at the end of the article: our physiology, anatomy, and much of our behavior evolved 4+ million years ago. These traits and their underlying genetic bases change slowly. Our current culture, however, is quite recent and always changing. This makes it challenging to interpret something as complex as sexual dimorphisms in anatomy, physiology, and behavior in terms of current culture. They make more sense in terms of small groups of related humans foraging on the African savannah and then other habitats as humans migrated from Africa. Once you recognize the disparity in time scales between biological and cultural evolution, and the lag of biology compared with culture, some of the oddities of human behavior start to make sense. Incels, for example!
Among animals there is great diversity in patterns of mate choice, with ecology playing a large role. When it is difficult for males to protect critical resources, like in marine mammals, females may choose males on physical vigor as shown in combat: think elephant seal bulls fighting on a beach. When resources like food or nest sites can be defended, then females may choose males by the resources they accrue: think red-winged blackbirds. And when resources are evenly distributed, females may choose males on attractiveness and ability to help feed offspring: think most songbirds which are monogamous; females in these groups may increase the genetic diversity of their young by engaging in sneaky extra pair copulations. Like I said, it's complicated. The impulse to understand our own mating behavior in terms of evolution is understandable, but should be done with caution and modesty.
Nomenclature recommendation for this series - Use “sex”, not “gender” whenever you are referring to sex. Gender is a social construct, and using the terms interchangeably leads to confusion.
Me ha encantado el enfoque atrevido y realista del artículo. Estoy en completo acuerdo con las diferencias entre ambos sexos por necesidad de conservar la especie. Todo lo demás, es agregado a las relaciones no procreativas pero lo básico, las diferencias existen y no deberían molestar a un feminismo mal entendido. Gracias por dar unas explicaciones tan claras y científicas aunque a muchas les pesen. Yo me lo he pasado muy bien leyendo lo evidente.
I was very surprised by the claim that men have more pain tolerance than women. I was a martial arts instructor for thirty years and I thought the opposite. In my experience, men are better at tolerating physical blows (punches, kicks), where extra muscle mass can help to disperse the force; however, women always seemed more resistant to the pure "pain techniques" like joint locks, nerve strikes and pinches.
Oh my, Tomas, I admire your willingness to explore a topic that has obsessed me for the last 40 years, ever since I read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins at age 20, as part of my Biology degree. For now, a couple of small points. Beards on men are a sign of sexual maturity. They also serve to hide a non-square jawline. After menopause, women also grow "beards" (alright, chin hair). Women also hunt (think Diana, the huntress, and lionesses). How else can they feed their offspring when men are away for extended periods? So the answer to your question is sexual selection, like for the lion's mane and deep roar. The muscles are just for fighting.
BTW I'm another one who questions the pain tolerance studies.
Your viewpoint may have been relevant a century ago, but the sexual revolution and women's liberation have changed things significantly. Nowadays, men can be held accountable for child support, which discourages irresponsible fooling around. Additionally, women now have access to birth control, which empowers them to decide whether or not to become pregnant. Furthermore, better relationship between the sexes inspires shared parenting, with greater involvement from fathers. Today we are only beginning to witness the social ramifications of these changes.
As a biologist, sexual selection is One of my favorite topics especially for educating people on evolution. That was a fun article. It needs some editing... Also, it would be better to use the word "uterus" instead of "womb". Then there's the word "gender" which refers to a person's choice. You should replace "gender" with "sex" when referring to phenotype.
Don't forget to include in follow up articles, the evolutionary reasons for "sneaky f***ers" and rape.
Enjoyed the article!
Solid start to a series. Looking forward to the rest. Two points:
1. You're talking about median, or typical characteristics. Everything in nature is distributed. Acknowledging that is vital; in modern society, valuing the individual, the "characteristics" of a group - the median and distribution - are relevant to the assessment of individual abilities and match for a social position. Too much political controversy is grounded misunderstanding of this simple point.
2. A great resource - https://carta.anthropogeny.org/archive with material on everything from male violence and the evolution of our species to grand-motherhood.
There was big bottleneck in Y chromosome diversity that seems contemporaneous with agriculture and complexification of society. Our long hunter-gatherer past may not have shaped male selection as much as we thought until recently.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381518/
It is commonly thought that human genetic diversity in non-African populations was shaped primarily by an out-of-Africa dispersal 50–100 thousand yr ago (kya). Here, we present a study of 456 geographically diverse high-coverage Y chromosome sequences, including 299 newly reported samples. Applying ancient DNA calibration, we date the Y-chromosomal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) in Africa at 254 (95% CI 192–307) kya and detect a cluster of major non-African founder haplogroups in a narrow time interval at 47–52 kya, consistent with a rapid initial colonization model of Eurasia and Oceania after the out-of-Africa bottleneck. In contrast to demographic reconstructions based on mtDNA, we infer a second strong bottleneck in Y-chromosome lineages dating to the last 10 ky. We hypothesize that this bottleneck is caused by cultural changes affecting variance of reproductive success among males.
Yo make a good biological analysis but forget how culture and social environment changes preferences and flirting uses
Can you please explicitly state what your thesis is of this article series? I feel that would be immensely helpful, as this first article appears headed in a direction of misogyny, racism, and transphobia. Please, what point are you trying to prove? Will it be helpful to marginalized groups? Or will it be used as a weapon by those that feel bodies different than their own are inferior? For example, please consider that it is well documented that the medical profession is often dismissive of pain in people with a uterus, and even more so, the pain reported by people of color with a uterus. What implications does a bold statement like "men have a higher tolerance of pain" carry? Can we make any statement regarding relative pain tolerance (which is subjective by nature)? Why make such a statement?
I appreciate based on your earlier comments that you do not have the capacity to read everything your readers suggest, so let me leave you with something thoughts from a book that I routinely reflect on. In "The Body is Not an Apology", writer and activist Sonya Renee Taylor asserts that there are 3 "peaces" we all must come to: (1) make peace with not understanding, (2) make peace with difference, and (3) make peace with your body. It is possible that this series is an attempt at #2 - making peace with difference. Please take the time to reflect on implications of this series. They are immense.
Cheers to you for tackling this topic at all, let alone doing a broad and deep dive into it. Not many people have the grapes to discuss things like this in public at all, because it just leads to massive pushback and accusations no matter what they say. Which is a shame - where are we as a culture if we can't even talk about what makes us us.
Very interesting article as usual. And, as is always the case when we see the extent to which DNA shapes everyday behaviours that most people do without being aware of it, and without being aware of what creates them, this raises the question of free will. I'd be curious to see an article from you on this subject!
Good article. Moreover, unlike other hominids, the sapiens penis is larger and has the shape of a plunger. This suggests that there is competition within the uterus between males to reach the egg. In addition, the refractory period between intercourse is longer in men than in women. Perhaps evolutionarily the woman is interested in several men thinking that they are the parents of the new offspring
Am looking forward to this series. Dont stop Tomas, unlike the fertility series where I felt you stopped short of developing your argument all the way.