Relevant to the next running campaign I’m putting together, MSN have a timely article about Girls vs Boys. I’m sure that the below stats will come in handy at some point. Good for sparking a debate too!
Why Are Women Better?
5. Girls perform better at school
Adolescence for girls usually begins at age 12, whereas boys start to mature, on average, two years later at age 14. Boys are also more prone to hyperactivity (ADD) and dyslexia, which may affect their performance in school.
4. Women live longer
UK life expectancy figures have increased dramatically over the past century, but there’s still a gap. Figures for 2008 show life expectancy for men to be 77.2 years, while the average woman can expect to live until she is 81.5. Men are more likely to commit suicide: three-quarters of the suicides in 2007 were committed by men – blamed on social expectations for men not to verbalise their emotions
3. Women make better citizens
Women make up less than 6 per cent of the total UK prison population (2005 statistics). Perhaps the gap between male and female prisoner numbers exists to avoid separating mothers from children. Yet the nature of the crimes committed by women—the most common are shop-lifting, fraud and drug offences—differ from those committed by men, suggesting that female offenders pose less threat to public safety.
2. Women are safer drivers
In 2006 97 per cent, of motorists convicted of dangerous driving were male. While women are more likely to make low-level mistakes, such as stalling at a junction, men are prone to taking greater and more life-threatening risks, such as drink-driving or speeding.
1. Women are more cooperative
In a study held in 2007 participants played “The Prisoner’s Dilemma,” a game where contestants must choose between the desire to be selfish and the need for compromise. (The premise of the game is that you and your partner in crime are arrested for stealing a painting, which is spattered with blood. You are held in separate cells and do not know what your partner will say. If you both stay silent and cooperate, you will both serve short jail sentences for theft. If you inform and accuse your partner of murder, you will get away scot-free. If, however, you and your partner inform on each other, you will both serve long jail-sentences.) Women consistently chose to cooperate with each other, thereby achieving higher payoffs than men.
Even in situations of stress, women appear to react in a more cooperative manner. Brain scans of 16 men and 16 women put in situations of moderate tension showed that bloodflow in women’s brains increased in the limbic area, the part of the brain associated with a nurturing and friendly response. Men’s bloodflow, meanwhile, increased in the area of the brain responsible for the “flight and fight”
Why are Men Better?
5. Men are funnier
Not only do men tell a lot more jokes than women, according to a study held in 2007, but those jokes are also more likely to be considered funny. The outcome of the year-long study showed that 71 per cent of women laugh when a man tells a joke, while only 39 per cent of men laugh at a joke told by a woman. The figures support a commonly held view that men find funny women intimidating, while women find funny men attractive.
4. Men have a higher tolerance to alcohol (not sure that this counts as “Better”!)
Men can drink more than women due to their higher muscle mass. Women convert more food into fat, while men convert more into muscle. Muscle tissue contains a higher percentage of water than fat tissue, and this water acts as a dilutant to alcohol, keeping men sober for longer.
3. Men make better dieters
It appears to be men who, when they set their minds to it, make better dieters. In 2008 neuro-scientist Dr Wang scanned the brains of 23 male and female participants who had not eaten for 17 hours. Their favourite meals were placed in front of them so that they were able to smell the food, but not touch it, and they were then asked to try to think of something else for 45 minutes. The results of the brain scan showed that men were more successful at suppressing their conscious desire to eat, while women still had cravings for food. This ability to suppress their appetite can explain how men are able to diet more successfully than women.
2. Men feel the cold less
Men tend to feel the cold less than women, despite the fact that the core body temperature of a woman is, on average, 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit higher than a man’s. In winter weather, women tend to have colder hands and feet than men because, in order to maintain their warmer core temperature, they send less blood to their extremities, redirecting it instead to the most important organ, the heart.
1. Men are stronger
The higher rate of conversion of food into muscle, rather than fat, helps to explain why women are only approximately 52 per cent as strong as men in the upper body, and about 66 per cent as strong in the lower body. Males are also on average 8 per cent taller and 15 per cent heavier than females, helping to contribute to their superior physical power.
