Member-only story
Men and Women: Our Differences And Our Butts
Debunking the men are from Mars and women from Venus myth, one butt at a time.
It is probably fair to say that most humans are aware of the fact that both men and women have butts. Given that at a certain age butts become rather noticeable to most of us, most humans probably also clocked that men’s butts tend to be narrower than women’s. Just one of those delightful little differences Nature cooked up to keep things spicy. Cue all the relevant biological explanations.
More acute observers will also notice a whole bunch of other little differences which might not be quite so obvious at first. Turns out that men tend to be somewhat more comfortable with taking risks, a bit less empathetic and socially sensitive, a bit more status-obsessed, and — crucially — better at mental rotation. Probably so we can better imagine all those butts from more angles.
And here’s where we enter the eternal nature vs. nurture debate: Are these differences evolutionary or cultural? The answer, as always, is: Yes. As in, both. D’uh. But that’s not the point. Wherever they come from, they’re here. People love to focus on and exaggerate them. Men are from Mars, women from Venus, and all that jazz. It’s catchy. But while it’s tempting to lean into…