You know i was talking about this yesterday, and thought...is this really true?....that men age much better than women...is their any evidence to support this?....
2006-10-31 04:12:16 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Well, first you have to remember that,on the average, women outlive men by about five years. As far as aging better, that is a pretty vague criteria. I think there are some double standards going on in our society, though. Hollywood is an excellent example, male actors and leading men types are sought after well into their 60's (Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, etc) while it seems like the movies still loke their actresses to be young, blonde and dumb! How many over 50 top-level actresses can you name, besides Meryle Streep? LOL
Also, in society, for some reason, a bit of grey hair on men is considered distringuished, while on women it is usually just plain unattractive and a reminder of her age. And you often see younger women with older men, but not vice versa. So..to answer your question, I think that, physically, women age just as well if not better than men; but in society's eyes, it might be the opposite.
2006-10-31 04:20:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Physically they most likely age the same or worse. The thought that men do age better has to do with how people perceive the aging process in social way. The status of age in men is a good thing, it is seen as power and knowledge. Whereas in Females, beauty is often what they are judged on and therefore when it is lost, so is their perception of value.
Some of those perceptions are changing due to the female gender proving that they can do more and more and not just sit there and look pretty.
There is no scientific evidence that there are large differences in gender and the differences that are perceived are through the media!
2006-10-31 05:49:38 · answer #2 · answered by Keif 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, it sort of depends on what you mean by 'better'. As another poster pointed out, our society tends to look more favorably on older men (compared to younger men), and women are often valued for their youth. I'm guessing that's what you meant, since you posted it in the psych section. I'm not saying I think its right or fair, just making an observation on how society seems to value people in a very general way.
If you meant biologicaly speaking, then no, of course not. There's nothing about men that is more durable or healthy than women as they age. Men have just as many, if not more, age related health issues that arise as they get older. Actually, you could make the counter argument, that women age 'better', because women tend to live significantly longer. If you've ever been in a geriatric ward, or to a nursing home, you'll see what I mean; they're like 60-80% women; meaning the men are less likely to live long enough to need that kind of care.
2006-10-31 04:26:31 · answer #3 · answered by Geoffrey B 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No its just a social saying. If it were physically true men would outlive women but we all know thats not the case.
2006-10-31 04:41:21 · answer #4 · answered by BluLizard 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Not neccessarily true. Some feel men just look more dignified as they age where females don't.
2006-10-31 04:20:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure about aging better, but men gain value as they age while women TYPICALLY lose value.
2006-10-31 04:17:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes; specially when women let them....
2006-10-31 04:14:06 · answer #7 · answered by deevoonay 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋