Dubai: The archetypical notions of male physical strength versus female emotional resilience have been the undertow of the gender comparisons for as long as one can remember but with each new piece of research or study into the subject, there is new cause to focus on this age-old debate.
Dr Qudsia Anjum Fasih, Specialist Family Medicine Medcare Medical Centre, Dubai, offers her insights into this sometimes contentious issue.
“I agree that women are hard-wired to be more resilient and survivors as they are the stronger sex. The X chromosome is genetically proven to have more affinity towards stronger immunity and cancer prevention than the Y chromosome and women have double X chromosome,” said Dr Fasih, referring to the might of science that throws in its lot with argument for female resilience.
“This makes women constitutionally stronger. If a female and male baby are born preterm, there is a higher chance of survival of the female child because of this strong resilience and survival instinct.”
Dr Fasih brings our attention to a fundamental operating principle. “The female hormone oestrogen has properties to store subcutaneous fat. You can see the physiological difference between a boy and a girl as they gain puberty. Their shape and size are different and the distribution of fat in a pubescent girl takes place owing to oestrogen. This fat retention gives her resilience.
“Men have a higher rate of cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, artheriosclecrosis. The woman is protected by oestrogen levels. However, after menopause, when she experiences a depletion of oestrogen, her skin becomes lax, the fat storage capacity declines, the collagen breaks down and she does experience greater vulnerability to cancer and other lifestyle diseases. However, this is still lower in incidence than what men experience.”
Nature’s decree that grants a woman the capacity to bear children works in her favour. “In child birth, a woman has to carry another life for nine months whereas the man only contributes his sperm. So a woman is hard-wired to carry enough strength — physiologically, psychologically and emotionally to weather the pressures of pregnancy.
It is said that with every child birth, a woman gives away 50 per cent of the nutritional store in her body — her reserves of iron, calcium, phosphorous, etc, to build the life within her. But after the child is born, the oestrogen helps her bounce back and build her strength and resilience and nutrition back from scratch and everything is replenished. We have seen that a woman is blessed to give birth to many more. This proves how strong the woman is.”
This innate endowment in a woman also helps her face life’s challenges with a higher degree of adaptability, said the doctor. “In times of crisis, in war zones, in times when she has to play the role of a fierce protector, the woman is really hard wired to multitask on several fronts. She is able to act with her head and her heart — which means she is physically and emotionally available to protect her family. The men are traditional hunter gatherers who can go out and procure but cannot multitask or generally be there emotionally as well.”
