14 DAY TRIAL // Definitely, men and women are different species. And if you think it's just a physical difference, that's wrong. There are differences in all inner organs, including the brain. These brain differences are, of course, translated into behavioral differences.
These sex differences in people's brains and behaviors were revealed by the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Sex ID Internet Survey.
The investigation focused on 250,000 participants' sex-linked cognitive abilities, personality traits, interests, sexual attitudes, behavior and physical traits. The survey was made in just three months (February-May 2005) on subjects from all over the world.
"Much is made of the different agendas of science and the media, and the tensions that can occur when the two interact.
Although this tension is not likely to disappear in the near future, it is hoped that this project can serve as an example of how positive interaction between the two professions can have beneficial consequences for both." said co-author Stian Reimers, from the Department of Psychology at University College London in the UK.
Some of the tackled topics, linked to sex differences, brain and sexuality, are:
- Mental abilities drop with age more severely in men than in women: in other words, men are more prone to senile dementia and the age related decline is much steeper than in women, no matter the sexual orientation.
- In various cultures, the sex differences in mate preferences were quite similar.
The most desired traits in a partner are intelligence, humor, honesty, kindness, overall good looks, face attractiveness, values, communication skills and dependability.
But for men all over the world good looks and facial attractiveness are more important than for women, while for women honesty, humor, kindness, and dependability really matter.
- The research also found a link between handedness and sexual orientation: bisexual subjects were also ambidextrous. - Brain sex differences also correlated with sexual difference in mental abilities.
Men are more skilled than women on mental rotation and judging line angles, but women are better on object location memory and word fluency.
Gay men's visual-spatial abilities resemble more that of women than of heterosexual men. Also, in the case of the lesbian women, these abilities were more man-like than in the case of the heterosexual women. These aspects point to the fact that homosexuality is not an option but something innate and linked to the brain structure.
- Sex drive was also found to function differently in men and women.
High libido in women is connected with increased sexual attraction to both women and men, while in men, increased libido is targeted just to one sex, female or male, but not both at a time.