Are women really more emotional than men?

Irrational. Overdramatic. Hysterical. Sensitive. If you're a woman, you have most likely been described using one of those words or similar in the past. That's because there's a common belief that women are more emotional than men. which still persists to this day. It can sometimes be framed in a positive way, saying that women show more empathy, but all too often it's used as a weapon to dismiss what a woman is saying.

Is there any scientific basis to such assumptions?

Actually, no. And as it turns out, it's not based in reality at all. Back in October 2021, a study entitled Little Evidence for the Influence of Sex or Ovarian Hormones on Affective Variability was published in the highly respected scientific journal Nature. Researchers from the University of Michigan and Purdue University in the US monitored the emotions of 142 women and men for a period of 75 days.

Every evening, participants answered a 20-minute online questionnaire about the emotions they had experienced during the day. They had to rate the extent to which they had experienced certain positive effect items like happy and proud, on a scale of 1 to 5. The same was done for negative effect items like irritable and afraid.

A mix of women with natural menstrual cycles and women using contraception were selected as participants. specifically to look into the idea that women are more emotionally variable during their cycle, a long-standing popular belief.

What were the results then?

The emotional stability and fluctuations of men and women are clearly, consistently, and undeniably more similar than they are different, according to study lead author Adrienne Belz, as quoted by today.com.

Also talking to today.com, Robert Blum, a professor of public health and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, stressed that there is in fact no biological basis for thinking that women are more emotional than men. So humans have been misguided for a long time in that respect.

However, Blum also pointed out that there is a strong and global finding that males are socialised to hide their emotions, while it is far more legitimate for females to share them. And the effects of these double standards are dangerous.

How so?

Statistics show that the overwhelming majority of people who end up in prison are men. The same is true when it comes to the proportion of people who commit suicide. This is partly due to men struggling to externalize and manage their emotions, precisely because of societal expectations and upbringing.

Meanwhile, incorrect assumptions about women have led to a lack of understanding of the female body. Generally speaking, women are diagnosed with chronic illnesses and given pain relief less often than men. That's because they have historically been excluded from scientific and medical studies due to their presumed emotional variability. There you have it.

词汇表
irrational [ɪˈræʃənl] 不理智的，缺乏理性的
overdramatic [ˌəʊvədrəˈmætɪk] 反应过激的；过于夸张的，过分戏剧化的
hysterical [hɪˈsterɪkl] 歇斯底里的，情绪失控的
sensitive [ˈsensətɪv] 敏感的，易受影响的，神经过敏的
persist [pəˈsɪst] 继续存在，持续
frame [freɪm] （措词谨慎地）表达，说出，表述
empathy [ˈempəθi] 同理心，共情，共鸣
dismiss [dɪsˈmɪs] 否定，驳回，不予理会  
assumption [əˈsʌmpʃn] 设想，假定，假设
entitle [ɪnˈtaɪtl] 给…命名，以…为标题
ovarian hormone [əʊˈveəriən ˈhɔːməʊn] 卵巢激素
affective variability / emotional variability [əˈfektɪv ˌveəriəˈbɪləti] 情绪波动，情绪易变，情绪不稳定
monitor [ˈmɒnɪtə(r)] 监测，监视
irritable [ˈɪrɪtəbl] 易怒的，暴躁的，过敏的
menstrual cycle [ˈmenstruəl] 月经周期，生理周期
contraception [ˌkɒntrəˈsepʃn] 避孕，避孕措施
emotionally variable [ɪˈməʊʃənəli ˈveəriəbl] 情绪易变的，情绪不稳定的
long-standing 长期存在的，由来已久的
emotional stability [ɪˈməʊʃənl stəˈbɪləti] 情绪稳定性
fluctuation [ˌflʌktʃuˈeɪʃn] 波动，起伏，变动
consistently [kənˈsɪstəntli] 一致地，一贯地，始终如一地
undeniably [ˌʌndɪˈnaɪəbli] 毋庸置疑地，不可否认地
pediatrics [ˌpiːdiˈætrɪks] 儿科学，小儿科
biological basis [ˌbaɪəˈlɒdʒɪkl] 生物学依据，生理基础
misguide [ˌmɪsˈɡaɪd] 误导，使引入歧途
respect 方面，细节
be socialised to [ˈsəʊʃəlaɪzd] 被社会化为，被培养成（行为模式或角色）
legitimate [ləˈdʒɪtɪmət] 合理的，可接受的，得到认可的
double standards 双重标准
the overwhelming majority of [ˌəʊvəˈwelmɪŋ məˈdʒɒrəti] 绝大多数的，绝大部分的
commit suicide [kəˈmɪt ˈsuːɪsaɪd] 自杀，自尽
externalize [ɪkˈstɜːnəlaɪz] 使外在化，表达，表露（情绪、思想等）
societal expectation [səˈsaɪətl ˌekspekˈteɪʃn] 社会期望，社会期待
upbringing [ˈʌpbrɪŋɪŋ] 教养，抚养，成长环境
chronic illness [ˈkrɒnɪk] 慢性疾病
pain relief [peɪn rɪˈliːf] 止痛，疼痛缓解的药物（或方法）
be excluded from [ɪkˈskluːdɪd] 被排除在…之外，不被允许参与…
presume [prɪˈzjuːm] 认定，假定，推定

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