To be interested in why women generally live longer than men?

Typically, in ancient societies, men were busy with warfare, hunting, perhaps ceremonial duties (shamans, etc), and pursuits outside of the home or settlement. Women raised babies, cooked, gathered, administered primitive medicine, and when older, helped take care of babies and children, pregnant and nursing women, and had duties around medicine and food prep, community property like baskets, pots, woven items, food preservation. and passing on community wisdom around food and medicine that lasted well into the years after they were finished with childbearing. By contrast, older men were pretty much surplus to requirements apart from ceremonial / storytelling elements of life. So goes the general theory anyway..

Men are more likely to go on all day drinking benders than women, and be overweight.
Obviously a mass generalisation but true for a lot of people I know.

I am currently fulfilling the more useful function of a post meno woman, both at home and at work. Having almost retired, I now work one day a week, I am on speed dial for multiple queries and problems that happen. When I popped in on Friday to sort out my pay schedule ( self employed dentist so have to prepare my fees schedule each month and check the figures off the computer) I was grabbed by one of the nurses to “fix” a piece of equipment. Having owned and run the practice I am gradually passing on “ the knowledge”. Every year we have a clear out and the same pair of long handled forceps end up in the pile to get rid of, and every year I drag them out. They are perfect for fishing out things that fall down the back of cabinets and save us from having to unscrew the back of cupboards. They have other occasional uses.
At home I am now the mum who is consulted 24/7 by my DS and his housemates on everything from how to use the washing machine ( Google the instructions) to how to sort out bills and read electric meters. I am gradually imparting the secrets of how to live without your parents. I suspect I am the primary go to because I’m retired and according to my DS “ really do know everything”.

I am currently waiting for them to realise that they do have to sort out taking over the electric and water bills. Having read the tenancy contract from cover to cover, unlike the tenants, when they get cut off they will realise that actions have consequences. Ignoring all the bills is not ideal. I have nudged but I suspect that the “they know better” tactic will eventually backfire. But good parenting is not about fixing everything.

I’m not sure that is just women that are useful. In some families it is the patriarc that is the wise one. Maybe it’s because we continue to use our brains well beyond retirement that keeps us going for longer. My DH has lost a lot of his usefulness since retiring. He no longer uses his skillset whereas I still use mine and I’m still learning. The digital age is a whole new skill set I continue to embrace. My DS “kindly” left me a handset for his PS4 so I can use his games console he’s left at home. Currently they use the Xbox at uni. I’m now looking for games suitable for pensioners.

I’ve been reading this thread and feeling a bit daunted by my responsibilities to the species as a woman rapidly approaching menopause. 😳

If anyone’s relying on me for wisdom and guidance they are going to be sorely disappointed.

The title of the thread also made me think of a talk I watched about menopause helping women live longer (by removing the risks of childbirth) so women can teach and pass on wisdom to the younger generations.

I also recently came across an interesting theory in my DC’s book about all babies starting life as female babies I.e that is the default human; however Google says that’s not accurate
“Some people might think of female development as the default because it occurs without the SRY gene and testosterone. However, it's more accurate to say that the initial state is an "undifferentiated" state with the genetic potential for either sex, rather than a pre-existing female state that is then altered.“

I’m also reading Raising Boys at the moment and it’s quite eye opening how big the differences between the sexes can be in each developmental stage.

One of the main reasons — and one that people don’t talk about often enough — is because they’re shorter!
Jeanne Calment, who lived longer than anyone else by a surprising margin, was 4 feet 6 and 88lbs.

Most women who live to be more than 100 and almost all who live to be over 110 were, even at their peak height, significantly shorter than average and much shorter than the average man.

Not entirely sure why this is. Possibly:
More cells means more chance of cancer.
A taller height makes blood circulation more difficult.
Falling over is potentially more likely and catastrophic at 6’2’’ than 4’11’’.

I think this too. Other posts saying similar, others saying women are the more sedentary ones? Obviously individuals vary, but I wonder what the general trend is?

So you get the advantage of more offspring, but is it that much of an advantage for you personally if it makes it more likely you'll die prematurely?

Is it narrowing though?

Life expectancy gap closing in the west due to high proportion of cancer deaths and our bad diet and stressful lifestyles driving increased heart disease risk in women.

So we don't live longer, it just feels longer due to the fact that we do more childcare and housework 😀

Why do women live longer than men?
Out of principle.

That's a saying from my country.

Another big one is that men are more likely to eat a lot of meat and fat because it’s seen as masculine, for building muscle etc and this leads to higher rates of cardiovascular disease in men.

I totally get that.
My mum and her mum both worked. I work and always have. My mil and her cohort didn't. My paternal aunts didn't.
I simply made an observation from my experience - why I needed to be told I was thick as a brick I'm not sure.
I thought this was just a discussion about longevity- not a feminist onslaught.
I find the pressure of providing an
income at the mercy of an employer is stressful for both sexes - those with a guaranteed income experience less stress as studies of UBI's show.
Some women are sahm + home makers all there lives some aren't.
Both are valued members of society which is all that really matters.

Women have stronger immune systems than men. With centenarians, women outnumber men by roughly 4 to 1. I think we are overall more resilient creatures.

The majority of women, the working class have always worked. My grandmothers born just before ww2 worked their entire lives. Same with my the Victorian Great grandmother I met. Whilst you clearly don't deserve to be battered for your views you are obviously a very sheltered person.

Hopethishelps2025 is completely correct about the fact women historically have always worked alongside mothering responsibilities but blimey there's really no need for that level of venomous contempt.

And what Gingernessy has highlighted, completely reasonably in my opinion, is the blip in history in the 20th century where some WC and lower MC families were able to be supported by one (male) income for the first time alongside their upper class peers. This particular cohort now make up many of the long widowed women in their 80s and 90s and it's not unreasonable to wonder if this has impacted longevity in some cases (alongside a myriad of other factors).

Anecdotally, my own mother - WC, support worker for 30 years, mum of four - was far more knackered, in poorer health and died a decade earlier than both of her more affluent, non-working sister-in-laws who made it well into their 80s in good health.

Ofcourse we all have anecdata but we don't have to call each other thick because we have different opinions as one poster has.

@Hopethishelps2025Is there really any need to be so incredibly rude, arrogant and insulting! 🙄

How we live our lives IS largely genetic.

Hard labour because they are bigger and stronger. Dirtier jobs - go to a care home. Risk assessment and taking is almost exclusively a genetic trait. Dumb things, ditto.

We massively overestimate ‘choice’ in our behaviour because we love the idea of free will. But on a population level, most things are heritable. Weird ones like job satisfaction and whether you like the gym - heritable.

On the women working point, we can all have anecdata. My MIL gave up work and died in her 50s. So did my other MIL (I have short-lived MILs). My mum, gran and great-granny all worked and lived much longer.

A longer life is the compensation we get for having to put up with all their crap when they're alive.

I don't think it's genetic. Men do a lot of hard labour compared to women, they do a lot of the dirtier jobs, they are risk-takers and they do really dumb things from time to time. There could be a genetic element, but I think it's just how men live their lives.

As the west has not been involved in any world conflict recently, even though there was a real danger of our lads being conscripted to fight Russia, men and women might be starting to enjoy equal life expectancies. Shorter ones, however, because modern life is pure chaos compared to that experienced by Gen X and boomers.

In a nutshell ;)

Not really. Being sexually driven, more agressive and more willing to take risks has been evolutionarily advantageous, and probably still is. So from a male pov, what might look like stupid risky behaviour probably results in more offspring being produced - as long as you have a sensible, long lived female to raise it for you.

I didn't say all women didn't work - I'm well aware many do. It was just an observation.
My mil and her friends all gave up work when they married and had children. My paternal aunts the same.
None of them have worked since - they're all in there 90's and have been widowed for atleast 20 years.
None of the above makes me thick as a brick.