To think men take more risks than women do?

[pregahes]

Just that really. Having a debate and I think this is the case.

What are your thoughts and if you agree, why do you think this is? Nature or Nurture?

Study after study has shown that men take more risks than women, across all different domains.

@Brumhilda you are rude

It's an opinion,you don't have to agree with it but it doesn't mean you should insult other people for have a different one to you.

Women are more likely to take the 'choice' of sedentary lifestyle & getting fat.

Women are more likely to drive a car & not have a clue how to fix it in case of breakdown.

Women are more likely to use hair dye, body spray, make-up and random body potions without understanding what's in that stuff & if it's safe to use.

Women are the much bigger risk takers in those areas.

Yes I'm male, I'm a big guy, I can take care of myself, I was brought up to evaluate situations...but at 55 in looking back and think wtf...why did I buy a second pint in that pub, why did I get in that car with him, why did I go to football with them, why did I tell that bloke and his 3 mates they were out of order when it was just me and the young bar maid.
Then I think, why did I stop the bloke kicking the shit out of his wife, why did I stop the bullys picking on that kid, why did I stop the safari guide who relies on tips chasing that lion off road.
because I have a code I live by. Because I am less of a person, let alone less of a man if I don't stand up for what I think is right.

Government obesity statistics show that men are more likely to be overweight or obese than women. Something like 69% of men compared to 58% of women. Something like that. Although it depends on age group if I remember. Women’s obesity is higher in some age groups.

100% CORRECT!

My DD takes more risks than anyone I've ever known - climbing in remote parts of Peru above 4300m on unclimbed routes for starters. It's in all areas of her approach to life - she can identify risks, identify that things might not work out but that doesn't seem to phase her so she'll get a cheap flight, arrive at some inconvenient hour with no trains running and walk 10k across a strange city instead of hanging around find nothing, etc and doesn't over compensate to allow for planes or trains arriving late and there being little time left to make the next connection, she doesn't come unstuck that often and improvises to get round problems when they do crop up. She does a lot of endurance sports so it's something in her mindset that makes her attack life at full pelt all the time but she can't ride a bike to save her life (without having an accident) and regularly loses keys, passport, phone, etc.

Depends how you define risk. Risk tends to be considered on a short term basis but if you take a wider, longer term definition the ratios even out. For example, women are more likely to give up / forgo a career in place of caring for others - that is a financial risk. Studies show that women are more likely to give blood & are more likely to be living organ donors.

I don’t know how walking along a dark street became an example of risk.

The biggest risk women take is living with men. Just not having a male domestic partner removes the vast majority of the risk that a woman willl be raped or murdered.

it’s true we probably make fewer stupid choices around motorbikes.

Yeah I mean when I was at school a lad broke his arm because "Jackass" was very popular back then and a group of 15 year old boys thought it'd be hilarious to skate off a roof or something...the sort of stupid shit men/boys do that girls generally don't. My brothers also were lucky to survive into adulthood whereas I'm extremely risk-averse. Think I've given up trying to understand men.

This!

OMG. Socialisation definitely comes into it when boys learn that women will describe men as "weedy" for not taking crazy risks.

They do. It’s been shown in research. It’s too late to provide sources though ⏰ 🥱

I think expecting controls on products where you live to be safe was a fair assumption for people to make. Until Brexit we did expect the majority of things we owned to be checked and regulated.

I think if you add everything else we now don't check on import (food, appliances and other phytosanitary products) the risks are fairly evenly balanced. Men also get spray tans, use body lotions and dye their hair. Do you think they somehow know what is in them or pay more attention than women?

I also don't think many men know how to fix a whole car and again, the danger is far more from another male smashing into the car at the side of the road than the car itself. I think women are more likely to buy newer cars than old fixers that don't have warning lights and probably can't handle potholes, for example.

Men take selfish risks. Women take risks because they have little choice, or because they hope it will work out as making everyone happier. Not just for their own pleasure.
I feel at risk constantly just because I'm frail and female. Women are told not to take risks as it will mean they'll be taken advantage of. Like, 'oh well you went into the hotel room with him? What did you expect'.etc. Men are told taking risks is brave, dynamic, appealing to women etc

I once read a book about. Prison Officers experiences of prisons both make and female. The officer said that when men go into prison it's all about them , what's going to happen right here right now . With women in prison they fret about what going on at home , the family and how they are coping etc . I think men live in the here and now and can put things on a shelf and are not as sentimental. They live more in the moment.

But the mugger is more likely to go for the easier, softer target.

Yes which is what is quite terrifying because many seem to have little awareness of the past or future impacting them in any form of decision making. You can't police people who don't understand actions and consequences.

Yes definitely - boys are rewarded for trying things, innovating, taking risks, getting things wrong. As well as bring rewarded to do so, men are also more secure and strong so of course they feel more able to and risk of it not paying off less scary.

Applies to lots of areas of life and remember a good conversation/article about how it plays out in professional tennis too

In "More than a woman" CaitlinMoran speaks to this, she says and I paraphrase:
" womenknow when the shit hits the fan, it is on them, they have mouths to feed and children's shoes to buy, they know theycan't afford to take risks" I think this is true.

Exactly, there is nothing to discuss, this is well established, straight forward biology.

Testosterone is positively correlated with risk- taking behaviour.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X10002989

This is why it’s important for boys to have male role models - adult males should model socially acceptable ways of dealing with and channeling the behavioural consequences of testosterone spikes (risk taking, searching for adventure, aggression etc).

@BluntPoet Yes, and as I previously mentioned in the thread why the uptick in steroid use has created a huge wave of aggression and violence. The risk assessment doesn't happen (libido, shrinking penis, increased aggression and violent behaviour - ie injuring someone you love and ending up in prison increased risk, the skin even turns red in excessive use and that doesn't seem to register - some men just want to be buff at all costs.