Interesting analysis of the implications two overlapping distributions of characteristics between men and women. Two key grafs: It comes as no surprise then th

Interesting analysis of the implications two overlapping distributions of characteristics between men and women. Two key grafs: It comes as no surprise then that population-based studies have demonstrated sex-related differences in personality and preferences that are independent of social influences. When social influences are weakened (in more egalitarian societies such as the Nordic countries of Europe), the sex-related differences in personality and preferences actually increase (the opposite of what one would expect if men and women were wired in an identical fashion). This suggests that as environmental pressures become relaxed, innate sex-specific preferences surface. A closer look at personality traits shows that when data is analyzed in aggregate, there is a roughly 30% overlap between sexes, as schematized in the accompanying figure. The consequence of this overlap is that adolescent males who fall on the left end of the male (blue “masculine”) curve, and adolescent females who fall on the right end of the female (pink “feminine”) curve, will exhibit personality traits that diverge from the majority of other members of their own sex. In fact, due to the overlap of personality traits between males and females, the personality traits of some females will be more “male-like” than those exhibited by some, or even most males’ and vice versa.