Womenkind: the stress-friendly species

Although this gender-based difference is believed to be hormonal, it may have an evolutionary bent. As the traditional protector of children, a ‘fight or flight’ response would be unsafe for pregnant women, preventing them from shielding their children from impending danger. Women developed a distinctive response that allows them to build relationships and form unions that benefit them and their offspring, taking advantage of the safety of a group.

Taylor stresses, ‘I hope women don’t find it offensive. But the fact is they have their own response to stress, and it’s different from men’s. That we’ve been largely oblivious to this ever since the “fight or flight” concept was first introduced in the 1930s is astonishing’.

She also admitted that her research could be open to misinterpretation by some wanting to restrict women to specific roles. ‘We’re trying very hard not to have people say, “Aha! We always thought that women should be at home taking care of their children.” In humans, any carer can provide that kind of nurturing behaviour. It doesn’t have to be the mother.’ She emphasised that the study is not meant ‘to say anything about what women should do’.

By facing stressful situations coolly, women may keep their bodies healthier. Taylor also speculates that the ‘tend and befriend’ response may hold clues as to why, on average, women live longer than men.