Women are strange and mysterious creatures. But then again, men are equally odd and incomprehensible. It's like guys and girls come from different planets or something.

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People have been trying to explain the differences between men and women for centuries.  Now evolutionary biologists are trying their hand at this game.

Sexual selection is all about the reproductive aspects of evolution. It deals with the evolution of behaviours and ornaments that can be positively detrimental to an organism’s survival (peacock’s tail, moose antlers, etc.). It’s centred around the idea that sperm is cheap and easy to produce, while eggs represent a bigger investment in particular offspring. If that sounds a bit off, just think of who has the tougher job actually getting a kid out into the world, the guy who provides half the genetic material, or the woman who has to go through the whole pregnancy and childbirth part.

So it pays for females to get the best out of any males that contribute genetic material to their offspring, whether that be in terms of good genes or a nice nest with a view of the lake and a motherlode of worms a short hop away. So males are more likely to have the luxury to compete for females, and females are more likely to have the luxury of choice of partner.

That might not sound like the way things go in our day-to-day lives, but humans are exceptional creatures. The guy with the biggest biceps or bank account doesn’t always get the girl. For now, research continues as to why that is. Some of us are glad about that, though…

Take home message: Girls rule the world, with pantyhose and eyeliner, yeah.

Written by Nicklaus Kruger