# Girls mature faster? Two words: Bull. Shit. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 19, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664 "2009-04-19T23:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/1 "2009-04-19T23:26:16Z")
What’s with the cliche that girls mature faster? How do they get this? In my retail experience, teenage girls are noisier, less polite, have narrower and shallower tastes, have fewer social skills, and are just all around more obnoxious than boys their own age. When does the accelerated maturation happen? And what are the benchmarks? Because, real world, I’m not seein it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/2 "2009-04-19T23:27:45Z")
Like, wha ev… ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/3 "2009-04-19T23:29:49Z")
I think it comes more from the idea that they physically mature faster, and they’re also less physically aggressive than males. That’s usually the things I think of when i hear mature faster, with the personality itself being more of just a idiom/cliche sorta thing to say than a real actual factual statement. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/4 "2009-04-19T23:53:40Z")
Women tend to start puberty before men do, and women reach their maximum height before men do. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/5 "2009-04-19T23:55:46Z")
IME, female high school students are also less likely to do stupid things than their male counterparts. They also tend to study harder. Again, we’re speaking about general tendencies here. I say this because somebody is bound to say “Oh yeah? I knew plenty of girls who did stupid things, so there!” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/6 "2009-04-19T23:59:15Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > What’s with the cliche that girls mature faster? How do they get this? In my retail experience, teenage girls are noisier, less polite, have narrower and shallower tastes, have fewer social skills, and are just all around more obnoxious than boys their own age. > > When does the accelerated maturation happen? And what are the benchmarks? Because, real world, I’m not seein it. “Bullshit” is one word. You’ll understand this when you’re older and more mature. ---
**Author:** ![Varrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9a140/32.png) [@Varrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Varrius)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/7 "2009-04-20T00:10:21Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > IME, female high school students are also less likely to do stupid things than their male counterparts. Ummmm.. **Thunder** , I think this would be an accurate statement without the phrase “high school students”. IMHO, this doesn’t really have to do with maturity as much as it does the male ego. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/8 "2009-04-20T00:32:43Z")
Good point; however, I think it applies even when we don’t talk about stereotypically masculine activities. I mentioned that female high school students tend to be more studious, for example. I’m not the only one saying this, since it was a common observation among the teachers at my high schoo. IME, teenaged girls are also less like to cut class and they are more likely to take a dim view of cheating. Now, I won’t claim that maturity is the only reason why they behave that way – after all, human behavior can almost never be distilled into a single cause. However, on the whole, I have found that they tend to be better at making mature decisions than teenaged boys. Except when it comes to romance, that is. In that respect, I’d say that they’re even more screwed up than boys are. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/9 "2009-04-20T00:46:18Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Good point; however, I think it applies even when we don’t talk about stereotypically masculine activities. I mentioned that female high school students tend to be more studious, for example. I’m not the only one saying this, since it was a common observation among the teachers at my high schoo. > . Women exceed men in getting accepted to college and in academic performance while enrolled, with women outnumbering men two to one at some prominent public universities. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?\_r=1&pagewanted=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/10 "2009-04-20T00:54:50Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Women exceed men in getting accepted to college and in academic performance while enrolled, with women outnumbering men two to one at some prominent public universities. > [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?\_r=1&pagewanted=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1) Fucking bitches… ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/11 "2009-04-20T01:31:50Z")
This is what Great Debates has become? The anecdotal rantings of a retail clerk? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/12 "2009-04-20T01:33:33Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Women exceed men in getting accepted to college and in academic performance while enrolled, with women outnumbering men two to one at some prominent public universities. > [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?\_r=1&pagewanted=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/education/09college.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1) Excellent points. Now some would say, “So what? You don’t know for sure that this is because female students tend to be more mature.” That’s true; however, since studiousness, personal responsibility and work ethic are earmarks of emotional maturity, I think it’s a reasonable inference. Could there be other factors at work too? Doubtlessly so, but I think it’s naive to suggest that greater maturity does not play any role at all. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/13 "2009-04-20T01:34:20Z")
They get breasts before guys do. Speaking from anecdotal evidence, most girls get them by the age of 14, whereas guys who have breasts have to wait until they crack 250 pounds. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/14 "2009-04-20T01:43:08Z")
If you are a retail clerk in a women’s store, then we all have sympathy for you. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/15 "2009-04-20T01:45:28Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > What’s with the cliche that girls mature faster? How do they get this? In my retail experience, teenage girls are noisier, less polite, have **narrower and shallower tastes** , have fewer social skills, and are just all around more obnoxious than boys their own age. > > When does the accelerated maturation happen? And what are the benchmarks? Because, real world, I’m not seein it. Bolding mine. You’re talking about movies right? I recall you work in a video store. It only seems that girls have shallow tastes because they are more into romantic comedies than guys are. The “mindless action movie” is a far superior genre than the romantic comedy genre. Guys who have shallow tastes will watch the action movie, while girls will watch the romantic comedy. Social norms put the girls at a disadvantage from the start. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/16 "2009-04-20T01:46:17Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > This is what Great Debates has become? The anecdotal rantings of a retail clerk? You think this thread reflects on the entire forum? Go take a dump on some other message board. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/17 "2009-04-20T01:55:45Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > You think this thread reflects on the entire forum? Go take a dump on some other message board. I happen to like, and respect, this forum. Which is the very reason I bemoan silly thread like this polluting it. If you have a problem with that, I have a few recommendations for you. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/18 "2009-04-20T01:56:32Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > You think this thread reflects on the entire forum? Go take a dump on some other message board. Is this what Great Debates has become? ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/19 "2009-04-20T02:07:23Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I happen to like, and respect, this forum. Which is the very reason I bemoan silly thread like this polluting it. If you have a problem with that, I have a few recommendations for you. If a thread lasts, it’s because people want to discuss the topic. If it’s inappropriate- report it. What you did is called “taking a dump in someone else’s thread.” ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664/20 "2009-04-20T02:21:00Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > If a thread lasts, it’s because people want to discuss the topic. If it’s inappropriate- report it. Not every bit of idiocy that gets posted on the internet is a violation of rules. That doesn’t mean it’s not idiocy. Nor does it make it a “Great Debate”. But, to play along, I saw a couple teen-aged boys at the mall who were calling a third teenaged boy all kinds of inappropriate names in loud and vulgar language. There, I have now disproven the OP. Debate away. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girls-mature-faster-two-words-bull-shit/493664.md?page=2)