# What can men do that women can't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 10, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140 "2000-07-10T19:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lawmill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lawmill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawmill)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/21 "2000-07-11T05:42:17Z")
> [@](#): > > How about this: ultra long-distance swimming. Women has men beat handily. Citation? Women are better gymnasts, where lacking muscle tone, and consequently weight, can be a major advantage. > [@](#): > > set up for men, meaning the very playing field was chosen by men. [ie the types of things to compete in.] how about ‘competitions’ for emotive excellence or group dynamics Track & Field abilities are a bit more objective than emotional intelligence or ability to work as a group. Men generally have more upper body strength, it has nothing to do with “playing fields”. IIRC, women tend to excell at oral activities, while men are better at visualization and written work. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/22 "2000-07-11T05:48:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I think women are superior to men in a lot of areas. Cooking and cleaning, for instance. > [@](#): > > IIRC, women tend to excell at oral activities… Oh yeah, I forgot to mention “oral activities.” Yeehaw!! ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/23 "2000-07-11T06:34:48Z")
Lawmill said: “Women are better gymnasts, where lacking muscle tone, and consequently weight, can be a major advantage.” Just a nitpick - all gymnasts, women and men, have incredible muscle tone. What women have is smaller size, which gives them a greater strength-to-weight ratio (power is proportional to size squared, weight to size cubed.) The ultra-long distance swimming is theoretical - women’s greater body fat percentage means that if an endurance event is made long enough, women should win. Don’t know if this is carried through in practice though - you have to swim a LONG way to run out of fat. I used to think women couldn’t put out a bonfire by pissing on it, but it turned out I was wrong! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/24 "2000-07-11T07:04:39Z")
So basically, what you have all decided is, women can do everything a man can do, but men can do some things better? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/25 "2000-07-11T07:32:45Z")
I don’t know any women that can scratch their balls…then again, I don’t think I want to know them, either… ---
**Author:** ![Popillia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Popillia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popillia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/26 "2000-07-11T08:05:45Z")
I don’t know about all women, but as for the ones I know there is one thing they can’t do that my male friends can. Keep their damn mouth shut while I am trying to talk to someone on the phone! “who is it?” “what did they say?” “are they coming over?” ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/27 "2000-07-11T08:14:04Z")
> [@](#): > > What can men do that women can’t? Simple: Rule the world. ---
**Author:** ![PowerpuffKue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@PowerpuffKue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PowerpuffKue)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/28 "2000-07-11T08:21:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*So basically, what you have all decided is, women can do everything a man can do, but men can do some things better? > \*\* I like your wording, “some things better”, makes it sound sexist, but it isn’t really. That quote means women can do some things better too, but it makes people guilty seeing it that way. The only question is what amount of things can women do better than men and vise versa. Try to get a man to be sensitive about something. Most likely won’t happen, but with women it happens more often, so therefore women are better than men at that. One thing I do recall is that more women have won a spelling bee (I don’t recall the name of it, but it was on ESPN & EPSN 2) more than men. Also, on a much lighter note, I was watching supermarket sweep, and there was a man runner on team 3 and women runners on teams 2 and 1. There was only a 20 second difference between team 1 and 3, so you would think that the man because of strength and speed could easily make up the margin. Hate to break it to you, but he lost because he didn’t plan anything. Although he did get the bread, he had no bonuses, no candy, no coffee, no 200 dollar envelope, it all killed him. His plan was: > [@](#): > > _Said by team 3 man on Supermarket Sweep_ > \*\* > I’m just gonna be fast and furious. > \*\* Obviously no planning, in the end, team 3 by about 300 dollars lost, easily made up by a bonus and maybe some smarter shopping. (He didn’t go in the health and beauty isle at all from what I saw). So there’s another thing women are better at, planning for many things. And as it pertains to athletics, I seriously think at young ages, if a girl is in a sport that she can be better than the guys. My cousin (Female of course) is somewhere around 7-10, and the school has her play in the boys league because she’s too good to play with the girls, and she still does good against them. So basically, restating your quote in a better way, “Women can do everything men can do, but men can do some things better, women can also do some things better, and some things men and women can tie on.” ---
**Author:** ![SarumanRex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@SarumanRex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SarumanRex)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/29 "2000-07-11T09:37:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > …the only thing I could think of that women can do that men can’t is give birth. Not without our help they can’t. Since you ruled out men giving birth with medical assistance then you have to rule out women giving “virgin” births through the miracle of science. Giving birth is a team effort, just not an equal effort. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/30 "2000-07-11T11:45:45Z")
> [@](#): > > What can men do that women can’t? Parallel park . :: runs as fast as he can :: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/31 "2000-07-11T13:11:25Z")
> [@](#): > > For some reason, not a single woman I’ve ever met can do this without extreme difficulty. Well, I can’t either. > [@](#): > > And why is a popular brand of household floor cleaner called Mister Clean, huh hm huh hm huh?!!?! Oh, come on. Everybody knows he’s a fag. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/32 "2000-07-11T14:40:14Z")
> [@](#): > > did you ever win an argument with your wife/gf? i don’t mean you thought you won based on teh merits of the debate. i mean did you win it? in teh long run?? if you don’t know what i mean, then i don’t think you can even see teh other playing field Well, I usually just beat her into submission when I start losing… JUST KIDDING! This actually had me laughing out loud. Women have the ability to cry when they get frustrated whereas men get tend to get mad. One thing men can’t do is hold their ground when the woman they love is crying. So I guess women are better manipulators… ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/33 "2000-07-11T16:05:59Z")
> [@](#): > > ## \*\* > > set up for men, meaning the very playing field was chosen by men. [ie the types of things to compete in.] \*\* Well sure. Strength, endurance, speed, and hand eye coordination are all things men needed when it came to hunting and war. If you look at every sport world wide they combine one or more of the above. > [@](#): > > \*\* > how about ‘competitions’ for emotive excellence or group dynamics. i think these are areas where women might excel. \*\* How would you set this up and judge it? > [@](#): > > \*\* > did you ever win an argument with your wife/gf? i don’t mean you thought you won based on teh merits of the debate. i mean did you win it? in teh long run?? if you don’t know what i mean, then i don’t think you can even see teh other playing field. > \*\* Because the other playing field just isn’t that important. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/34 "2000-07-11T16:24:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimbo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > What can men do that women can’t? > > Parallel park . > :: runs as fast as he can :: \*\* of course this brings up a joke: Why couldn’t Helen Keller drive? . . . . . . . . . Because she was a woman. It’s just a joke, people! ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/35 "2000-07-11T18:20:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SarumanRex \* > > Not without our help they can’t. Since you ruled out men giving birth with medical assistance then you have to rule out women giving “virgin” births through the miracle of science. Giving birth is a team effort, just not an equal effort. As I tried to make clear in my second post (which perhaps you didn’t read thorougly), of course it takes both a man and a woman to conceive, so although they both produce two different items, they both carry one essential ingredient. The actually carrying the fetus to term, however, is a girls-only event. And I was not starting another “women are better than men” thread, it was just something I was thinking about in response to that thread, so I’m not asking which is better, I’m just trying to figure out if there is some thing that men can naturally do that women can’t. As noted above, some men may be better than some women in certain things (such as sports), and vice versa, but they both can actually do them. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/36 "2000-07-11T20:09:38Z")
Since your initial statement was about childbirth, how about this: unlike a woman, a man can father ten (or, in truth, a theoretically limitless number) of children _simultaneously_, with different women. Sure, women can give birth, but they have to squeeze 'em out one at a time, with one father at a time (what say we don’t quibble about fraternal twins with different fathers, eh?). ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/37 "2000-07-11T21:00:46Z")
I can too write my name in the snow! I just have to make sure that I have room to do a bit of running around… Perhaps this is the answer- a woman has the ability to allow her man to puff himself up and crow about the “superior” sex and its acomplishments, while she of the “fairer” sex merely sits quietly and smiles knowingly. We love you, and it’s ok if you want to feel special… Just don’t piss us off and then fall asleep (thanks to Eddie Murphy) ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/38 "2000-07-11T21:14:47Z")
**Max** : > [@](#): > > a man can father . . . a theoretically limitless number of children simultaneously I think that’s the closest so far to answering the OP. I would agree with your off-the-cuff selection of 10 simultaneous kids, but with the increasing numbers of women bearing litters from OD’ing on fert drugs, ten isn’t nearly as unlikely as it once was. ---
**Author:** ![sixseatport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sixseatport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sixseatport)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/39 "2000-07-11T21:32:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dixiechiq \* > > did you ever win an argument with your wife/gf? i don’t mean you thought you won based on teh merits of the debate. i mean did you win it? in teh long run?? if you don’t know what i mean, then i don’t think you can even see teh other playing field. The problem with this is that it implies that if women always win the arguments, then they must always be right. This, of course, is BS. Personally, I rarely lose arguments with ANY female, because I don’t get involved in arguments unless I KNOW I’m right – so I’m pretty much garaunteed to win in the long run. (Also, most women I know tend to argue emotionally, not logically – which means if you can fend them off for long enough, they get drained and then you can beat them back with their own non-sensical, illogical arguments. Of course, that’s just my personal experience…) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140/40 "2000-07-12T16:06:08Z")
> [@](#): > > how about ‘competitions’ for emotive excellence or group dynamics. i think these are areas where women might excel. perhaps they naturally have ‘bigger muscles’ in those or some other area. Is this serious? competitions for emotive excellence? \ How about PMS competitions? I just don’t know what the rules would be but surely women would excel. > [@](#): > > did you ever win an argument with your wife/gf? i don’t mean you thought you won based on teh merits of the debate. i mean did you win it? Well, that is like asking did you ever win an argument with a horse or a cow. Sure you can take them to the water, but did they drink? The poster seems to think women are emotive and irrational which, I do not think is a compliment to women at all. The real problems in the real world are not solved by being emotive and irrational. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-men-do-that-women-cant/25140.md?page=3)