Science Squashes Long-Held Assumption that Most Male Mammals Are Bigger than Females
Darwin proposed the idea without any evidence over 150 years ago, and since then, research contradicting it has been ignored until now.
The fact that male humans are typically larger than females has been used to support the patriarchal belief system, which claims males’ larger size and physical strength prove their superiority over smaller and perceived weaker females. This stance is further justified when compared to other primate and carnivorous species.
Yet, modern research is debunking this long-held belief. Experts studying sexual size dimorphism, which refers to the similarities or differences in the sizes between males and females within a species, include a broader range of mammalian species than primates and large carnivores.
Previous Assumption
In his 1871 publication of The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin claimed most male mammals are larger than their female counterparts. Darwin offered no evidence to support his claim about mammalian sexual size dimorphism, but it was readily accepted at the time and remains a common belief today. As evolutionary biologist Kaia Tombak at Purdue University explained to Will…
