Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!ethan
From: ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Life Expectancy
Message-ID: <151@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-May-85 14:25:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.151
Posted: Mon May 27 14:25:04 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Jun-85 11:56:54 EDT
References: <2244@decwrl.UUCP> <1517@orca.UUCP> <603@astrovax.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 23

> >  
> > Actually, longer life expectancy for women is fairly recent.  About
> > a hundred years ago, men were expected to go through at least 2 wives (no
> > divorce).  Women died young, mostly of childbirth and complications
> > relating to pregnancy and childbirth.  This began to change with Pasteur
> > and the advent of antiseptic practices. Then Margaret Sanger came
> > along with birth control information for the masses, and women were
> > freed from conceiving and bearing too many children too close
> > together.  
> 
> True.  In fact it is probably reasonable to assume that the biological
> (i.e., adaptive) reason for women's greater hardiness is connected to
> the need to withstand the stress of repeated childbirths.
> 
An additional point is that women seem to be significantly more susceptible
to auto-immune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body through
an excess of zeal.  This also makes sense if one assumes that childbirth
made disease and infection a greater threat to women than to men.

"Don't argue with a fool.      Ethan Vishniac
 Borrow his money."            {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan
                               Department of Astronomy
                               University of Texas