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By Dr Pius Musau
A married man walks into a hotel with his secret lover. They book a room that is unlikely to be a venue for discussing global warming or the day’s currency rates. His wife comes to the same hotel with her lover who books a room for similar intentions. When this couple bumps into each other, the man goes ballistic as to show his wife’s betrayal. Despite their commonalities, the man’s ego is pricked more by this shared pastime of cheating on each other.
The trouble with being a man
Men were designed for adventure. In the propagation of species in which a single sperm fertilises one ovum, one man can fertilise all women in the universe and have some millions of sperms to spare. The women, on the other hand, were meant for cautionary approach to life. They are born with a maximum one million eggs, a mere 40,000 of which progress to maturity and a tiny fraction ends up fertilised in their reproductive years.
And so in the cutthroat competition of survival for the fittest, a woman has all the advantages of picking her choice, hence their sense of contentment and better understanding. The man, on the other hand, has been instinctively tuned to believe in a competition, which he has to win for his genes to be propagated. This explains the irrational outbursts and meaningless jealousy men show when their evolutionary interests appear to be threatened.
Why men are weak
Genetics: The Y-chromosome is not only responsible for making men; it is the weaker of the chromosomes and by extension the weaker sex. Contrary to anthropological assertions, biology tells us males are less equipped to face adversities like birth trauma, stress and major life challenges.
Hormones: The male hormone testosterone gives more than just the sexual characteristics; it makes men adventurous, competitive, and driven for success. It also makes them aggressive and prone to violence instead of arguing their points.
Mental endowment: Male brains are focused on practicalities, while women also have a sensual world of words and emotions.
Societal expectations: Right from the time men learn gender differences, they are primed, nurtured, and even cajoled to be different from the fairer sex. Caught on an equal footing, the typical man feels inadequate irrespective of the heights scaled to be at par with a woman.
The writer is a consultant urologist and lecturer at the Department of Surgery, Moi University, School of Medicine.
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