It does not imo make any biological/logical sense to claim "men age better than women", since women have evolved-very possibly through male sexual selection- to be highly neotenous. Considering physical ageing to be "attractive" in men is not equal to men ageing "better".

kokokimoo · 2023-01-22T21:20:48+00:00

To offer a possible counter, studies show men have thicker skin compared to women (about 20% thicker) and males produce more collagen than women. Interestingly, some studies show that the collagen in a man's skin reduces at a constant rate over the years, while the collagen content in female skin reduces later in life, mostly after menopause.

I think women on average take better care of their skin than men, most men don’t wear daily sunscreen or even moisturizer. I think men naturally have better skin in the sense that they produce more collagen and their skin is denser.

I think most adults age poorly due to dieting, genetics, environmental factors, no skincare, etc. I see more women in their 45s+ that look better than men their own age simply because these women put in much more effort into their hair, skincare, make up, outfits, etc. Overall though, most people look their age and look fine.

Weshnon · 2023-01-22T21:18:16+00:00

Also men of north european descent seem to be the least neotenous- east/south asians and subsaharian black men having much less body/facial hair, low male pattern baldness, low wrinkling, and full facial features well into middle age.

North european descent also have the most proportion of neanderthal genetics, which may explain the more "harsh, masculine" features?

TermAggravating8043 · 2023-01-22T21:50:26+00:00

Op, I don’t know where you live but where I do it’s arguably the guys that age quicker. They seem to reach a point where they just ‘give up’ at 29 but still think they look the same as they did at 19, their bald, beer bellies, terrible skin, wear the same clothes every day. I’m not saying some women don’t let themselves go either but women at least hide it a bit better

RegTextoffender · 2023-01-22T22:29:40+00:00

Men age better than women in one very key factor. Women like older men far far more than men like older women, especially when you hit 45+.

My wife has aged fantastically and shes near 50, shes hotter than 95% of women her age, shes hotter than most women in their 30's (not being fat) but were she single she would have no desire for a guy in his 30's and few guys that age would want a significant LTR though I'm sure they'd tap that.

If we were divorced, I'd be looking at 38 year olds who have given up on children and realize that they don't want their middle ages to be without a steady partner. If I went younger they might want kids and I could easily and I've seen guys my current age do that, but I don't want to be Daddy 2.0 again.

My wife would need to get a guy closer to 60 to find one that would compare to me as guys like me single at my age aren't even looking her direction.

Long story long men still age, despite me looking 10 year younger than I am I can see it looking at photos from 10-15 years ago (I get told I look younger so many times out of the blue, often by other men that I know its objectively true) but women don't find that aging nearly as off putting and in fact can be attracted to it, unlike a vast majority of men do with women.

If this wasn't the case the trope of older man younger woman wouldn't be so common and the reverse so rare.

-angels-fan- · 2023-01-22T21:18:00+00:00

Well... I contest that men age better anyways.

Unless you have superior genetics, most guys at 40 are bald, fat and ugly.

Sure, you could point at Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds, but these are extreme outliers.

Your average in shape women at 40 looks better than your average in shape man at 40.

MotleyCrew1989 · 2023-01-22T21:18:37+00:00

Ww both age at the same rate.

The problem is that women sunbath and wear makeup way more than men, that has long term efects on the skin.

Some women than sunbath or go to tanning saloons look like dried leather when they age.

Regarding makeup, when they wear it they look a bit younger, they can disguise some things, when they remove it they look older because you are not used to seeing them without it.

Men, for the most part, dont sunbath as much and definitelly dont wear makeup, we always look the same way. When we wash our faces we dont look older or uglier, we look the same way.

SerpentCypher · 2023-01-22T22:52:52+00:00

Jacinda Ardern disagrees.

That woman went from looking like a normal human being into looking like Gollum in a few short years.

Impossible_You_8555 · 2023-01-22T23:37:45+00:00

The thing is women have less collagen and have to fight gravity more.

Saggy boobs etc...

A man who stays in shape ages better than a woman who does in the sense he can look less old.

Now personally I think fit milfs are incredibly sexy. But if we're saying who has a better chance if they eat right live healthy to have less visible change from 20 to 50 its men.

Mr_Chad_Thunderpenis · 2023-01-23T01:48:06+00:00

After 50, men do indeed age better than women at least visually due to the simple fact that aging has an accumulating masculinization effect on both genders' faces and while both become more masculine, on women a more feminine face is usually preferred, thus the effects of aging are more detrimental. Also menopause highly accelerates that. Easiest example is that most women's hair start thinning quite a bit around menopause, an issue that most women usually never have to deal before that. But up till 50, men age better in some things, women age better on other things, when it comes to strictly visuals. Obviously men have more leeway when it comes to fertility, let's say around a decade more of almost peak fertility.

Neoteny isn't prominent in men due to the fact that it's not preferred. Highly neotenous male faces are not attractive to most women, while highly neotenous female faces are attractive to most men.

Square-Pie9671 · 2023-01-23T05:12:02+00:00

you misunderstand the dynamic. the aging process is the same, but attractive qualities are different, resulting in a change in power balance.

womens attractiveness is extremely dependent on youth because of female fertility, and young skin and youthful behavior and mannersims are attractive. for men what makes them attractive increases with age, men because better leaders, have higher status, and more resources, and more experience with women.

the process is the same, but its implications are different because genders value different things, and men value youth directly both in appearance and behavior, while women do not, and men date younger and women date older, so it makes pefect sense that young women have an advantage over same age men, and that flips as men age.

Ok_Change_1063 · 2023-01-22T22:04:35+00:00

PPD is still trying to deny The Wall? lol

Even Japan has a term for post-wall women: Christmas cakes

Cherish_Lifee · 2023-01-22T21:39:19+00:00

the thing is a woman that is 18 is usually fully developed boobs ass etc., if you look at a 18 year old guy that is not the case at all he looks like a child, testostrone is a hormon that causes permanent changes to your body the longer you are exposed to it. if you go trough puberty and you have high testostrone lvls for 3 years you are gonna be way more manly and attractive after finishing puberty for 5 years or 6 years etc. there are basically 0 men that are in peak physical condition at 18 where as pretty much everyone woman can be in peak condition at 18. so its not that men age better its just to reach their peak they need more years and usually effort aswell.

MarBitt · 2023-01-22T21:28:22+00:00

If we omit attractiveness to the opposite sex:

men retain their fertility until older age
men’s hormones last longer, estrogen hormone begin to decline much earlier
men have thicker skin that age slower + facial hair for extra protection

But it is a fact that men go bald and die earlier. So it depends what one's priorities are.

TooBusySaltMining · 2023-01-22T21:50:32+00:00

It is women that are the gatekeepers of sex, not men; so sexual selection affects men. Look at birds and the sexual dimorphism between the sexes. The male bird will be brightly colored because the female chooses that trait, while the female will likely have coloring to camoflauge her so it is survival that determines her appearance.

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KayRay1994 · 2023-01-22T21:56:07+00:00

you’re assuming that baby face inherently = attractive - which isn’t necessarily the case. The reason why men generally tend to age better (assuming they take care of themselves, of course) is because masculine attractiveness, if you wanna call it that, is more defined by things like confidence, mileage and so on.

Generally, assuming a man goes down the right path, he’ll be more comfortable honing his masculinity and would figure out how to make it work with time as he finds himself more. Besides, sharper, more masculine features don’t contrast as well with a soft, youthful face - hence why lots of guys who look better in their 30s and 40s have a weird uncanny valley type look in their 20s

lolthankstinder · 2023-01-22T21:56:19+00:00

Sexual bimaturism tends to cause males to sexually mature at an older age than females. Also females tend to have acute physical changes at menopause while male andropause occurs more slowly over time.

AidsVictim · 2023-01-22T22:31:36+00:00

Neotenous features are not the same thing as aging slower. It simply means that characteristics associated with juveniles are retained as adults which may or may not mean they actually appear "younger". Big eyes for instance do not necessarily make someone appear younger than their age but they do evoke the "cuteness" of juveniles.

The most important years for a woman from an evolutionary standpoint are mid teens to late 20's, that's when women would be having the most children and best able to cope with childbirth. Past that retention of looks starts losing importance as many would have either already established a successful line of offspring or possibly have died in childbirth and nearing infertility or simply too frail to continue having children.

Men have a much more extended timeline (potentially lifelong for a fit enough individual) on timeline and a greater need to protect and attract mates past their 20's.

General_High_Ground · 2023-01-22T22:46:00+00:00

I don't think that men age better that women biologically, but women do lose more social benefits when they get older compared to men.

Feeling_Mousse_2191 · 2023-01-22T22:47:33+00:00

Younger people are generally healthier, and we want to reproduce with healthy people.

Features we find attractive are also signs of youth and health. Thick shiny hair, glowing skin and strength to name a few.

Steakman1 · 2023-01-23T00:51:36+00:00

I always interpreted the men age better argument as not necessarily saying they look better than women. The accomplishments that are attractive in men typically take a while to achieve. High earning, fit physique, etc. So as men reach their 30s, if they actually worked on themselves, they’ll have all these accomplishments to show while still maintaining some of their youth.

But I most certainly don’t think a man who doesn’t do much with himself will be more attractive in his 30s than his 20s.

People usually look their best in their 20s unless they don’t take care of themselves. But since women put a lot of focus into men’s accomplishments and not just their looks, while men usually don’t to the same degree with women, that’s where the argument that men age better than women comes from. At least that’s my opinion on it. But I do think more women are attracted to a mature look in men than men are with women. But of course that mature look isn’t a balding, overweight guy.

WilliamWyattD · 2023-01-23T01:14:22+00:00

When people say men age better, it is not in an objective sense. It has always been about sexual attractiveness to the other gender. Other than wrinkles, women probably age better in most 'objective' senses. But that was never the point.

dogsmoking · 2023-01-23T01:23:36+00:00

Men definitely do not age better than women by default. But depends on lifestyle and the natural looks the person was gifted to begin with. Your average 40+ man tends to look terrible compared to a 40+ woman just by appearances alone, and keep in mind pregnancies age women on a cellular level and usually physically. Women care more about grooming and fashion even if they aren't pretty by conventional standards.

howdoiw0rkthisthing · 2023-01-23T03:48:41+00:00

I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. Traits in women that are attractive to men have no bearing on traits in men that are attractive to women.

West-Ad-9697 · 2023-01-23T07:34:43+00:00

i would argue neoteny is just observational. We need just have bigger brains and they need to fit someplace even in small humans.

I would ague that the evidence grade for neoteny is on the same level as phrenology or Mayers-Briggs. And all the subsequent studies are projections based on a shaky observational concept.

HazyMemory7 · 2023-01-23T10:44:24+00:00

Most people in general don't age well, but once you get to 32+ it is damn rare to see a really attractive woman. 40+ ditto for men, but women generally can't compensate for appearance so their appearance is crucial.

It does not imo make any biological/logical sense to claim "men age better than women", since women have evolved-very possibly through male sexual selection- to be highly neotenous. Considering physical ageing to be "attractive" in men is not equal to men ageing "better".

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