The 80/20 theory that we see so much on reddit and particularly here on TRP has interested me for quite some time and is an area in which I have been constantly trying to find evidence to support. When looking at this from an evolutionary perspective the 80/20 theory makes a ton of sense. However, the only evidence I have been able to come up with is mostly anecdotal with some studies such as this genetic study stating that 80% of women reproduce compared to only 40% of men, which admittedly I lack the scientific prowess to vet, and other studies provided from dating sites like tinder and okcupid.

Back in 2011, the CDC produced this study on the sexual behavior, attraction, and identity of men and women aged 15-44 in the United States. I tried searching previous post history as this study is relatively old but couldn't find anything substantive so here we are. Now before we get into the study, I would like to state that I am quite skeptical of the methodologies of most studies especially those produced by the CDC (especially after the infamous 1 in 5 women are raped study). However, according to the CDC, a relatively large sample size was used (13,495) which comprised of all martial types, race, and socioeconomic status and the questions are seemingly straightforward, all of which pass the eyeball test without going further into it all.

According to the study, this 80/20 theory is completely nonexistent and the differences there are between the sexes are relatively insignificant especially when taking into account the standard error. I mainly focused on Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4. Now what I am asking TRP is what accounts for this discrepancy? Is the 80/20 theory just a fallacy we live under to use as an excuse? Is there something in this study that invalidates its findings? I understand that men and women are prone to lying about these types of questions but I don't believe that that alone can discredit this study especially when seeing how similar each statistic is for men and women and how for off it is from an apparent 80/20 reality.