Men and women are different, of course. We have different primary and secondary sexual characteristics. But there are more subtle differences throughout our bodies as well. One example is in our hands.
Is it important to understand the differences between female hands vs male hands? It might be. Some researchers think the size and shape of our hands might be markers of what we were exposed to before birth. That could be useful information in fields like forensic anthropology (identifying human remains), evolutionary biology (understanding how humans have changed over time), and developmental biology (understanding how humans develop).
One measurement that’s gained some attention is the digit ratio, or 2D:4D ratio. That’s the length of your index finger (2D) divided by the length of your ring finger (4D). The idea is that this ratio might reflect how much androgen (like testosterone) you were exposed to before birth.
In this article, we’ll explore what we know about the differences between male and female hands. We’ll look at digit lengths, hand width, hand length, and other measurements. And we’ll also consider other factors besides prenatal hormone exposure that might explain those differences.
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