Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
The Minerva Project • July 4, 2025
“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”: a phrase popularized by John Gray in his 1992 book used to illustrate the psychological and behavioral differences between men and women. While certainly eye-catching and culturally enduring, the phrase reflects more of a psychological narrative than scientific understanding. Its framework—of sexes being conditioned in entirely separate planets—oversimplifies human differences to reject nuance through a binary way of thinking.​​
​
There is some truth behind its idea: biological differences do exist across sexes. Differences in reproductive anatomy, hormone levels, and vulnerability to different conditions have been well documented and emphasized in clinical research. Yet, rather than working towards a system of healthcare that shapes its way of care around nuance and difference, this idea has been used to reinforce a rigid, one-size-fits-all model.
​Diagnosis and treatment of patients in healthcare have long been tailored to the atmosphere of their respective “planet” (Mars or Venus). However, many people exist in the space between, and all people occupy a spectrum of biological traits. For instance, everyone has varying levels of different hormones, changing the way drugs are processed and their effects. ​
We may be raised on Mars or raised on Venus—conditioned to different sets of behavioral norms and expectations—but we all inhabit bodies of similar complexity, and deserve healthcare that recognizes nuance over assumption.