This is obviously an outgrowth of a point made in the tubes vs. solid-state thread. Good topic for discussion on its own!
It's often claimed that womens' high-frequency hearing is better than mens', and that they retain their high-freqency hearing longer. Hence, it is also claimed that women are more sensitive to distortion at high frequencies.
Based on that, at least a few writers and 'philes of both the objective and subjective persuasions have suggested that one good subjective test of a system is how well the woman (or women) in your life tolerates the sound at high volume.
I've heard this for at least 30 years but honestly don't know if its true or just an audio old wives' tale. Is there an audiologist in the house?
Women are indeed just as susceptible to bias and suggestion as the other half of the human population as mtrycrafts pointed out.
My wife, admittedly no audiophile by any stretch, thinks that a lot of the high-end audio belief system is pretty funny. She also thinks my system sounds pretty good except when I'm playing Mahler.