That's the signal interface like the number of pins and active termination circuitry.
Physically there's no reason for USB c to have a male nub inside a larger female jack and the reverse for the male end. It makes it more fragile and harder to keep clean.
Wait! I just noticed that Molly was born in 2368 and O'Brien transferred to DS9 in 2369.
Molly is quite precocious to be talking like that at less than a year old.