This entry in Brett’s blog pointed out a rather antagonising (but subtly true) article from AskMen.com, which can be found here. The article’s pretty self-explanatory, so go read it. My favourite bits, though, are:
When she says, “It’s your decision,” what she really means is, “You’d better know what I really want and give it to me right now.”
When she says, “Go ahead, do what you want,” she really means, “I don’t want you to, and you’re going to pay for this later.”
I can personally attest to those being cuttingly accurate translations. :/
I suppose this is the bit where I apply some revealing personal anecdote, but while I find the article interesting, amusing and – as noted – deceptively accurate, I don’t think the reality is necessarily as bipolar between the sexes as it indicates. I can be cagey and uncommunicative about some things, at times, I’m well aware. I also tend to ramble things and then actually follow through with something else. That stems from my tendency – some of the time at least – towards extroverted thought processes, although I do consciously take care to do as I’ve said I would, if I ever state as such; that I think is where the stereotypical female diverges, as the article indicates.
I must say though that I’ve had mixed reactions to being emotionally direct. More than once the simplicity is misunderstood, and the recipient starts manufacturing complexity and subtly that really aren’t there. Although it’s a tricky game, it does seem wiser in general to, when expressing emotion with women, purposely be evasive, and at least a little contradictory, otherwise the real kernel of meaning just won’t get delivered. Obtuse, yes, but functional.
Still, I don’t think about this often at all. This of course applies only to women my own age or thereabouts; family are different anyway. The only women I talk to relatively frequently are Bobo & Sket, and I guess we’ve known each other long enough that we can extrapolate meaning from history easily enough to fudge any immediate lack of comprehension.
As if that sentence wasn’t indication enough, this isn’t going anywhere comprehensible or meaningful, so I’ll quite while I’ve provoked only half my friends. ;)
