Conversing With Men

Turn About is Fair Play—the Men’s Turn

Seems only fair the guys get to complain about women, too. My nephew asked me why women become angry at one guy and automatically extend the annoyance to all men. Mostly, I think, because men-women pet peeves are universal and timeless. We still complain about the things our parents and grandparents complained about. I must admit, however, that while the term men bashing sounds and was meant to be comical, women bashing takes on a whole other context and isn’t okay.

Not that women don’t hold their own intellectually and can’t learn to hold their own physically, but by and large, men’s greater musculature gives them an advantage, and historically, women have been far more oppressed by men than the other way round. Makes us leery. That, however, is for a different kind of post.

Men’s Pet Peeves

I didn’t ask my husband for his input as obviously it’s unfair to ask him to put himself in harm’s way, but I can guess. I know what I’m sometimes like—bossy, too quick to snap and not listen to his side, lacking in appreciation—okay, enough on my less attractive qualities. What else bothers men?

The one I hear most often is that women expect men to read their minds and either won’t tell them exactly what they want or never shut up about the guy not caring enough to already know. This probably stems from women finding it helpful to talk about their feelings to arrive at a solution when men just want to get to the point and do something concrete about it or get over it.

Wednesday—what the experts say. Seems there is an actual difference in brain construction between men and women that helps to explain why we hear conversation differently.