I got into an argument with a woman and was accused of making some sexist remarks. I said that most women I've met were emotional but irrational, and men were rational but violent. I believe that this is true to a point. This doesn't mean all women are irrational, or that men aren't emotional...but it is a trend that I've noticed in my experience.
I believe that men are not superior, but neither are women. We are different, but neither is 'better.'
I also believe that both men and women are two halves to a whole. Is this not what nature has made us? My female acquaintence said this wasn't true, but did agree on the 'neither is better' point.
So what is true? I'm sure that at least SOME men here have some experience with women, and we do have some women who've had experience with men. Thoughts please?
And I'd like to keep this a serious discussion too.
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"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."
Woody Allen
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Frank's Home Page
"We're going to take a five minute break...we'll be back in twenty minutes." - John Linnell
I'm more in touch with my emotions than many men,, But I'd be hard pressed to name any besides angry, sad, happy, and, er... well, you get my point? I know there's more, but I don't know what they're called. TW (That Woman) is emotionally closed (unwilling to share emotions) but I'm sure she has a more complete grasp of the list. But I digress...
Males are more prone to violent behavior, but the variation within the male population probably overlaps that of the female population by a wide margin.
The problem with stating "truths" such as these is that you will open yourself to charges of "sexual stereotyping". Either you did not make it clear that you believe there are exceptions or you were speaking to someone who adheres to a doctrine which does not allow for differences between the sexes (in which case, if men are universally awful, where does that leave women?). Some folks react violently to having their beliefs called into question, however indirectly.
I'll end all confusion on the matter immediately. If you don't agree there is considerable variance both between and within the sexes, you are a dolt.
Next question please?
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"Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain."
--FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER
Come Hither and Yawn...
I believe this to be 100% true, and I've yet been able to DISPROVE it.... sooo..... 'nuff said for now....
~LOA
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"Hello darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again....." ~Simon & Garfunkle, The Sound of Silence
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"20th Century, go to sleep."
--
R.E.M.
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I am not responsible for the stupidity of other people.
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Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf
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I am not responsible for the stupidity of other people.
Or if you, to quote Liam's charming metaphor, don't get to prance through the magic muff forest, you are likely to consider them detatched, manipulative creatures who exist to depress you.
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"You don't need eyes to see; you need VISION"
- Faithless / Reverence
SEMINARS FOR FEMALES (prepared and presented by males)
1. Elementary Map Reading
2. Crying and Law Enforcement
3. Advanced Math Seminar: Programming Your VCR
4. You CAN Go Shopping for Less than 4 Hours
5. Gaining Five Pounds vs. The End of the World: A Study in Contrast
6. The Seven-Outfit Week
7. PMS:It's YOUR Problem, Not Mine ("It's Happened Monthly Since Puberty:
Deal With it")
8. Driving I:Getting Past Automatic Transmissions
9. Driving II: The Meaning of Blinking Orange Lights
10. Driving III: Approximating a Constant Speed
11. Driving IV: Makeup and Driving: It's As Simple As Oil and Water
12. Football: Not a Game: A Sacrament
13. Telephone Translation (formerly titled "Me Too Equals I Love You")
14. How to Earn Your Own Money
15. Gift-giving Fundamentals (formerly titled "Fabric Bad, Electronics
Good")
16. Putting the Seat Down By Yourself: Potential Energy is on Your Side
17. Beyond "Clean and Dirty": The Nuances of Wearable Laundry
18. Yes, You Can Fill Up At A Self Serve Station
19. Joys of the Remote Control: Reaping the Benefits of 50+ Channels
20. What Goes Around Comes round: Why His Credit Card is Not a Toy
21. His Best Friend Can Be Yours Too
22. His Poker Games: Deal Yourself Out
23. Commitment Schmittment (formerly titled "Wedlock Schmedlock")
24. To Honor and Obey:Remembering the Small Print Above "I Do"
25. Why Your Mother Is Unwelcome In The House
26. Your Mate: Selfish Bastard, or Victimized Sensitive Man?
SEMINARS FOR MALES (prepared and presented by females)
1. Combatting Stupidity
2. You, Too, Can Do Housework
3. PMS: Learn When to Keep Your Mouth Shut
4. How to Fill an Ice Tray
5. We Do Not Want Sleazy Underthings for Christmas: Give us Money
6. Understanding the Female Response to Your Coming in Drunk at 4:00am
7. Wonderful Laundry Techniques (formerly titled "Don't Wash my Silks")
8. Parenting: No, It Doesn't End With Conception
9. Get a Life: Learn to Cook
10. How Not to Act Like a Jackass When You're Obviously Wrong
11. Spelling: Even You Can Get it Right
12. Understanding Your Financial Incompetence
13. You: The Weaker Sex
14. Reasons to Give Flowers
15. How to Stay Awake in Public
16. Why it is Unacceptable to Relieve Yourself Anywhere but the bathroom
17. Garbage: Getting it to the Curb
18. You Can Fall Asleep Without IT if You Really Try
19. The Morning Dilemma if IT's awake: Take a Shower
20. I'll Wear it if I Damn Well Please
21. How to Put the Toilet Lid Down (formerly titled "No, It's Not a
Bidet")
22. "The Weekend" and "Sports" are Not Synonyms
23. Give Me a Break: Why We Know Your Excuses are Bull
24. How to Go Shopping with Your Mate and Not Get Lost
25. The Remote Control: Overcoming Your Dependency
26. Romanticism: Ideas Other Than Sex
27. Helpful Postural Hints for Couch Potatoes
28. Mothers-in-Law: They are People Too
29. Male Bonding: Leaving Your Friends at Home
30. You, Too, Can Be a Designated Driver
31. Seeing the True You (formerly titled "No, You Don't Look Like Mel
Gibson When Naked")
32. Changing Your Underwear: It Really Works
33. The Attainable Goal: Omitting "tits" From Your Vocabulary
34. Fluffing the Blankets After Flatulating is Not Necessary
35. Techniques for calling home
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I am not responsible for the stupidity of other people.
No, I can't pin it down to inherent qualities.
I'm satisfied to remain confused.
I do, however, believe that many male/female problems stem from the 'madonna/whore complex' (that's madonna the Mom of JC, not Madonna the singer), which confuses a lot of men as to what they want in a woman. You might have heard of this, when a man wants a mother-figure, but also wants a 'slut,' and the two images are generally incompatible.
Like a friend of mine said:
He wants June Cleaver in the kitchen,
Marie Curie in the study,
And Traci Lords in the bedroom.
I suppose there's a similar syndrome for women, but I don't know what it is. The 'stud/bastard?'
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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi
I know guys who are happily married and treat their wives with nothing but respect and diginity. I treat my girlfriend with respect and dignity, knowing that the fact I get to see her this weekend is probably the reason I'm able to face the week.
Now I will be the first to say that there are many guys who are idiots and there are many women that have acted in a a way that I would describe as evil in their dealings with me.
But to use a word as general and non-descript as "stupid" or "evil" to define a entire group of people seems thoughtless and insulting.
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"A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
Aban's Illustration www.thespeakeasy.com/alanfore
Okay... here we go..... I'll try to explain this... *deep breath* I hate men... I've had one too many bad experiences and I've developed one HECK of a case of bitterness....
On the outside.
In reality, I love men... I spend almost all of my free time with guys, and all the people I'm closest to are guys. I really do love my boys, and I love all of the rest of the men out there.
But that doesn't change the fact that I hate them.
Okay... so that makes ABSOLUTELY no sense, right? Well, that's pretty coomon when dealing with me *L* I very rarely make sense.... probably because I'm a woman 
Okay... oops... that's probably going to get me in trouble too, isn't it?
Hmm.... how about this....
Men and women don't think alike. Not even close. The biggest problem between the sexes is that they think differently and they're both looking for different things. Being one that spends a TON of time with men, I can actually SEE the male mindset now... and it's for the reason that the female mindset upsets me so much sometimes. Women get mad at men because of the littlest things, and so the poor guy is left sitting there wondeing what happened because he doesn't even know what he did wrong. And then when he goes to ASK what he did wrong, often he'll get a response like this "Well, if you don't know what you did then I'm not going to TELL you!"
Okay. I know. Again, I'm making sweeping generalizations, but it's really hard not to. Of COURSE there are exceptions to anything I may say... there are exceptions to most rules out there. Mainly that's because we're NOT all the same.
And I'll just use that to sum this all up. Men and women are different. There is not a "superior" gender in reality, there are just a lot of different qualities and intracasies to each. And the problems between men and women today can almost all be summed up into lack of understanding and lack of communication... if we'd all try to put ourselves in the other person's shoes more often, things would be a lot smoother running around here. On the other hand though, there'd be a whole HECK of a lot less excitement....
And I still reserve the right to crack jokes and say things about EITHER of the sexes just because it's my way and personality
~LOA
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"Hello darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again....." ~Simon & Garfunkle, The Sound of Silence
I too have experienced the bitterness paradox. I've been on one too many 5th dates only to never hear from the lady again!! Apparently the only thing I did wrong was like her!!
Anyway, I agree with you whole heartedly about the lack of communication. If both the man and the woman in a couple would honestly care about the others' point of view and about making them happy, and would ask questions like "Did what I said make you upset" or "Does this behavior irritate you" and then act to correct it, I think things would be alot smoother.
That's the way I TRY to be. However, I most likely fall into some of those male joke catagories more than I realize...
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"A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
Aban's Illustration www.thespeakeasy.com/alanfore
*assumes smarmy self-help infomercial persona*
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See? It's easy.
If you REALLY wanna get to them, make sure you launch the pre-emptive "what are you thinking?" strike before they do. Then when they answer, and then ask you, repeat what they said, but in your own words.
You can get more with a kind word and a cute stuffed animal (plush toy, not taxidermy!!!) than you can with a kind word.
Tell them when you dream about them. Women love to know they've made enough of an impression to insinuate themselves firmly into a man's subconscious (not to mention fantasy life).
If you have a 'strange thought' you're afraid to mention in casual conversation, you can always bring it up as 'this weird dream I had.' "Honey, I dreamt you were a cheerleader lost in the jungle, and I was Tarzan..." If she likes it, play. If not, blame it on that late-evening pepperoni roll.
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Hey, kids. It's only humor.
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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi
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"You don't need eyes to see; you need VISION"
- Faithless / Reverence
~LOA
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No, you CAN'T see my picture!
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I am not responsible for the stupidity of other people.
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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi
Good sex in a bad relationship is like a fine meal served on a foundering ship. It's a distraction from other things that need attending to.
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"Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain."
--FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER
Come Hither and Yawn...