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The Language of the Sexes
The Language of the Sexes
Did you ever notice how men and women use the language differently? I have. Supposedly, we all speak English, but the feminine English is definitely different than the masculine English.
For example, I have heard my wife say things like, "I’m going shopping this afternoon with a couple of my girlfriends."
Nothing unusual about that, right? That choice of words doesn’t strike you as abnormal or out of the ordinary, does it?
But, do you know what? I, being heterosexual male, would never even THINK of saying something like, "I’ll going out The Main Street Pub with a couple of my boyfriends tonight." I think I would rather eat a moldy, dead skunk than ever refer to one of my male buddies as a boyfriend. And yet, the term "girlfriend" is a perfectly acceptable label when one woman is referring to one of her female companions.
When my stomach hurts, my stomach hurts.
When Mary’s stomach hurts, her tummy hurts.
When I’m not feeling good, I feel sick.
When my daughter Erin is not feeling good, she feels yucky or icky.
When my daughter-in-law Melanie first saw my wife’s new haircut last week, the exchange went something like this:
Mel: Hi Mary. Say, have you done something different with your hair?
Mary: Yes. I’m trying something a little different and shorter.
Mel: I really like it! It’s sassy. You look really cute!
Now, first of all, I would NEVER comment another man’s haircut. At least not to his face. And there is no scenario in the world where I could envision using the words sassy or cute to describe a man’s physical appearance. Just wouldn’t happen. Uhn-uh. Nope. No way.
Why is it, when men get dressed up, we wear suits.
When women get dressed up, they wear a pantsuits. What’s the difference? (Besides the tailoring, I mean.)
After a stage performance, I am usually starving. So, a bunch of us from the cast will usually head over to The Main Street Pub after the show. When I have bacon cheddar cheeseburger there to go along with a pint or two of Certified Gold Lager, I often declare it to be "freaking great."
When a female cast member has the same thing, she proclaims it to be "yummy."
You know, to be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve used the word "yummy" once since I passed puberty. Seriously.
And how about this? We’re all sitting in the pub having a few libations when suddenly, one of the women stands up and declares that she is heading for the ladies’ room. All at once, three other women around the talbe also stand and say, "Oh. I’ll go with you!"
I wonder how many eyebrows would be raised if, when one of male buddies stood up and said, "I’ve got to hit the head," I stood and said, "Yeah. I’ll go with you." It just doesn’t happen. Sorry. Ain’t gonna do it.
Now, there are a few words that have sneaked into the male vocabulary over the years that my gut tells me originated in the female English lexicon. Words like "issues" and "absolutely" and "connect" as in, "You and I will have to connect sometime soon." (Why does that always sound sexual to me?) It happens once in a while; there are "cross-overs" from time to time. However, I’ll bet you that words like "yummy" and "sassy" and "tummy" will forever be staples of the feminine vocabulary, and they will never ever be used in any of the men’s rooms that I frequent.
posted on May 13, 2008 5:10 AM ()
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So true. For us woman we speak as if we are taking to children. We don't use big words so we are understood.
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