Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

How Men and Women Listen

This post discusses potential differences in the way men and women listen, particularly in conversations.

I listen like a man.  I loathe girl-talk.  It grates on my ears and makes my mind go away somewhere else.  This tends to baffle or annoy some women, but there are plenty of men who appreciate it.  Of course, this is also somewhat complicated by the fact that, in order to get by in society, I had to create a kind of autopilot personality.  If you interrupt me while I am writing, or cooking, or engrossed in some other task -- it is entirely possible for you to have an entire conversation with me that I will not remember later.  You were talking to the autopilot.

I've known women who don't do girl-talk; I've known men who do.  There's a divergence of conversational styles, it's just not absolute.  Interestingly, the amount  of speech isn't necessarily gender-coded; there are quiet women and men who will talk endlessly about trivia of guy-interests. 
Tags: gender studies, linguistics
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  • 6 comments
ideealisme

Hmmm...contentious reply

ideealisme

April 4 2010, 19:03:57 UTC 11 years ago

I think the whole idea of listening and talking "like a man" or "like a woman" to be spurious. IMO It suits people who have a certain agenda to say "women listen better" or "women are better at multitasking" as a longwinded, elaborate way of saying we are better at housework.

You say "I listen like a man" - but you aren't a man. You're a woman. What's wrong with proudly saying you listen like the woman you are?
ideealisme

Re: Hmmm...contentious reply

ideealisme

April 4 2010, 19:54:41 UTC 11 years ago

that sounded harsh... I guess what I'm trying to say is why is "listening like a man" inherently better than "talking like a woman". It reminds me a little of "you throw like a girl"