Article: Erla-Mari Diedericks from Ideas
Image: True love

She says...
Nearly all the problems we have with men are because they're simply not complicated enough. If men had even a whiff of complexity, they would be able to read between the lines. But, alas, they can't. When a woman says, 'No, I'm fine. Nothing's bothering me,' any female would tell you that now would be the time to start reading between the lines. This means listening to what she's not saying. Which is: 'If you were tuned in to my emotions, you'd know that I'm not fine at all.'

Sound complicated? Of course not. All women are equipped to read between the lines. It's called female intuition. If men used their male intuition (the same intuition that tells them where the prettiest girl in the room is), they might be able to read women a lot better.

Men also don't know how to argue.
If they could only appreciate the many layers (or sides) of an argument, they might actually enjoy it and even win a few.

Say a man and a woman are arguing about him never cleaning up. Straight forward? Not really. A woman has the memory of an elephant; a man only has the thick hide of one. Men can't remember previous crimes of a similar nature, bless their simple souls. Of course, this comes in handy if you're the guilty party but can be frustrating when you want to discuss a previous time (such as 15 years ago) when he did the same thing.

A man also can't understand that all actions are connected.
For example, why do men get upset if you come to the conclusion (completely different from jumping to one) that perhaps he's leaving his dirty clothes lying around because he's taking you for granted? Instead, when arguing, a man will insist on sticking to the point. And what's the point of that? When it comes to the problems that beset a woman's world, men are no match for the complexity. Give a man a problem, and he automatically switches to fix-it mode. As if a woman's soul were a broken washing machine.

So there you are, telling your man that your friend bragging about her children's achievements makes you feel inadequate, and he tries to 'solve' your dilemma by suggesting that you stop seeing her or simply ignore her. Of course, that's not what you want to hear. A woman needs to dissect the problem. Men, however, seem to think that our dilemmas are all simple.

But what about the subtle complexities?
What if your friend really does think her children are better than yours? Does that imply that she thinks you're a bad mother? See? Most men don't see. It's just too complicated...

One of the things that perplex women is a man's inability to be descriptive. The same man who can describe a Ducati motorbike in minute detail, will become mute when asked what people were wearing or saying. After attending a wedding, have you ever tried asking a man what the bride was wearing? If he really stretches his imagination he might come up with 'um, a dress ...?' This goes hand in hand with men's total inability when it comes to juicy gossip.

Dirty dishes they can do. But ask them to dish the dirt and they haven't a clue. A man can spend the entire evening consoling his best friend who's just split with his wife of 25 years, but if you ask him what they talked about, he'll answer, 'Not much'. Then there are those other little oddities, such as a man's inability to hand over the remote control, ask for directions, read user manuals, resist watches with a hundred functions, and blondes.

Men! Perplexing? Yes. Complicated? Oh yes. But not nearly complicated enough, unfortunately.

Do you agree? Or is this a load of rubbish? Tell us in the comment box below.

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