I have read your essay, “ Sex, Lies, and Conversation.” Throughout the essay you make several interesting points on how the communication between men and women in my generation vary. One point that you make reference to is how women bond by exchanging secrets and by engaging in conversation. On the other hand your research showed that bonds between men are based less on talking, instead they rely more on doing things together to form bonds with one another. Another point is that women tend to stay on topic while men talk about a wide array of things. Also women like to make eye contact when they speak but when men talk eye contact is not necessary in order for us to communicate Even though your research was done eighteen years ago, your ideas on gender and communication still apply to my generation.
When I was in middle school I lived in a neighborhood with a lot of kids ( girls and boys) my age and we would all play together. Even then I noticed the differences between the two genders. The girls would be in their big group and all the boys would be in the other group. Us boys would throw the football around or play catch while the girls would talk about the latest fashion or who’s dating who. I noticed that the girl’s would deem their friendships with who they shared the most intimate secrets with. On the other hand us boys would bond by being loyal to one another and by telling jokes.
I noticed that when the girl’s would communicate they would look each other directly in the eye and stay on one topic. Also they would drop whatever they were doing and give the speaker their undivided attention. While a girl was talking the other girl’s would ask her questions to keep the conversation flowing. When the boy’s would talk they wouldn’t really face each other and if they would continue doing whatever it was they were doing while the conversation was going on.
Your theories on the ways men and women communicate still apply to my generation....