Gender Differences: How They Make Us Unique and Interesting
As an Arab Muslim girl, I don’t have that much interaction with the opposite sex. However, the differences between men and women have not escaped me, especially based on what I observe from my friends or from what I see in the movies.
I do agree that men and women are wired differently, especially when it comes to relationships. For example, it’s a common observation that between men and women, women are always the ones in a hurry to get married. Love advisers always advise women to establish a deadline on how long they would wait for their partners to propose for marriage, so that they don’t end up wasting their time. For women, wearing an engagement ring is a big deal as this serves as a sign that her partner is committed to her.
On the contrary, it is common knowledge that men are the ones who shy away from commitment. For example, I have a male friend who’s been in a relationship for almost a year now and whenever I ask him what their status is or what his plans are with regards to the relationship, he would always reply with “I don’t know.” On the other hand, it’s fascinating how if I ask a girl friend about the status of her relationship or what her plans are for the relationship, she would surely have plenty to say – going even to as far as where she and her partner would live or how many children they would have. Again, this demonstrates how women are more willing to commit than men.
Similarly, it is apparent that women develop affection for the opposite sex more easily than men. For example, it’s fascinating how women usually feel that they’re in love with a man after knowing the man for only a short time whereas the man may simply be enjoying the woman’s company. It is fascinating how women usually get excited with the word “love” while men would cringe at it.
In addition, it often baffles me how many famous actors are married to average-looking women. Not that there’s anything wrong with being average-looking. It’s just that as actors, I’d expect them to pick the most gorgeous women as they can certainly do so. However, upon learning that men usually choose women who are capable of bearing children then it would make sense that men would choose women as partners not only for their looks but more so for qualities that indicate their capability of bearing children and nurturing them.
On a similar note, it also makes me wonder why many young and beautiful women would choose much older men who are well established. I’d also expect them to choose good-looking men within their age range. However, this affirms what evolutionary psychologists claim – that women would choose men who are capable of providing for and protecting the family rather than choosing a man based merely on looks. It is also often depicted in movies how women would choose the man with the nicer car. The car would serve as a status symbol, which again would denote the man’s capability of providing for the family.
There have been many times when I’ve heard men say that they can never understand women. However, women also share the same dilemma – that they can never understand men. But I think that this is what makes relationships interesting, regardless of what the nature of the relationship is. I can just imagine how boring relationships would be if we knew everything about each other. With these differences, though, relationships are kept interesting. Moreover, learning about each other’s differences can further enrich us as persons.
