In 1992, John Gray published his best-selling book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, where he explained to the general public in a popular (and often very simplified) way the differences in communication and relationships between men and women. He actually explained to ordinary people what psychologists had long known.
Of course, many of the book’s theses still remain rather controversial, and some simply haven’t stood the test of time, but the fact remains – when entering into a relationship, we often don’t really know anything about the person with whom we plan to spend the lion’s share of our time. And perhaps the rest of our lives.
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#1
I have an easier life.
Periods are s**t, the way guys hit on them aggressively is s**t, the way they can’t go to the places I would and feel safe is s**t, the way society treats them if they like having s*x is s**t, being pregnant is s**t, giving birth or having an abortion is beyond s**t.
Had no idea these things were as bad as they actually are until actually witnessing them.
#2
The phrase ‘do you want comfort or solutions’ is going to save you a whoooole lot of headache.
#3
If she asks if you want ice cream, she wants ice cream and wants you to say yes so that she can get ice cream.
Moreover, what is interesting is that we don’t know much not only about a specific person, but also about the other gender in general. And the popularity of various online threads, where men and women exchange their own misconceptions, is further confirmation of this. For example, this thread in the AskReddit community, with 12K upvotes and nearly the same amount of comments in just two days.
The topic starter, the user u/MainDifficult2641, asked netizens: “Men, what did you find out about women when you got a girlfriend?” – and received a whole avalanche of confessions, from the completely banal to the incredibly funny and even awkward. And we, We, offer you a selection of its most interesting stories.
#4
Most women choose sleep clothes by comfort vs s*x appeal. There’s a lot of loose pajama pants, fuzzy socks and oversized hoodies.
The sheer, lace nighty you see women climb into bed on lots of TV shows and movies in isn’t real life. Lol.
#5
That being a woman is way more expensive than being a man.
#6
No matter how much of a macho you are, you need to do some girly s**t with your woman. It’s not because she wants to emasculate you or bend your will or she expects you to enjoy it even, it’s because she wants to share some of her daily life with you.
On the other hand, women don’t mind doing some manly s**t with you, because, guess what, they are willing to share some of your daily life with you.
Sometimes we’re talking about some fundamental differences in physiology (and, accordingly, a different attitude to hygiene procedures, for example). Sometimes men are just surprised to find that even a standard women’s grooming kit is way more expensive than one for men. (Sorry, what kind of men’s grooming kit? You mean that 12-in-1 shampoo, soap, and a comb, right?)
And sometimes men, after moving in with their new girlfriends, learn a lot about themselves as well. For example, that they snore, sneeze loudly, constantly lose their socks, and, let’s face it, well… pollute the air much worse than women.
#7
Often women just need to talk about their issues. Not looking for a solution.
#8
Never try to help her calm down by telling her to „calm down” or „relax”.
#9
That they have no pockets.
What can I say – I personally always considered myself a fairly neat and even pedantic person (and many of my male friends always said so). But when my future wife and I started living together, it turned out that either my friends were completely shamelessly flattering me, or their assessment was excessively inflated.
Although, damn it, I now catch myself thinking that I’ve become much neater in everyday life than I was years ago.
#10
The cycle impacts their mood, a lot.
#11
A lot of dads are really mean to their daughters.
#12
Their shirts button on the other side. This blew my mind.
Well, of course, a separate category of stories is mentality. It turns out that if your wife or girlfriend comes to you with complaints about life in general or about some specific problem, then your logical and sometimes instant solution to this problem is often not at all what was actually required of you.
All you had to do was listen carefully and, depending on the situation, express sympathy, indignation, resentment… and, of course, just feel sorry for her. Hmm, even I myself, after twelve years of married life, knowing all that jazz very well, sometimes fall into the same trap, and start gushing with solutions to all these problems…
#13
I wouldn’t say all women, but my girl needs quite a bit of reassurance. She has abandonment issues so when she’s said I have to remind her I am not going anywhere. I don’t mind it because she truly is a wonderful and caring woman. We’re a team.
#14
That I snore and move way too much in my sleep.
#15
You realize how much you learn about yourself through her. Whether it’s how you react to situations, how much you value certain things, or even what you really need in life.
“Some experts claim that most women are dominated by the right hemisphere of the brain, which is ‘responsible’ for imagination, creativity, and imaginative thinking. At the same time, men, accordingly, are dominated by the left hemisphere – analysis, logic, rationality.”
“In fact, this isn’t entirely true – most brain functions are distributed quite symmetrically,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom We asked for a comment here. “The neural architecture of the female brain is designed in such a way that we, women, give many situations a more emotional coloring than men.”
#16
My mom couldn’t cook for s**t.
#17
When you enter a relationship, you then somehow become much more likeable to women.
#18
That when they’re hungry it’s the most frightened you’ll ever be in your life lol.
“That is, we first pass everything through the prism of emotions – and only then look for a logical solution. And when we are offered this solution right off the bat – we sometimes perceive it as some kind of ‘insensitiveness’ of our partner. Which, by the way, is also quite wrong.”
“In addition, hormones in the male and female body act in completely different ways, which causes those differences in behavior, so glorified in culture, jokes and memes. But this is already a question, rather, of a separate study. Large-scale and detailed,” Irina Matveeva sums up.
#19
Before you live with your girl, you may not realize that–like cats–they get the zoomies sometimes. How many of you been lying down to sleep and your partner gets all wiggly and silly?
#20
Women biologically need a good bit more sleep than men.
#21
How much hair they shed.
Like, how does a woman shed so much hair and yet have so much hair?!
Be that as it may, differences in the perception of the simplest things between men and women really exist, and sometimes we, men, are simply amazed, learning more and more new things about the person living under the same roof with us.
Well, more knowledge, in fact, means less conflict, so please feel free to read this list to the very end, and maybe it’ll be truly wholesome for you. Who actually knows?
#22
Throw pillows aren’t for throwing.
#23
They don’t stick those pads to themselves. It sticks to their underpants. Mind blown 🤯.
#24
Most women need iron.
#25
Doing your own makeup is art. It’s hard. Sometimes, I just sit there watching her do it.
#26
If they’re upset, there is a 50/50 chance they’re just hungry.
Sometimes I’d just say “Man, I could really go for some taco bell” and then her eyes would light up.
#27
They aren’t the pinnacles of tidiness the Internet makes them out to be.
#28
Having at least 1.5 bathrooms is indispensable.
#29
They talk to their close friends about everything. EVERYTHING.
#30
They don’t wash their hair every time they shower.
#31
Make up accessories are technically a gas, as they fill the space they are in.
#32
How much more toilet-paper they are using.
a standard pack would last me a year on my own, together we need one per month.
#33
I am an idiot.
#34
That they get super upset when you use their decorative towels and pillows :(.