Behaviours quirks that are gender specific

[ruby27]

I was talking to myself and my partner commented on this. We agreed that it is a behaviour common to females and unknown to males. (Our research may be limited so it might not be truly reflective of the wider population). Men whistle, women don't.
Apart from the obvious such as men standing up to wee, are the differences in behaviour between men and women due to biology, culture - in effect the nature/nurture debate.
Do you notice different behaviours?
and if so what is your understanding of the reasons?

[littleoldme]

I can assure you that talking to oneself is far from unknown to males - we're just careful not to let you girls catch us. ;-) I think it's true that women tend not to whistle, but then I find they sing or hum to themselves more than men do.

I'd say that these type of behavioural differences are more due to nature than nurture.

[naomi24]

Some men talk to themselves too, but I think a woman's ability to multi-task has to take top spot. I don't know any man who can do that without either getting himself into a pickle - or becoming increasingly irritated.

I believe the differences in behaviour between the sexes are entirely natural. Men and women will never be equal simply because they aren't. That's not to say that one is less than the other. They are just different . Vive la difference!

[FUZZYBEE]

(With tongue firmly in cheek)
Is it just a man thing not to listen, or if they are pretending to listen it still will only be selective?

[rabbitygirl]

Ah yes - listening. Married 34 years and I still dont know if he can't hear me, doesn't want to or is just plain selective. Always hears anything starting 'would you like something to eat'. Can claim to have not heard me minutes after I spoke and he answered. Believed reasons for him not paying attention? assuming I am telling him something he doesn't really need to know. I can tell when he is not listening tho and check with 'did you hear me?' Answered by 'yes of course - I'm not deaf you know'.
Think this behaviour is not gender just long time married or partnered. My 2 adult sons always hear but younger one is heading for future trouble as he considers I am nagging by simply saying 'can I have your dirty washing please'.

[RATTER15]

Us men are blessed with the ability to shut off from Women who talk benign drivel about periods, how hard there day has been and how many loads the washing machine had done!!

We are however fully in tune with important aspects!!

[johnlambert]

Men can read maps + parallel park women can't
Women bleed for up to 4 days but refuse to die, men can't

[joko]

my uncle and my dad have told me off for whistling - as its not ''ladylike'' !! - they would accompany this with a lips pursed ''foo, foo foo'' noise and a sneer... then proceed to tootle away to their hearts content themselves!!

[sense4all]

Pocket billiards - very horrid and gender specific ... if they must do it in public, could they kindly refrain from the knee-bend- dip that hightlights that a manoevere is about to commence. Yuck yuck yuck.

[rabbitygirl]

I can assure you John that my navigational skills are far better than my husbands and elder sons. If we go somewhere new I'm always the reader. My husband needs me to navigate (or I will drive) to our new house. He can neither remember the address or find the street. Still he's got 6 weeks to suss it and no he cant have sat nav.
I will admit that while I can park I will look for a large space and avoid 'parallels'. Its cause of my back you know - all that twisting!!!!

[rabbitygirl]

Rabbity doesn't bleat!! I literally cant 'twist' much cause I had spine surgery. Apart from that I'm damn near perfect !

[ruby27]

Thank you all for your answers, some made me laugh a lot. I have to say that the old problem of whether women nag or men need reminding/asking will probably be with us for ever - or at least in my household.
I used to be firmly positioned that gender differences were all nurture but have become more reconciled to that its all probably such a mixture of both we can never truly tell.
I have learnt men do talk to themselves, just they make sure women are not in earshot, but that isn' t going to stop my trying to catch them out.

[littleoldme]

It's sometimes said that men have very short attention spans, but I don't think th....ah, I'm off down the pub.

[naomi24]

Ruby, I wonder why women only nag AFTER marriage? Could it be something to do with the fact that men stop listening once they're married? And yes, I believe men do have a very limited attention span - and I think this just about sums it up.


Dear Abby:
I've never written to you like this before, but I really need your advice.
I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. The usual signs......... phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife has been going out with the girls a lot recently although when I ask their names she always says, "Just some friends from work, you don't know them." I always try to stay awake to look out for her coming home, but I usually fall asleep. Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just didn't want to know the truth, but last
night she went out again and I decided to really check on her. Around midnight, I decided to hide in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could get a good view of the whole street when she arrived home from a night
out with "the girls". It was at that moment, crouching behind my clubs, that I noticed that the graphite shaft on my driver appeared to have a hairline crack right by the club head. Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the pro shop where I bought it? :o)