Men Are From Where?

With all of the differences that men and women have, it does seem reasonable that, at one point, men and women were said to be from different planets. Obviously this is an analogy, but there is something to be said about the significant differences of the genders. It has always been common knowledge that opposites attract, but recently we hear more and more about people being “compatible” and “similar” and having “a lot in common”. For instance, online dating. There are “Matches” made from “29 Dimensions” of “compatibility”. These are based on things people have in common.

Now I’m certainly not saying that one should not have common interests or date their exact opposite, but I’m not convinced that the “everything in common” strategy will actually work in the long run. I’m curious to see in the long run how this generation of “marry someone just like you” will pan out. It seems the happiest, longest-running couples I’ve ever seen are the ones who can laugh about their differences. Oh, and they seem a lot less bored. It just seems that the more we see ourselves in another, then the more they drive us nuts. Case in point: which one of your family members do you butt heads with the most? Probably the one that’s most like you. Wild guess.

When it comes to relationships, romantic or otherwise, it is important to understand the reality of these differences. It’s been said, (come on, you know it, say it with me) “Men are logical. Women are emotional.” I don’t know about you, but as a woman my first reaction is to take offense to this. I personally think that, sure, I am an emotional being, but I am very much a logical one as well. Not that just sometimes I can be logical, but that I am wholly both. Did you know that women are not just emotional, but we use both sides of our brain simultaneously. Neurobiologists have studied for years what happens in the womb to the brains of male children, yet not females. This is said to be a chemical bath that covers one side of the brain. Thus proving what we women knew all along, that men have brain damage!

All jokes aside, we really are just that different, even from the very beginning. Take a quick peek at this generalized chart. What gender does that left side sound like to you? To me it sounds like my husband. The right side sounds a lot like me. Interesting. It is because men and women are so different, and everyone thinks they are always right, that we spend countless hours wasted on trying to change each other instead of just simply embracing and enjoying our differences. I think about our diverse world. It’s so fascinating to hear different views and see different cultures, that’s a large part of why I live in Los Angeles. We are expected to walk down the street and completely accept another person’s choice to believe whatever they want, but when it comes to those we are closest with, we will become frustrated or even argue until we see eye-to-eye.

I am glad that my husband and I have common interests. I am also glad that we are so different. Instead of finding someone who is just like me and won’t ever disagree with me about how clean the house should or shouldn’t be, we balance each other out. I am so glad that he was created as a unique individual, brain damaged or not.