Lost in Translation: The Dialogue Between Men and Women

“I’ll talk to you later,” this seemingly innocent statement often means GAME OVER for a woman. You see, so much of what you say is poked, prodded, dissected, scrutinized, analyzed, put in a flow chart, discussed and researched. This simple analytical tendency is at the core of man’s discombobulation about the fairer sex. The division of genders is entirely imagined because they can’t “think” like the other thus no one can communicate.

    It’s so hard for women to articulate exactly what they want or need. Society has placed this expectation on them, effectively killing a woman’s sense of personal power. The media portrays women as objects. They’re pretty, dainty and you take care of them. This is the ideal, perfection, what men “want” and women should be.

    At the same time a strong, independent, “no-nonsense” woman is portrayed to be a b—h. It’s no wonder women feel the need to be sneaky with their desires. We’re taught if you tell a man exactly what you want, need or think in any way that wasn’t enumerated in the handbook…welcome to the single’s cruise.

    In matters of the heart, these behaviors are at their peak. A girl likes a boy, flirts, follows the protocol according to Emily Post; then the ball is in the boy’s court. If the wedding invites aren’t immediately sent out: “He wasn’t interested,” “I’m not pretty enough,” “I’m not skinny enough,” “He’s gay,” and the “Men are another species.”

    Both men and women console themselves over the speciation dividing them. Aside from this making no sense biologically, it’s just not factual. Try as they might to tell you, women and men are the same (on the inside). They have the same feelings: want to be loved, fear of rejection, need to belong, confusion, desire etc.

    Emily Post might not be the best person to take advice on the opposite sex from. She simply doesn’t speak the direct language of men. Perpetuating woman’s verbal mitigation will only create more frustration. It’s not innate character differences or (entirely) society that separates man from his woman (and vice versa). Men just speak; women orchestrate their words. It’s a language barrier. Things simply get lost in translation.