Men And Women Are Different...

... and, of course, we all knew that! But I found some information as to the different way we communicate and interact, and it was so fascinating I just had to share.

First, there's our body gestures (facial expressions, posture, etc.). Women tend to use facial expressions and body language that signal approachability and friendliness, but they tend to use less and more restrained gestures. Because of socialized rules that tell women we're supposed to be more expressive and non-confrontational, we tend to smile even when we're not happy. (It's polite.) We're more likely to be interrupted if/when we smile, even as we're attracted to those who smile more. And apparently women tilt their heads to the side more often. (Looking like a confused little puppy, perhaps?)

Men, on the other hand, use facial and body motions that indicate more reservation and control and use gestures more. They convey emotions less through smiling because of social norms that tell them they're to be emotionally neutral. They're more likely to interrupt people who are smiling. (Hmm. See the correlation? Women smile more and women get interrupted more by men.) Men's posture is more relaxed than women's and they nod their heads a lot (kinda like a bobble head.) :)

Let's move onto eye contact. Women rarely stare and engage in more eye contact while talking. This confused me a bit: they signal interest by maintaining eye contact, but tend to break eye contact more and are generally the first to avert their gaze upon the initial gaze. When eye contact isn't maintained with the other speaker, women are likely to be interrupted.

Men stare, perhaps to challenge power or status, and they signal interest by staring. They generally don't make as much eye contact as women do and will maintain eye contact until the other person averts his/her gaze. (Remember the old staring game? I'm a master--guess I've got some boy genes there somewhere.) :)

Tomorrow we'll talk about touch and space, and the different ways men and women use them.


P.S. Go over to Indulgence and check out Fire and Ice, the first installment of Kate's story. It's terrific!