Look around you. Newspapers, magazines and social media are full of jokes about women and their habits - shopping, talking on the phone, make-up – essentially, the inability to live like a man! In the majority of cases, we laugh it away. I honestly believe that it’s because we understand what we are and what we want in life. Contrary to stereotypes, we can and do laugh - even if it is at our own expense.
The joke’s on the men
But let’s talk about the other side. What about the stereotypically male traits that are funny? Take a look at this hilarious piece from my all-time favourite comic strip Dilbert. Alice says that project failure is due to the absence of women from the team. She points out that every study shows women having better communication skills than men. Dilbert’s reply proves that listening skills are just not a characteristic of men.
Hilarious, isn’t it? Well, the message in the cartoon is not just funny, it’s actually true!
Science backs women
Various studies show that women have higher empathy, better listening skills and a greater capacity to rephrase. Also, we don’t interrupt sentences and have far better listening skills than men.
A more connected brain
Author Louann Brizendine's 2006 book ‘The Female Brain’ suggests that compared to men, the female brain has more number of ‘connections’ between its two hemispheres. We have 10% more neurons in the area of the brain that covers emotions and memory. This is why we don’t forget incidents and events. (And yes, I feel this is the reason why we love and hate with all our heart.)
Our get-togethers mean there will be chatter in the room. In fact, even when all the women are concentrating on watching a game together (which, funnily enough, is rare in itself), you will hardly find them doing so as intently as men do. After all, time spent with our girlfriends takes priority over matches any day, right?
So, yes, the chatter is funny. Our obsessions are possibly funny as well. And, we don’t mind laughing at ourselves, do we? Cheers to many such chatty sessions, ladies!