Younger women and their lack of conversation about certain issues

Donald_ducked

Hi,

I was reading the political forum recently and saw an interesting topic with regards to women and their lack of political interest. This got me thinking and the more I thought about it the more I realised that it's not just politics most younger women don't really have an interest in, but a lot of other important topics such as philosophy, technology, current affairs and topics which need deeper thought like spirituality and the meaning of life. Obviously I'm generalising here but I definitely feel men talk about these topics with their friends far more than women do

I'm 22 and my male friends often talk about politics and would have a general interest and knowledge about the goings on in the country. Even when we're out having a few pints these issues would crop up from time to time, obviously we talk about football and the likes aswel but it wouldn't be unusual for something heavier to come up in conversation, especially when there is alcohol involve and people get more opinionated! The same can be said when there is a family gathering in our house, the men usually end up at one end of the table for a while talking about politics,current affairs or even space! while the women converse about issues that arn't as heavy or serious

If I was to even bring up some of the topics I've mentioned above to most of the girls I hang around with, they would look at me like I've got two heads! That said, there are always exceptions to the rule

What is your take on this?

looksee

Just because you are talking about heavy and serious matters doesn't prove you are doing it intelligently. Its just as easy to do uninformed waffling about politics as it is to twitter on about clothes and children's attainments.

nyarlothothep

I was talking to females about politics and current events, they had some really good opinions and could whoop my ass in a debate, they were foreign though. I've met some females who are Irish that could talk about these things, I dunno, I feel sometimes that its a cultural thing that women aren't supposed to be into politics, science or philosophy, so certain types of individual traits are encouraged and are therefore more numerous. In that sense I don't think its localized to this country, I know how it can be frustrating though when one has nothing really in common to talk about.

wonderfulname

Okay I'll talk in equally general terms, most of the time I find that men are incapable of assimilating new information or having a logical discussion, this is because they believe they are always right, most of the time they aren't, most of the time its because they prefer to oversimplify a brief overview of something that they read in the paper ratherr than actually understand it.

Basically you and your mates just talk sh*t at the bar.

Now the above isn't true, there are a lot of men like that, but there are more men who aren't, and I cannot say either way which category you fall into.

So maybe the few women you converse with are as you describe? Maybe you aren't presenting yourself as capable of intelligent conversation to the women you meet? Or maybe you are simply ignoring the existence of women who happily and coherently discuss such topics for the purpose of this thread/ preservation of your manhood. At any rate you really need to learn to stop generalising.

Lets talk statistics, statistics, unlike assumptions, can be used to back up an argument. Statistically women are preforming at a higher standard than men in university, we are most certainly both interested in serious matters and capable of discussing them.

So you may have guessed by now that I am one of these young women you talk about. Care to retract your bullsh*t?

SugarHigh

I'm not sure but the women I know do in general have less interests and hobbies than the men I know. Even within in the group it can be difficult to convince the women to try new things and when we finally do they tend to get less involved. We decided to go kayaking and they were really against the idea so they needed a lot of convincing and then they basically just stood at the side and watched the men take part. However reading their facebook pages the next day they were far more enthusiastic about it than they were at the time and they uploaded a lot of photos which made it seem like they were more involved than they were.

They're nice people but they can be a bit dull. Anything outside of going out eating and drinking is almost looked at as a weird thing to be doing.

Donald_ducked

looksee wrote: »

Just because you are talking about heavy and serious matters doesn't prove you are doing it intelligently. Its just as easy to do uninformed waffling about politics as it is to twitter on about clothes and children's attainments.

Oh I'm not saying that the conversations are always intelligent debates or anything like it. I'm just saying that we do sometimes talk about these issues whereas the girls I know don't

I'm just interested to see why men and women converse about such different things while out with friends

Donald_ducked

wonderfulname wrote: »

Okay I'll talk in equally general terms, most of the time I find that men are incapable of assimilating new information or having a logical discussion, this is because they believe they are always right, most of the time they aren't, most of the time its because they prefer to oversimplify a brief overview of something that they read in the paper ratherr than actually understand it.

Basically you and your mates just talk sh*t at the bar.

Now the above isn't true, there are a lot of men like that, but there are more men who aren't, and I cannot say either way which category you fall into.

So maybe the few women you converse with are as you describe? Maybe you aren't presenting yourself as capable of intelligent conversation to the women you meet? Or maybe you are simply ignoring the existence of women who happily and coherently discuss such topics for the purpose of this thread/ preservation of your manhood. At any rate you really need to learn to stop generalising.

Lets talk statistics, statistics, unlike assumptions, can be used to back up an argument. Statistically women are preforming at a higher standard than men in university, we are most certainly both interested in serious matters and capable of discussing them.

So you may have guessed by now that I am one of these young women you talk about. Care to retract your bullsh*t?

Retract what bull****?!

I don't think for 1 second that men who talk about the issues I've mentioned above are more intelligent than women, not at all

What I find interesting is that in general men do talk about these topics more often, even if it's just pub talk. I just wanted to discuss why this is

wonderfulname

irishh_bob wrote: »

the OP came across as altogether mild manered , the same cant be said for wonderfullname

Well I'm sorry if you feel that way, but I don't think random generalisations should form the basis of an opinion, if a rational argument had been presented I would have been nicer.

MagicMarker

Donald_ducked wrote: »

Retract what bull****?!

I don't think for 1 second that men who talk about the issues I've mentioned above are more intelligent than women, not at all

What I find interesting is that in general men do talk about these topics more often, even if it's just pub talk. I just wanted to talk about why this is

Not in general, in your opinion.

There's a difference.

looksee

Someone's got anger issues

Someone could maybe try and help prove the OP's point by actually arguing the topic instead of resorting to patronage. Funny how often that happens. Maybe there is a reason why men don't hear women having 'serious' discussions.

SugarHigh

wonderfulname wrote: »

Well I'm sorry if you feel that way, but I don't think random generalisations should form the basis of an opinion, if a rational argument had been presented I would have been nicer.

The basis of his opinion was his experience among his friends. I don't see how that's "random".

Donald_ducked

MagicMarker wrote: »

Not in general, in your opinion.

There's a difference.

Well all I can go off is what I've experienced, and in general a higher % of men do talk about these issues, just like a higher % of men talk about football

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

wonderfulname

SugarHigh wrote: »

The basis of his opinion was his experience among his friends. I don't see how that's "random".

Donald_ducked wrote: »

Well all I can go off is what I've experienced, and in general a higher % of men do talk about these issues, just like a higher % of men talk about football

Experience amongst friends does not count as evidence for a point. In general my experience is the exact opposite, so if experiences in general make for a valid argument then which of us is right? In this instance we cannot both be right.

I know that my own experience is down to who I choose to associate with, the same is true of yours.

Now if you can find something concrete from which the same conclusions may be drawn then you have something.
For example men's interest in football can be shown to be greater than women's, you can do so by citing match attendance, pub attendance at match times and merchandise sales amongst others. From these you can deduce that men are more likely to discuss football.

So how are you going to back up your assumptions?

SugarHigh

wonderfulname wrote: »

Experience amongst friends does not count as evidence for a point. In general my experience is the exact opposite, so if experiences in general make for a valid argument then which of us is right? In this instance we cannot both be right.

I know that my own experience is down to who I choose to associate with, the same is true of yours.

Now if you can find something concrete from which the same conclusions may be drawn then you have something.
For example men's interest in football can be shown to be greater than women's, you can do so by citing match attendance, pub attendance at match times and merchandise sales amongst others. From these you can deduce that men are more likely to discuss football.

So how are you going to back up your assumptions?

You do realise opinions don't have to be factual?

There are less women in Politics so this would imply there are less women interested in politics.

wonderfulname

SugarHigh wrote: »

You do realise opinions don't have to be factual?

There are less women in Politics so this would imply there are less women interested in politics.

Thats a bit oversimplified and fails to take into account any other reasons
Figures from the states:

In examining previous presidential election years prior to 2008, the numbers make this point clear. Of the total voting age population:
In 2004, 60.1% of women and 56.3% of men voted.
That's 67.3 million women and 58.5 million men - a difference of 8.8 million.
In 2000, 56.2% of women and 53.1% of men voted.
That's 59.3 million women and 51.5 million men - a difference of 7.8 million.
In 1996, 55.5% of women and 52.8% of men voted.
That's 56.1 million women amd 48.9 million men - a difference of 7.2 million.

So does this mean that women are marginally more interested in politics than men? Nope, just that they care more about having their say on election day.

And no, opinions don't have to be based on fact but if the OP makes a point I am entitled to ask him to back it up.

liah

I'm a 23 year old female and I talk about and debate all of the topics you mentioned, probably more than I talk about anything else, to be honest.

Find different female friends.

SugarHigh

wonderfulname wrote: »

Thats a bit oversimplified and fails to take into account any other reasons
Figures from the states: So does this mean that women are marginally more interested in politics than men? Nope, just that they care more about having their say on election day.

And no, opinions don't have to be based on fact but if the OP makes a point I am entitled to ask him to back it up.

His point was based on his own experience that is what he's using to back up his opinions.

If I say "ime Americans are more opinionated than Irish people" do I have to google a survey to back this up? I don't see why every opinion has to be backed up by a google search, it would turn every discussion into a dull google fight. If you're in a pub and someone shares an opinion do you demand they go home and google a study to back it up?:D

If someone shares an opinion you don't agree with than simply disagree and share your own. This is known as a discussion, have fun.:)

Boskowski

FWIW most women I know only ever talk between them about stuff very close to them. They talk about their friends, their family, their work. I don't ever hear them talking about current affairs or sports or anything going on outside their own world.
That's the OH and her friends and my female colleagues and a few female friends.
The other day a few of us were sitting in the canteen and discussing the possibility of a nuclear desaster in Japan. Couple of female co-workers caught some snippets and mocked us talking about some 2012 Armageddon end of the world stuff. No, we said, were talking about the earthquake and the nuclear plant in Japan. Oh I don't listen to news was there one recently, was the answer.
That's in an office environment where everybody has at least a college degree.
Coincidence? Yes. Anecdotal? Absolutely. Is there a pattern? I think so.
I'm not getting into petty stuff saying women only show interest in clothes and gossip and men are interested in high flying things 'cos they're not. But there's def'ny a difference. A lot of women seem to live more in a local cocoon and if it doesn't affect them directly they have no interest in it.

Have you considered that as a member of the opposite sex, your conversation with women is bound to include more casual topics and follow different structures? It is possible that women talk about philosophy just as much as you, but don't do it with men.

I'm about to make a whole load of generalisations, but for the sake of argument bear with me. In my experience, it's true that women don't talk about serious issues as often, but also in my experience, when women try, they get shot down far quicker than their male counterparts, and lectured to far more often than men of the same opinion.

I'm female, doing a science course, member of a political party, have an interest in many of the topics mentioned here. Yet I rarely enter into conversation with men about such things as I know the reaction I'll get. I don't get many chances to talk about this stuff with women, but when I do, I find them to be far more accommodating of differing opinions and can argue their position in a more adaptable way. Most of the guys I know, best case scenario is they just repeat their view until I give up, and then act like they've won something. Worst case scenario a few of them gang up on me, lecture me, laugh at my opinion and leave me wishing I had just acted the dumb blonde.

On one occasion I was down the pub and some of the lads were talking about Plato's Republic. I happen to have this on my shelf at home, and made a comment about it. I got a reply that both shot me down in a pretty hostile way and also made clear to me that the shooter down in question hadn't actually read it. I didn't bother fighting my corner. Another time we were all a bit drunk and there was a lull in conversation and I said something about do you ever think about how often statistics are used in a pointless way. About how even though something might happen 90 times out of 100, to you on an individual basis, the chance is 50:50, as the outcome for other people doesn't actually effect you. (I'm not saying this was a logical point to make, it was just a comment made after a few cans) I was ganged up on by a few of the lads, accused of not believing in maths, and not allowed to explain my point. I'm ok with being the only person in a room that has a certain opinion, and I'm ok with being argued against, in fact I quite enjoy being argued against, but I've never seen a guy get the same hostile, patronising reaction that both I and other female friends have gotten after voicing an opinion. At this stage I'm so used to these kinds of reactions that I don't have the patience to try talking about serious things in new company, as it's just not worth it.

SugarHigh

true-or-false wrote: »

Have you considered that as a member of the opposite sex, your conversation with women is bound to include more casual topics and follow different structures? It is possible that women talk about philosophy just as much as you, but don't do it with men.

I'm about to make a whole load of generalisations, but for the sake of argument bear with me. In my experience, it's true that women don't talk about serious issues as often, but also in my experience, when women try, they get shot down far quicker than their male counterparts, and lectured to far more often than men of the same opinion.

I'm female, doing a science course, member of a political party, have an interest in many of the topics mentioned here. Yet I rarely enter into conversation with men about such things as I know the reaction I'll get. I don't get many chances to talk about this stuff with women, but when I do, I find them to be far more accommodating of differing opinions and can argue their position in a more adaptable way. Most of the guys I know, best case scenario is they just repeat their view until I give up, and then act like they've won something. Worst case scenario a few of them gang up on me, lecture me, laugh at my opinion and leave me wishing I had just acted the dumb blonde.

On one occasion I was down the pub and some of the lads were talking about Plato's Republic. I happen to have this on my shelf at home, and made a comment about it. I got a reply that both shot me down in a pretty hostile way and also made clear to me that the shooter down in question hadn't actually read it. I didn't bother fighting my corner. Another time we were all a bit drunk and there was a lull in conversation and I said something about do you ever think about how often statistics are used in a pointless way. About how even though something might happen 90 times out of 100, to you on an individual basis, the chance is 50:50, as the outcome for other people doesn't actually effect you. (I'm not saying this was a logical point to make, it was just a comment made after a few cans) I was ganged up on by a few of the lads, accused of not believing in maths, and not allowed to explain my point. I'm ok with being the only person in a room that has a certain opinion, and I'm ok with being argued against, in fact I quite enjoy being argued against, but I've never seen a guy get the same hostile, patronising reaction that both I and other female friends have gotten after voicing an opinion. At this stage I'm so used to these kinds of reactions that I don't have the patience to try talking about serious things in new company, as it's just not worth it.

I'm not sure so sure women get shot down quicker or harsher but I wouldn't be confident enough to completely deny it either. If a guy said what you did he would definitely be slagged over it, honestly he could hear about it for weeks. I think you are obviously going to be more sensitive to what happens to yourself so you might give it more prominence in your head. We'd rip into each much harsher than we would rip into a woman.

As for the ganging up thing that happens to everyone at some stage so I'm not sure how you could state it was happening because you were female. It's likely they didn't feel like they were ganging up on you and it's also likely you've done it to someone else in the past without realising it.

I find them to be far more accommodating of differing opinions and can argue their position in a more adaptable way. Most of the guys I know, best case scenario is they just repeat their view until I give up, and then act like they've won something.

I'd agree with this that men are more likely to view it as a competition. I have though been in a position where a woman say's something similar to what you said about probability and no matter how much you simplify it's almost as if she's trying not to understand you or that simple laws of maths don't really apply in the real world to them. This does also happen with men but not as much ime.

Donald_ducked

wonderfulname wrote: »

Experience amongst friends does not count as evidence for a point.

It's not just experience with friends though. It includes people from college, cousins from different parts of the country/world, friends of family, work collegues and people from all walks of life. I'm not just basing my theory on one small demographic

It is impossible to dig up figures on this issue because they don't exist. All I can do is go off my experiences in life and I genuinely do believe, based on what I've seen, a higher percentage of men discuss these issues among each other. You don't think so, that's fair enough

I'm not in anyway trying to imply that men are smarter or superior because of this and I'm not saying women don't discuss these things. I just think men(especially the younger generation) do so more often. This is all my opinion of course

Donald_ducked

Donald_ducked wrote: »

Hi,

I was reading the political forum recently and saw an interesting topic with regards to women and their lack of political interest. This got me thinking and the more I thought about it the more I realised that it's not just politics most younger women don't really have an interest in, but a lot of other important topics such as philosophy, technology, current affairs and topics which need deeper thought like spirituality and the meaning of life. Obviously I'm generalising here but I definitely feel men talk about these topics with their friends far more than women do

I'm 22 and my male friends often talk about politics and would have a general interest and knowledge about the goings on in the country. Even when we're out having a few pints these issues would crop up from time to time, obviously we talk about football and the likes aswel but it wouldn't be unusual for something heavier to come up in conversation, especially when there is alcohol involve and people get more opinionated! The same can be said when there is a family gathering in our house, the men usually end up at one end of the table for a while talking about politics,current affairs or even space! while the women converse about issues that arn't as heavy or serious

If I was to even bring up some of the topics I've mentioned above to most of the girls I hang around with, they would look at me like I've got two heads! That said, there are always exceptions to the rule

What is your take on this?

I think I must be living in some crazy parallel universe then, because this isn't my experience at all. Maybe you should find different female friends?

irishh_bob

wonderfulname wrote: »

Well I'm sorry if you feel that way, but I don't think random generalisations should form the basis of an opinion, if a rational argument had been presented I would have been nicer.

you know something else that would have been nicer , if you had,nt jumped across the table and clawed the OP,s face off for having the audacity to offer an opinion he seemed to genuinly hold and politley offer i might add , seems impossible nowadays to voice and opinion on any group ( particulary women or minoritys of some kind ) without hearing shrieking accusations of generalising , the PC thought police are borderline nazi like in thier clammering to silence debate on certain issues

fatmammycat

irishh_bob wrote: »

you know something else that would have been nicer , if you had,nt jumped across the table and clawed the OP,s face off for having the audacity to offer an opinion he seemed to genuinly hold and politley offer i might add , seems impossible nowadays to voice and opinion on any group without hearing shrieking accusations of generalising

What might have been nicer still was if you had responded to Wonderfulname's response without using 'clawing' or 'shrieking' in your reply.

OP, as someone else said, find more interesting female friends. Most of the women I know are interested in a whole slew of topics, as are most of the men.

Eve_Dublin

wonderfulname wrote: »

Okay I'll talk in equally general terms, most of the time I find that men are incapable of assimilating new information or having a logical discussion, this is because they believe they are always right, most of the time they aren't, most of the time its because they prefer to oversimplify a brief overview of something that they read in the paper ratherr than actually understand it.

true-or-false wrote: »

Have you considered that as a member of the opposite sex, your conversation with women is bound to include more casual topics and follow different structures? It is possible that women talk about philosophy just as much as you, but don't do it with men.

I'm about to make a whole load of generalisations, but for the sake of argument bear with me. In my experience, it's true that women don't talk about serious issues as often, but also in my experience, when women try, they get shot down far quicker than their male counterparts, and lectured to far more often than men of the same opinion.

These were my experiences as well when I was a younger woman. I would discuss politics with my female friends but felt I was often talked down to or even talked over by young guys who thought they knew it all.

I did a Media degree with mainly guys and it was painful to sit in a conversation of guys and not be listened to. They talked about music and films but obviously felt it was too high-brow for us women as we were never asked our opinion when most of us would have similar interests being the kind of degree it was it drew those kinds of people, both male and female. I used to just get up and walk off.

Even now, I teach English in Spain and often have political discussions with my students (ages ranging from 25-55). The men in the class would very often talk among themselves when the ratio of women to men is about the same in most classes. The women wouldn't get a word in edge-ways and I constantly have to shut them up so I can hear from the women...all of whom have their own very valid and intelligent opinions. If I didn't do that they'd be ignored and talked over as if they weren't there.

Honestly, it's your bunch of female friends. I've met just as many guys who talk about topics of no substance as those who do.

Eve_Dublin

Donald_ducked wrote: »

It's not just experience with friends though. It includes people from college, cousins from different parts of the country/world, friends of family, work collegues and people from all walks of life. I'm not just basing my theory on one small demographic

It is impossible to dig up figures on this issue because they don't exist. All I can do is go off my experiences in life and I genuinely do believe, based on what I've seen, a higher percentage of men discuss these issues among each other. You don't think so, that's fair enough

I'm not in anyway trying to imply that men are smarter or superior because of this and I'm not saying women don't discuss these things. I just think men(especially the younger generation) do so more often. This is all my opinion of course

It's an opinion but difficult to agree when it hasn't been my experience, so the debate will be some people in here stating your wrong because of their experiences. Your not stating a widely held opinion here, just your own opinion. And yes, your demographic IS small and is not at all representative.

Ash.J.Williams

I've noticed it too, and i guess the female percentage of our government would suggest the same.

Permabear

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SugarHigh

SugarHigh wrote: »

If a guy said what you did he would definitely be slagged over it, honestly he could hear about it for weeks. I think you are obviously going to be more sensitive to what happens to yourself so you might give it more prominence in your head. We'd rip into each much harsher than we would rip into a woman.

As for the ganging up thing that happens to everyone at some stage so I'm not sure how you could state it was happening because you were female. It's likely they didn't feel like they were ganging up on you and it's also likely you've done it to someone else in the past without realising it.

I'm the type that says stupid stuff all the time, and I'll go "crap did I really just say that?!" and the lads will rip into me and I'll feel like and idiot. And it can last a long time. But it's ok, because I said something stupid and they slagged me for it. Banter and slagging are perfectly acceptable in my book, and I would be one of the girls in the group that get's slagged just as much as the guys (they know I've the skin for it), but when I'm voicing an opinion such as the ones mentioned, it's not banter or slagging. It's not an embarrassing moment. It's a hostile, attack-like reaction, which is systematically towards women and not towards men. It's not in my mind, and it's not because I'm sensitive. I'm not saying it's absolutely definitely because I'm a woman, but it's not "at some stage". It's every time, and it's constantly women and not men. Can you offer an alternative conclusion to that evidence?

I'm not saying my male friends are sexist. They're (well most of them) really not. I'm pretty sure it's not a conscious decision to ignore/berate my opinion, but a natural inclination towards thinking that A) I couldn't possibly know what I'm talking about and that they're smarter and more well read than me. This is what I think results in the ignore/attack/lecture response. It's like being in secondary school, where you feel like the years below you are all stupid and you want to get in with the years ahead. Except the years below here are women and the years ahead are men. And that people don't seem to have grown out of it like they did their secondary school mindset.

Ash.J.Williams

Permabear wrote: »

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I can identify with the irish part of this post. The "taxi driver" mentality...(no offence to all taxi drivers...)

Boskowski

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

There's certainly that. Men are certainly less prone to let an opinion be affected by actual substance. Must be this constant competition they deem themselves to be in.

Having said that I don't think women consciously stay away from such subjects for those very reasons. They just don't care mostly.

Scanlas The 2nd

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

It's an opinion but difficult to agree when it hasn't been my experience, so the debate will be some people in here stating your wrong because of their experiences. Your not stating a widely held opinion here, just your own opinion. And yes, your demographic IS small and is not at all representative.

Your are contradicting yourself. You say one doesn't know the facts from personal experience yet you seem to know from your personal experience if his opinion is representative, unless of course you have access to studies I'm not aware of.

Scanlas The 2nd

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

Your are contradicting yourself. You say one doesn't know the facts from personal experience yet you seem to know from your personal experience if his opinion is representative, unless of course you have access to studies I'm not aware of.

She said it's going to end up opinion vs opinion argument and that his sample size is too small i.e. "my friends and family" to really be representative of the population. I don't see the contradiction.

Scanlas The 2nd

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

Your are contradicting yourself. You say one doesn't know the facts from personal experience yet you seem to know from your personal experience if his opinion is representative, unless of course you have access to studies I'm not aware of.

I actually think women's favourite topic of conversation is politics, local politics that is. I think they are a lot more interested in the politics and social ranking of the people they directly know or can relate to.

I think men are more likely to be interested in "quirky" topics, topics that might not have any direct effect on their life.

Disclaimer: Men are not superior to women, my opinion anyway.

Scanlas The 2nd

bluewolf wrote: »

She said it's going to end up opinion vs opinion argument and that his sample size is too small i.e. "my friends and family" to really be representative of the population. I don't see the contradiction.

His opinion could be representative of the entire population though. Eve Dublin said it wasn't representative when no one really knows how representative it is.

Scanlas The 2nd

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

His opinion could be representative of the entire population though. Eve Dublin said it wasn't representative when know one really knows how representative it is.

your demographic IS small and is not at all representative.

His opinion could be. His small demographic couldn't be, which is what she said.

It's probably obvious enough that the whole thing is going to be based on personal experiences.
I'm interested in the comments about men putting down women when they express their opinions, I'm curious how common that is. I haven't come across it myself for the most part.

irishh_bob

fatmammycat wrote: »

What might have been nicer still was if you had responded to Wonderfulname's response without using 'clawing' or 'shrieking' in your reply.

OP, as someone else said, find more interesting female friends. Most of the women I know are interested in a whole slew of topics, as are most of the men.

so bull**** ( by wonderfullname ) is ok but clawing and shrieking are out of order:rolleyes:

irishh_bob

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

i admire your ability to juggle two such contrasting cultures , north east ( most likely new england ) american academic types and north west ireland turf cutting country types , cant imagine your the pub type however , more country club perhaps

Scanlas The 2nd

bluewolf wrote: »

His opinion could be. His small demographic couldn't be, which is what she said.

It's probably obvious enough that the whole thing is going to be based on personal experiences.
I'm interested in the comments about men putting down women when they express their opinions, I'm curious how common that is. I haven't come across it myself for the most part.

The demographic could be representative too, no one knows.

Corkblowin

There is also the possibility that men,women & children posting in the humanities forum would be those who are interested in the world around them and do not confine themselves to the world according to the soaps & the news of the world. There appears to be a large cohort of men out there who have no interest in life other than the pub & sport, just as there is a similar number of women who only want to talk about 'celebrities', Eastenders & X Factor.

There's nothing wrong with these things in themselves, but when it's all people know it can become a bit mind-numbing. Unfortunately when you're dating these things only become obvious after a period of time - although I accept that all this is my opinion and my sample size is in no way representative:pac:

Apolloyon

I think at the end of the day, this is going to boil down to differing individual experiences. I would also say that we are not discussing intellectual abilities or lack of knowledge but simply the disinclination to discuss issues like politics, current events, philosophy and so on. I have found that when I lived abroad, women there were more willing to talk about those subjects from the get go but seem reluctant to discuss them here.

I appreciate the fact that my own experience might be completely opposite to others. I'm looking for perspective not controversy! Suggestions to 'get new friends' doesn't work. Because this covers female friends, relatives and co workers from different times and places in Ireland. Of course...I might be the problem here! But I'm a listener as well as a talker and always like to get another person's point of view to fully understand their side as well as my own. It may be a case that I just need to get out more! Enlighten me!

Scanlas The 2nd

bluewolf wrote: »

Well, I guess I'm gonna have to take that one back

I'm not putting you down if that is what you are suggesting.

mystique150

I agree with the OP to a point. I have some female third level educated women in their early to mid 20’s who haven’t a clue what’s going on around them politically, nationally or internationally. They couldn’t converse about those issues let alone form an opinion on them. However, I also have a number of male friends and colleagues who I could say the very same about. All of these people do have other interests which they are passionate about, be it an area of research, sport or literature. I think the OP forgets that people have different interests and I also think women are less likely to bull**** a topic they know nothing about whereas men may be more tempted to engage for the sake of debate.

K-9

irishh_bob wrote: »

i admire your ability to juggle two such contrasting cultures , north east ( most likely new england ) american academic types and north west ireland turf cutting country types , cant imagine your the pub type however , more country club perhaps

I thought it was an odd comparison too, I would have though Trinity or UCD would have been more valid.

SugarHigh

bluewolf wrote: »

I'm interested in the comments about men putting down women when they express their opinions, I'm curious how common that is. I haven't come across it myself for the most part.

I think something like that is going to be impossible to judge. If someone putting you down how are you going to know it's because you're a woman. It simply be a case of someone not being listened and then deciding it was because they were a woman to protect their ego.

Apolloyon wrote: »

I appreciate the fact that my own experience might be completely opposite to others. I'm looking for perspective not controversy! Suggestions to 'get new friends' doesn't work. Because this covers female friends, relatives and co workers from different times and places in Ireland. Of course...I might be the problem here! But I'm a listener as well as a talker and always like to get another person's point of view to fully understand their side as well as my own. It may be a case that I just need to get out more! Enlighten me!

I agree that the suggestion to "get new friends" was pretty silly. It's basically saying you shouldn't be friends with people who aren't interested in politics.:D

No one said they weren't nice people.

SugarHigh

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

I'm not putting you down if that is what you are suggesting.

I'm not sure what she meant by that either.
Was she also suggesting you were only doing it because she was a woman?

Could you clarify what you meant bluewolf?

SugarHigh

SugarHigh wrote: »

I think something like that is going to be impossible to judge. If someone putting you down how are you going to know it's because you're a woman. It simply be a case of someone not being listened and then deciding it was because they were a woman to protect their ego.

Probably as difficult to judge as whether women always talk about inane subjects or not, really. It could be as you said, it could also be genuine 'she doesn't know any better' put downs.

I agree that the suggestion to "get new friends" was pretty silly. It's basically saying you shouldn't be friends with people who aren't interested in politics.:D

No, it's saying if you're concerned that none of your female friends talk about current affairs and are starting to believe that no women do, then you should find some women who do have an interest in it.

Could you clarify what you meant bluewolf?

It was a flippant remark based on eve clearly saying that while the opinion might indeed be held by the majority, the sample size OP mentioned can't cover the majority of types of people, and someone arguing with that apparently just for the sake of it. Since it's caused so much confusion I've deleted it so let's just move on because I'm not arguing it any more.

munchkin_utd

i can only think of :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU

liah

I think there's enough people on the thread saying that yes, there's plenty of young women floating about out there who talk about these subjects, to prove the generalization incorrect and this argument pretty much pointless..

Scanlas The 2nd

bluewolf wrote: »

Probably as difficult to judge as whether women always talk about inane subjects or not, really. It could be as you said, it could also be genuine 'she doesn't know any better' put downs.

No, it's saying if you're concerned that none of your female friends talk about current affairs and are starting to believe that no women do, then you should find some women who do have an interest in it.


It was a flippant remark based on eve clearly saying that while the opinion might indeed be held by the majority, the sample size OP mentioned can't cover the majority of types of people, and someone arguing with that apparently just for the sake of it. Since it's caused so much confusion I've deleted it so let's just move on because I'm not arguing it any more.

Discussing, not arguing.