TMCnet News
Men, women speak different languages [St. Joseph News-Press (MO)](St. Joseph News-Press (MO) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) I was chatting with a female colleague the other day when she threw the word "fuchsia" into the conversation. The word did not register. I wasn't sure of its definition. Fuchsia could have been a cuss word or an insult for all I knew. It even sounded a little like one of those female products that men would rather not know about. I've never used fuchsia in a sentence, in a bar, in a pickup game or anywhere that I can remember. I never heard another guy use it either. The woman translated the word for me and I found out that fuchsia is some sort of purplish red color. It's also named after some flower. Now why on Earth would I ever have a need for that word? It's the same thing with words like taffeta or progesterone. If you asked me what taffeta was I'd say it was some Thai dish or a new kind of taffy candy. I'd never guess it was a fabric. In fact, fabrics are things I've never given much thought. Besides jeans and cotton, I don't know that many others. Guys just never discuss fabric or fashion. When guys get together their talk usually centers around women, cars, tools and sports. And on any of those topics we can spend hours. I imagine women talk about men, shoes, purses and Pinterest, but I don't know that. Women seem to have some sort of secret society in which topics of conversation among them are never discussed outside their gender. They are always on the same wavelength. My wife and her friends start talking about certain types of makeup, fashions and female potions and I'm lost. A woman can live in New York and another can live in California and they will know the same piece of information in an instant. They have their own Morse Code. The Center for Reading Research, a group affiliated with the psychology department of Ghent university in Belgium, did a study on words that are mostly known to either men or women. From more than 500,000 surveys, the study found words with the biggest recognition gaps between genders. A slate.com article reported on the research and here are the findings: Words men were most likely to recognize over women are: codec, solenoid, golem, mach, Humvee, claymore, scimitar, Kevlar, paladin, Bolshevism, biped and dreadnought. Words women were most likely to recognize over men are: taffeta, tresses, bottle brush, flouncy, mascarpone, decoupage, progesterone, wisteria, taupe, flouncing, peony and bodice. The study also found that men tend to use words that center around transportation, weapons and science while women's talk centers around fashion, art and flowers. What also was mentioned was that these words only applied in a certain socioeconomic context. I know what a scimitar is but can't recall if I ever used the word in a conversation. I might have mentioned one after watching a sword and sorcery movie with my son, but there's no need for one in general life or conversation. Where on Earth would I use the word paladin? I remember it as an old western series starring Richard Boone. I have no need to discuss medieval warriors over beer. You want to talk cover defense, dime backs, splitters, five tool guys, micro brews and hat tricks, you're talking my language. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |