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In the City-Data Retirement Forum there is a Chat Thread; it is a cool place because we don't have to be worried about staying on-topic. I have posted there about books, movies, commented on City-Data itself, even told jokes.
But there is something I don't understand. Many posters, mostly female, post about and are interested in the posts of others concerning the most trivial, mundane, boring aspects of daily life...
Because men never talk about mundane things. Remind me of that the next time some guy goes on about beer, sports, or his car.
Here's a clue: Women are communicators and are more likely to enjoy writing out their thoughts and conversations than men. We are more likely to excel in language and indulge in its use more than men, as well.
But hey, considering the number of posts I've read of yours in which you criticize women basically for not being like men, I think it's pretty obvious what your agenda is in starting this thread.
:Here's a clue: Women are communicators and are more likely to enjoy writing out their thoughts and conversations than men. We are more likely to excel in language and indulge in its use more than men, as well.
I don't think that's true, but I'll humor you for a moment.
What's the use of excelling in communication if you only use it to discuss what you had for lunch yesterday?
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But hey, considering the number of posts I've read of yours in which you criticize women basically for not being like men, I think it's pretty obvious what your agenda is in starting this thread.
Of course, your comment was totally agenda-free. It is so amusing to see someone who objects to stereotypes promoting her own.
I don't think that's true, but I'll humor you for a moment.
What's the use of excelling in communication if you only use it to discuss what you had for lunch yesterday?
False argument. You don't know those women. You don't know if they ONLY speak of those things. It's called a "chat" thread for a reason--idle chit-chat. If anyone is in the wrong here, it is the OP for having overblown expectations of it.
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Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat
Of course, your comment was totally agenda-free. It is so amusing to see someone who objects to stereotypes promoting her own.
"Beer, sports and cars." Really?
Familiarize yourself with a literary concept called irony, please.
But maybe what you consider inane and lacking in substance other feel as a light-hearted way to connect with other people and share in their similarities and differences. Lecturing or participating in intellectual one-upsmanship might equally seem silly and unimportant to others.
I am not interested in "intellectual one-upsmanship" or any other kind of one-upsmanship for that matter. Posting on City-Data is not a contest, at least not for me.
Rather, it is a question of what people find to be of interest, of what they find to be worthwhile topics in terms of spending their time.
Thanks for your insight about people feeling connected with one another. But the whole point of my question is how they achieve that connection via the exchange of banalities. I could exchange banalities with someone for a long time and still not feel connected.
Because men never talk about mundane things. Remind me of that the next time some guy goes on about beer, sports, or his car.
Here's a clue: Women are communicators and are more likely to enjoy writing out their thoughts and conversations than men. We are more likely to excel in language and indulge in its use more than men, as well.
But hey, considering the number of posts I've read of yours in which you criticize women basically for not being like men, I think it's pretty obvious what your agenda is in starting this thread.
Was that deep enough for you?
You are putting words in my mouth (a dishonest debating technique), as I did not claim men never talk about mundane things. I stated that those mundane conversations in the limited venue of the Retirement Forum Chat Thread occur "mostly" among females, and that is an accurate observation.
My agenda for starting this thread was to increase my understanding of something I don't understand well, despite your conjecture to the contrary. What is sad is your injection of a hostile tone into the discussion. Your male-bashing has little to do with the topic as I formulated it.
Therefore just for the record let me be clear: I have equally little understanding of men who delight in the exchange of banal trivia as I do of women who delight in the same. And just in case you come back with the accusation that I don't think women posters engage in thoughtful, insightfully analytical posts, I can provide the names of a goodly number of women posters who do exactly that.
I feel sorry for you that you live with such hostility.
Your example from the Food Forum is a good illustration of exactly what I am talking about. Matters of real substance on the Food Forum (it would seem to me) would be stuff like the nutritional value of various foods, ideas for how to prepare certain foods, or ideas on how to save money in shopping for food. But what everybody had for lunch? Like you, say, silly.
And your example of comparing two writers is also an excellent example of the opposite - a subject that has real meat to it, that is in some way significant.
I'd discuss the nutritional value of food in the "Health & Wellness" group; saving money on food in the "Frugal Living" group; and I think there is a "Recipes" group.
Seems to me that the discussions in the food forum are quite appropriate: mostly enjoying foods.
I think there is a writing group and a literature group too.
Here's a clue: Women are communicators and are more likely to enjoy writing out their thoughts and conversations than men. We are more likely to excel in language and indulge in its use more than men, as well.
You are putting words in my mouth (a dishonest debating technique), as I did not claim men never talk about mundane things. I stated that those mundane conversations in the limited venue of the Retirement Forum Chat Thread occur "mostly" among females, and that is an accurate observation.
What is dishonest is singling women out on a forum that has more women than men on it in general, and complaining that the topics they choose to discuss in a thread specifically set aside for chit-chat are mundane.
In other words, what on earth do you expect on a catch-all chat thread? Furthermore, if you were interested in a human phenomenon, you would not have mentioned gender. You have made this about gender, once again, and once again, considering your posting history, the hostility is all yours. I'm just calling you out on it.
And finally, look at the chat thread on the Relationships forum. Plenty of men making idle chit-chat there.
In the City-Data Retirement Forum there is a Chat Thread; it is a cool place because we don't have to be worried about staying on-topic. I have posted there about books, movies, commented on City-Data itself, even told jokes.
But there is something I don't understand. Many posters, mostly female, post about and are interested in the posts of others concerning the most trivial, mundane, boring aspects of daily life: What they ate for dinner, where they went with the grandkids, taking a sick pet to the vet, what the weather is or is forecast to be, how many dogs they saw on their morning walk, etc. Why is that? What is the interest of it? (O.K., if the weather is especially violent or unusual that is a different matter and becomes of general interest). I can't get interested in what a total stranger had for dinner.
I don't make objections to those posts in the Chat Thread because, hey, it's a chat thread, so anything goes as long as the City-Data rules are observed. But I am greatly puzzled why there is such a high volume of absolute trivia, and I am hoping that posters here will be able to shed some light on this phenomenon.
Do people have no life of the mind, no real adventures or significant happenings in their lives? If so, perhaps the meaningless trivia is all there is and people validate each other by relating their trivia? Help me with this.
It's a matter of personal choice and has value in that sense. If I think the topic is inane then I don't respond to it. I find a lot of it here from all walks of life, female & male, all equally obnoxious
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