Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

We've heard this a million times from a million different people. No other fact can be more established and 'in-your-face' than the truth that men and women are as different as science and magic. And although this is the title of what I intend to say, it is certainly not going to be the content of it.

The content rather is intended to resist this idea.

My claim is that we are not so different as is made out to be. And I especially emphasize this about one trait in which men and women are considered to act in completely opposite ways:

"Women act from the heart, men are practical and do not consult the heart once the brain has decided. "

I must have heard this from almost all men I have ever conversed with about this. They all gave me the same equation: men act with their brains ONLY. Using the heart is not manlike.

My experiences say something different though. I beg to completely differ.

Think about this again, which of these is true: Women do not use their brains when they make their decisions, or men do not use their heart when they make their decisions? I strongly believe neither is true at all.

Firstly, what does one mean by saying 'acting from the heart'? My best guess is it means acting out of emotions, acting out of essential human qualities, acting out of what we have been made of. And what does 'acting with the mind' signify? Being a woman, and as per myth never having exercised this trait restricted to a man's domain, I would again need to guess. To me it would mean keeping yours and other's best interests under consideration, and doing the best you can for yourself.

The best decision is one taken with the right mix of emotions and practicality governing you. A decision taken with either the heart or mind unemployed is only a half and shallow one.

So why then do men pride themselves over not using their heart and only using the brains? At the risk of sounding sexist, I am going to be frank with my very strong opinion on this. Men border close to insensitivity under the glamorous farce of practicality. It is a consolation they provide to their own conscience for acting in a way convenient to only them. I have witnessed men employing their Everest-sized egos, their raging hormones and their child-like stubbornness whenever they feel like it. So what are the emotions they are talking about never having used? Most times it is a lack of interest, and sometimes they are just lazy to want to use their 'heart', because it is most convenient not to use it. Why bother understanding something that doesn't affect their interests? It is just more convenient to say: "We are practical, we do not use emotions, so we do not even understand species that use emotions, read women." Easy escape.

I only have to say this: Wake up boys, do you really think we dig your 'practicality' drama?

(None of my male friends will be surprised to read this from me, they all know I am very strongly opinionated on this one. For the rest of the world, welcome to my world!)