# Sometimes, it takes a man ... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820 "2012-01-17T20:16:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Old\_Eel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/977dab/32.png) [@Old\_Eel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Eel)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/41 "2012-01-18T04:04:23Z")
I can pee standing up. QED. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/42 "2012-01-18T04:06:17Z")
Sometimes it takes a man to make a complete ass of himself. But it takes an even bigger man to point and laugh at that man. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/43 "2012-01-18T04:07:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > His logic is peccable. It’s because he has a pecker. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/44 "2012-01-18T04:10:56Z")
> [@murrmac](#): > > In exasperation, I finally called , was answered by a woman, and I politely asked to be put through to a \*\*\*male \*\*\*supervisor, which , to her credit, she did wihout any demur. > > He noted my concerns, and talked me through the process, which resulted in me being able to access and fully implement my Ebay account. The difference was because he was a supervisor, not because he was a man. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/45 "2012-01-18T04:15:29Z")
I see two possibilities here. 1. Ten different women, who work tech support for a living, were unable to explain a simple procedure. 2. One person didn’t pay attention to what he was being told when it was a woman explaining what he should do. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/46 "2012-01-18T04:59:43Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > I was actually hoping for some hot man-on-man sex, really who needs women? :D;)😛 Well, I’m rather fond of them. If there are any just lying around, I’m sure I can find something to do with them. – I’m thinking, _Arkahm Horror_ marathon! (Also, I’ve got some laundry that needs doing) ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/47 "2012-01-18T09:21:37Z")
\*%^#@%$ That’s because men are given manager’s jobs, whether they’re suited or not. The women you spoke to have to speak from a script. When you kept asking for a “higher up” you finally got a human allowed to speak human. (Someone who wouldn’t lose his job for going off-script.) Not remarkable or even commendable. A sad commentary about running in place. (The '60s! Everybody be sure to eat up Mad Men.) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/48 "2012-01-18T14:02:06Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Dnftt Whether acronymed or not, accusations of trolling are against the rules. So don’t do it — everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/49 "2012-01-18T15:31:08Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > 100% of the time, this means you’re about to say the most chauvinistic thing in the world. > > QED. Yeah, any time you see a statement like that you just _know_ what’s coming. “I’m not racist/sexist/homophobic, but… (says something racist/sexist/homophobic).” It never, ever fails. Do people really think that disclaimer at the start fools anybody? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/50 "2012-01-18T15:56:31Z")
The reason that the man could help you when the woman could not had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was a man. It was because he was Asian. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/51 "2012-01-18T16:36:45Z")
This is likely due to a well known problem known as “ovulation locking” which is a by product of “menstrual synchrony” which comes from fertile women in close proximity and large groups synchronizing their menstrual cycles. Groups like sororities and groups of female sailors aboard ships in tight quarters are especially prone to this. When women are in this mode it’s difficult for them to think linearly or (in this case) to form complex coherent thoughts and give instructions in the premenstrual phase where they are maximally sexually receptive. All they are thinking of in this mode, despite a veneer of professionalism, is male sexual attention and how to get it. When interacting with a man who comes across (even on the phone) as a take charge, alpha male type this distractibility this tends to scramble up their ability to give you coherent directions. If you called back in about a week any one of those women could have helped you in a competent manner. Less than that and they would still be in their irritable menstrual phase, and while the information they gave might be correct you would likely get handled brusquely. There is fascinating research on this phenomenon. It is hypothesized that the pheromones women give off when maximally fertile are primarily responsible for triggering this synchrony.[Here is a wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_synchrony)that goes into the latest studies and biological mechanisms surrounding this tendency. Interestingly, it is thought the main benefit of this locking was to enable children to be born in “birth clusters” (see wiki link) which enhanced survival. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/52 "2012-01-18T16:41:02Z")
I have on more than one occasion asked to speak with a male employee. In each case, I needed to notify someone that there was a pile of errant feces on the floor or other inappropriate surfaces of the mens room. The fact that I have had to do this more than once says volumes about the state of American society. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820/53 "2012-01-18T16:57:04Z")
Since we all know what’s going on here, I’m closing the thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-it-takes-a-man/609820.md?page=2)