This is meant as a light-hearted discussion. NO BASHING.
There are some things I just don’t get at all that so many women do. I assume the same is true in the reverse.
I don’t get:
The lurve of shoes.
The teenaged squealing.
The hours and hours of shopping.
Feel free to submit your own in either direction, or to try to explain something to the other side.
Eh, I’m technically female and I don’t get two of the three things you measured. As for the squealing, it’s more likely to be triggered by a keyboard with lights and extra buttons and wireless and so forth than by the usual suspects.
In a department store, you can leave me in the clothing area with a fully-loaded credit card and all I’ll do is get bored. But please keep me away from the electronics section!
I don’t understand people, of either gender, who insist in thinking I’m defined in my entirety by a single word. Even saying my full name to a degree that makes it world-unique requires four words: why would a single word define everything I am?
What I will never get about women is the clothing. Men’s clothing can easily be sorted in shirts, pants, socks and underpants. That’s it. And just by looking at it, you know what’s the front and the back, top and bottom, inside and outside. It takes me forever to fold my wive’s and girl’s clothing while I try to figure out what each piece is, how it is supposed to go and in which of the 37 categories it belongs.
My wife doesn’t understand how tinkering with IT gadgets can be a great way to spend an afternoon.
I fail to understand why she has to pick up every single item in the supermarket before deciding which one to put in the trolly.
I’m female, and I despise shopping because it takes me hours and hours. Sizes are not standardized, or even remotely logical, so every item must be tried on for fit. Even if it’s the exact same item in a different color. Also, I go shopping knowing what I want. It then ceases to exist.
I don’t understand sports obsession. I know it can happen to anyone, but it’s mostly a male thing.
Why can’t the other gender find things? Do uteruses have built in radar?
For the record I hate all these things.
For guys, I don’t know why they can’t be straight foward. They don’t want to get into any emotional situation so they say “I’ll call you tomorrow” rather than “This isn’t working for me”. For god sake, have some balls.
I’m not gonna protest that I don’t fit any of the gal steroetypes, I do lurve shoes (I have the most fabulous collection) and while I don’t like shopping for hours in a store, I do spend a fair amoutn of time planning out my wardrobe online. I am a little bit old for the teenaged sqealing however. (unless it’s over Jensen Ackles, sigh… 
)
Things I don’t get about guys:
Obsessive sports watching - I understand watching occasionally or having a favorite team but knowing everything there is to know about everything? And those fantasy leagues? I don’t get.
Fart and potty humor - ugh, why are bad smells funny? I also don’t get why guys think it’s Ok not to shower or to wear the same t-shirt for a week.
Meh. You need stuff on your feet. Otherwise, I’d not bother. I try to find ones that look respectable but do the job, so comfortable for walking, lightweight and cool for summer, waterproof for wet days. I have one achy joint that precludes me putting weight on the balls of my feet so that limits my choices. I’m not heartbroken about it.
Female voice box. Men do the equivalent, but their voices are deeper - so a yyyeeeaaahhhh or a hoooyeah or whatever a guy utters when his team scores doesn’t sound like ‘eeee’ because he’s a boy.
Sifting through far too many ugly/expensive/wrong-sized/badly-made items to find what you want or need. Especially these days, where so many women’s clothes are made of something resembling tissue paper in thickness. No, I’d really rather you not be able to see every freckle through my clothes, thanks.
I challenge you to go find a woman’s golf-style top or collared top (v-necks don’t suit me all that well and many round necks look bad on me because I’ve a long neck) in a cherry red (scarlet is too yellow) that’s made of pique, doesn’t hang like a bag or cling like a tensor bandage, doesn’t hang to your knees or stop so short that your belly shows (see, I’m wearing it to work), that doesn’t have some garish logo embroidered on it.
Sound simple? Hah. Now do that for every item you need. Simple black pants? Right. Again, most are made of stretch jersey or something that clings to every molecule and have low low waists.
I’m finally seeing longer tops, but so many in uggggly patterns - and of course with round or v-necks :rolleyes: So I have to gear myself up for another multi-hour shopping trip to find a few longer tops that I don’t hate that suit me.
Men - why are explosions, chases, crashes, and fights ‘entertainment’?
Why such devotion to sports teams?
How come so many of you are scared of new or different food? I’ve run into many more guys than women who shudder at the very thought of eating, oh, vegetables. What is up with that?
“Honey, when we talk about problems why are you always trying to solve them? Can’t we just talk about them?”
“If we’re not trying to find a solution, then why bother talking about it?”
Boy do I hear you on this one. This happens in the Athena household a lot. He’s always wanting to yammer about feelings and indulging in stream-of-consciousness soliloquy. I wish he’d just get to the damn point so we could find a solution and move on to something fun. Men!
Perhaps some female dopers can shed some insight on this one: jewelry
I don’t get this at all. For men, it appears to be merely “look what I can afford” (to indicate affluence, to attract women who want affluent men, etc.)
But for women is it:
And here’s the REAL kicker - for many women, said jewelry is sometimes only VERY RARELY shown/worn ! Yet it is held in just as high of regard. What is up with that ?
This issue of men and sports has come up several times now. To perhaps give women some insight into this: from what I’ve seen, (far) more women are involved in “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” shows. (Women) ask yourselves this: why are you so wrapped up with your favorites ? Is it the competition ? Why are you rooting for your favorite with such vigor ? Why are the dynamics of who got eliminated when so important ?
This is not much different than sports.
Except that I don’t put bumper stickers on my car or buy T-shirts or sulk or scream or have celebration parties or memorize statistics or talk about it all the time etc.
I’m looking forward to the answers about jewelry, because I don’t get it either.
At a movie theater (for example), saying “do you want some popcorn” when what you mean is “I want popcorn.”
Happened with a woman I was seeing a couple years ago. No big deal by itself, but if you can’t even communicate about popcorn you’re going to run into real trouble on anything more serious. Just say what you mean.
I don’t get the (mostly male) fascination with cars. Seriously, it’s a car. If it runs well enough to get you from Point A to Point B, then it’s sufficient for it’s purpose.
Bingo. My wife isn’t big into clothes, but I hate doing laundary. I have jeans, shirts, socks, and undies. That’s pretty much it. One drawer and two clothes rods. When I do our laundary I never know where to put my Wifes stuff. Is it work-out clothes? Work clothes?
Is this a work out-bra, or a work bra. And how in the hell do you fold that anyway.
What drawer does this belong in? I’m afraid I’ll put something away and she will be forever looking for it.
They’re always trying to classify us and make us all the same.
OMGITAWTFGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
:: cough :: I mean, I agree.
I love jewelry, but I usually don’t go for the expensive stuff. I don’t see the point of wearing expensive rocks just for the sake of wearing expensive rocks. I like silvery dangly stuff, or funky beads, or cat shapes (I collect cat earrings). I do have some nice jewelry for special occasions, and it’s nice to have a pair of pearl earring or whatever to wear to a fancy party, but one pair is enough for me.
I don’t get the sports thing, either.
Throw them in together on hot once. Now you are not allowed to do laundry, so who cares where it goes?
The cars I can’t explain, but the sports thing does make sense, even if I don’t enjoy following sports all that much. It’s a never-ending pageant of triumph and defeat, much like (as cormac said) the new crop of reality shows, which do appeal to women. The fact that men go deeper into is is simply a matter of there being more to examine - decades of statistics, player histories, and so on. Add to the mix an array of hometown loyalties and traditional rivalries, and it can be quite interesting indeed.
Quiddity, I think you might find this article of interest, though it doesn’t actually try to explain it logically.