Men are from Mars, women are from Venus (and adolescents are from Bizzaro).

[cactuswatcher]

Generalities are often wrong, of course. But there are reasons for them nonetheless. For instance the original Sherlock Holmes' detective skills require that all sorts of generalities be set in stone. His own behavior is eccentric yet the cases he solves demand that everyone else in his universe act in highly predictable fashions. We may see the flaws in Holmes' methodology, but the stories carry us along so swiftly that we are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as long as his analysis keeps working. The same is true of all generalities. We are willing to accept them as long as they don't fail us completely. So play along with me, but feel free to scream "Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!" if you so choose.


I've been hearing a lot about Hunger Games lately. Till the last few days, I sort of knew what it was about, sort of didn't. When I saw the composition of the crowds flocking to the new movie, my instant reaction was a deprecating "Oh!"
Generality #1. Seeing a horde of adolescent females all excited about the same thing at once is a giant turn-off for straight males of all ages.
Generality #2 Young men tend to run in tight packs and usually don't care much what guys outside their circle think. Young women tend to run in loose herds and are often concerned about what girls who aren't their close friends think.
Generality #3 Young men are more comfortable around people who don't agree with them than young women.
Generality #4 Fads affect both young men and young women, but young men are less loyal to their fads than young women and are likely to move on more quickly.

Because I don't keep the TV on all the time like I did when I was a teenager, I often catch the tail end of things I wouldn't normally watch while waiting for things I really want to see. Recently it was the tail end of The Bachelor while waiting for Castle to start. It bothered me that the guy kept getting rid of perfectly nice girls and kept the one everyone hated for good reason. Then I said to to myself, "You idiot, of course! It's obvious!"
Generality #5 Guys who are willing to subject themselves to the torture of trying to date umpty women at once ( i.e. go on as The Bachelor) are out for one thing only and it ain't marriage.
Generality #6 Women who are skanky hos and willing to throw themselves at the guy, slowly but surely, are the ones most likely to win the show.
Generality #7 Women who aren't skanky hos and try to throw themselves at a guy very suddenly in hopes of changing his thinking are asking to get dumped instantly from the show and in real life.
Generality #8 Men who are looking for a good time only aren't interested in the kind of woman they could spend a life with.
Generality #9 Men who'd actually go on as The Bachelor rather than just daydream about it are not the kind of guy you want your own daughter hanging around.

Concerning the recent concentration on bullying in the media
Generality #10 Everyone feels like they've been bullied at one time or another.
Generality #11 Most people forget about times when they've bullied others.
Generality #12 Middle school aged kids are the most likely to commit and experience the worst of bullying, though the cumulative effects may show up far more dramatically later.
Generality #13 Middle school is when most kids are most likely to behave in a way their parents would be shocked over.
Generality #14 Middle school aged kids could use smaller classes and closer supervision than either older or younger kids need.

Comments

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

RE that last set--they seem valid to me: Lord of the Flies wasn't set in a kindergarten or college for a reason. There's something about the hormones and the brain development and the increased independence that makes middle school kids really savage. My sister loved teaching them, but I couldn't stand it. Found my own kids most problematic at that age, too.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Not sure about all generalities, but 7th grade was the hardest year of my life - bullying wise. When I was younger, I was oblivious to bullying, and when I was older I was self-possessed enough to handle it.