Confusing

First of all, let me just say that my stance on the guys/girls issue is that girls are more difficult to understand. Here's why:

As a guy, it is only natural to have a better understanding of how guys think and act than that of a girl, because you live those same thoughts and actions in your daily life. That is my primary reason for saying that girls are more confusing; I'm not a girl, therefore I would have a harder time understanding them.

The 'languages' of emotions for guys and girls are drastically different. Guys can speak and understand that language, and have lived with it their entire life. They have also been surrounded by the language of girls for their entire lives, but they are far from fluent, and can easily get caught up in the nuances of the dialect. Because it is so different from the language that they speak, can you really blame guys for having trouble understanding girls?

There are many times when a guy is unsure of how to react to female emotions. To a guy, it seems ambiguous and vague. At best, it's a guessing match, trying to figure out if she's upset or just tired; interested or not. Methods of dealing with their emotions vary, and it's difficult to determine how best to approach the subject.

Also take into account the verbal paradoxes that are so very common in the female language. Most common is the "nothing is wrong" line. How do you deal with that? Well, here's the advice of someone who is fluent in the language:

"...but usually when a girl says nothing is wrong there usually is so give her time and just let her know you're there for her and she'll feel better about telling you what's wrong."

Ok, so she says nothing is wrong, but something actually IS wrong, so you should give her time so that she'll eventually reveal that something IS wrong so that you can address the problem of what was wrong in the first place! That's totally simple!

And how would you define giving a girl "time"? Does that mean you should just gently avoid the topic? Not bug her about it? If so, then how is she to know that you still care about her and the things she's going through? Yes, I can say I'm there for someone, but if I give it time by ignoring it, it doesn't really work, does it?

I think that in general, guys are like smarties. Or eggs. Pick your metaphor.

A hard outer shell, barren of emotions. A shield, armour, anything to protect what is inside, to disguise the vulnerable emotions inside.

You see, guys in today's culture are heavily conditioned to be 'tough'. It's an idea criticized by many groups, but you can't deny it. Guys today are expected to fit into the mold, and to project the standard image of toughness. Argue all you want, but that idea is totally prevalent in our culture today.

However, just because there is an image of being tough, that doesn't mean that the inside has gone totally solid as well. It is my opinion that inside each and every man, there is at least a tiny portion of them that has an intense desire to be loved. For some, they may have been wearing their shell for so long that they don't even realize that part of them still exists, but it does. And really, isn't that desire to be loved what drives us all?