Men and women take off their clothes in different ways. Most often, men put their arms behind their shoulders, pulling their top away from their spine using their collar. Women cross their arms in front, pulling off their clothes whilst gripping the hem and turning them inside out as they do so. Men might use either method, but women only use the latter. This isn’t because we’re taught to undress differently; instead it’s the result of the fact that most women’s clothing is more close fitting, and using the ’male’ method just doesn’t work.
2. Show their hands differently
When asked to display their hands, men (provided they’ve got nothing to hide!) will always show you their palms, whereas women for some reason always proffer you the back of their hands.
3. Throw balls differently
Men usually throw balls from above and behind their head, whilst women throw them upwards from below and whilst holding it with both hands in front of them. Why? No one knows!
4. Yawn differently
Paris Hilton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
More often than not, men cover their mouth with a fist when yawning, whilst women use an open palm — probably, because it’s considered to look more elegant and ’feminine’.
5. Hear sounds differently
Women have a keener sense of hearing than men, and are experts at picking up high frequency sounds. Amazingly, the female brain is ’programmed’ to hear a child’s cry, whilst a majority of men will sleep right through it as if nothing happened. And if a kitten meows somewhere, a woman is far more likely to hear it than a man. However, equally fascinatingly, men can discern the direction from which a sound is coming better than women. So he’ll tell her where the kitten is hiding!
6. Sit differently
Jennifer Lopez and Johnny Depp
Women typically sit with their legs crossed, often wrapping their legs around each other. Men usually prefer to spread themselves out, placing their knees far apart. In part, this is because the majority of men and women wear different kinds of clothing; it’s not usually considered a good idea for a woman to sit in the ’male position’ if she is wearing a short skirt. For men, on the other hand, their instinctive sitting position has its roots in evolution: this is the typical pose of an ’alpha male’ demonstrating his masculinity.
7. Distinguish between right and left differently
Men never mix up right and left, as the more active part of their brain is either the right, or the left hemisphere — never both. Yet if you ask most women which is their left hand, you won’t get an instantaneous answer. Often they will look at a ring, or think about which hand they write with, in order to remind themselves. This is why men all around the world complain that women can’t tell left from right!
8. See differently
Men can see clearly ahead, and far into the distance. You might say they have eyes like binoculars. This is called tunnel vision — the vision of a hunter capable of tracking his prey. This is why men sometimes accuse women of hiding things from them; even if their socks, or underwear, or car keys and wallet, or something in the fridge, are all where they should be, a man cannot pick them out straightaway if they aren’t in his direct field of vision. In contrast, women have much better peripheral vision. It’s argued that this is the result of the fact that a woman needs to see what’s around her as much as she can, in order to keep track of her children and quickly detect any danger to them. These differences can have serious consequences. Insurance companies claim that women are less likely to be involved in road accidents where their car is hit from the side. They are however far more likely to scratch their car when trying to parallel park, since they have a poorely developed sense of space.
9. Tie bathrobes differently
Charlie Sheen and Scarlett Johansson
Women usually fasten a bathrobe tightly around the waist, whereas men tie it at the hips. Some say this is because women want to emphasise their figure even when they’re wearing baggy clothes, whilst men don’t care at all about this. Others think it’s just more comfortable for both. What do you think?
10. Interpret feelings in different ways
It’s said that a woman can interpret visual, verbal, and all other kinds of signals people give them almost instantaneously. When a woman walks into a room full of unknown people, she will often observe the latter closely and will be able to work out who gets on well with whom, who’s fallen out with whom, and what someone’s mood is. When a man walks into a room, he will quickly scan his environment, determine where the exits are, search for familiar faces, and try to work out who is a potential threat or enemy. Moreover, men generally cannot understand when a woman feels offended unless she tells him directly, yet she usually expects him to read the subtle signals she is giving out instead.
11. Deal with tasks differently
Men are generally capable of concentrating on only a single task at a given moment. If you try to talk to him while he’s shaving, there’s every chance he’ll cut himself. In contrast, many people believe women can cope with several things at the same time. Once again, the reason for this lies in the varying ways in which men and women’s brains function, and the influence of ancient, socially-determined roles. Thousands of years ago, if a man didn’t concentrate on the hunt, his family could go hungry. And if a woman concentrated entirely on picking berries and roots, her children might end up in danger.
12. Cope with problems differently
Drew Barrymore in ’Scream’; Edward Norton in ’Fight Club’
Often, when a woman has a problem, she will talk about it with her mom, her best friend, her husband, even with the person sitting next to her on the bus. She’ll write about it in her diary, she’ll send a text message to someone revealing all, or she’ll leave posts on social networks. The more she discusses her problem, the easier it is for her. A problem shared with others doesn’t feel so difficult to cope with. When a man has a problem, on the other hand, he’s far more likely to lie in front of the TV and sulk in silence. He copes with stress by distracting himself from his problems. And when he feels calmer, he start’s searching for a solution to whatever’s wrong — and he does it on his own. Coming to him with advice and suggestions will just annoy him.
13. Remember information differently
A woman’s memory is like a huge cupboard, with dozens of shelves and where everything is in its right place. Women accurately retain information about everyone they encounter and everything that happens — who loves what food, whose birthday is on what date, what her mother asked her to do for her and what her child needs for school. Men, on the other hand, generally remember only the things which they consider to be really important, which often leads them to accuse women of filling their heads with completely irrelevant information.
Remember, there’s no need to worry too much about these differences — on the contrary, we should be glad they exist. As is often said, opposites attract, and it’s this which creates the magic we all know as love.
