22 August

Complexities of gender. It's a common belief that women are better listeners, and better readers of emotions. I've found this to be true a lot of the time too. Where I think gender politics starts to confuse this stuff is in assuming those skills are gender-based (some would even talk about DNA). I suspect women have these skills more refined than most men because they've been a less powerful group for generations, and it's well known the less powerful quickly learn to see and hear things from their sidelines much better than the powerful, who tend to run roughshod over things. It's how less powerful groups survive, by being more alert to things. I think this applies to societies too. Rich societies simply don't see or hear or listen to a lot of the complexities of the world. They're used to getting their way.