Richard’s Ramblings

A coworker of mine told me of a theory he had heard about the differences between men and women revolving around the hunter and gatherer gender roles in caveman days. Essentially, men are not prolific talkers because if a caveman spoke while hunting he would scare his intended prey away, whereas women are more talkative because cavewomen, back home without the protection of the cavemen, gathering whatever it was that they gathered, talked more frequently in order to scare away the marauding animals.

The same reasoning could apply in other areas of differences:

• Going to the bathroom — Women often go in pairs. Why? Numbers decreased the likelihood of attacks on gathering women by aggressive animals in prehistoric times. Men, on the other hand, continued solitary practices developed when hunting. I’ve never heard, “Hey, Fred! Wanna go to the bathroom together?”
• Shopping — Another form of gathering, best enjoyed by women. Men, however, will become most involved when allowed to “hunt” for the best price or negotiate better pricing.
• A few things stay the same — Men want to look older because mature men get the younger-looking women. Women want to look younger because mature men get the younger-looking women. Doesn’t have anything to do with cavemen, but I thought it was interesting just the same…

Most likely these theories have entered the mainstream due to Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman, a very successful one-man theatrical show, a 90-minute comedic glimpse into the caveman origins of the psyches of men and women. I’m told it’s very funny, but haven’t seen it myself.

If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

• Men Are From Mars…