“Difference Between Men And Women” Text From 1995 Is Going Viral Again – Do You Agree With It?
Author and former journalist Dave Barry is much loved for the way he uses humor to provide fresh insights into everyday problems and issues. Back in 1995 he wrote the book ‘Complete Guide to Guys,’ and one passage from it is still getting people talking, 23 years later.
Poking fun at the differences of men vs. women, Barry’s short story is an amusing look at gender roles and stereotypes, that has gotten many people nodding their heads in agreement. Not everyone though. Our attitudes toward gender equality have changed so much in recent years that the piece now seems dated and simplistic to some, who know that between the black and white of woman and man there are many shades of grey. The reference to the long-defunct nation of Czechoslovakia only highlights the fact that the relationship advice piece was written in simpler times.
This aside, it’s still a fun piece of writing that has clearly withstood the test of time for many, so surely there’s some truth in it! What do you think? Scroll down below to check the dating advice material out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments! (Facebook cover image: shutterstock / Giulio Fornasar)
One passage from Dave Barry’s 1995 book ‘Complete Guide to Guys’ still has people talking, 23 years later
Image credits: Travis Rigel Lukas Hornung
What do you think?
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Share on FacebookThis doesn't seem quite right. Roger doesn't strike me as a racquetball kind of guy.
If you're a "guy," and approximately halfway through this post you stared skipping through Elaine's dialogue to get to Roger's reactions, then you agree with this post.
Replace guy with "normal person" and you are avsolutely right. If that's the way Elaine communicates, she was't dating Roger, but the her image of him.
Load More Replies...it's a stereotype. I'm a girl and I'm like Roger... I do not overthink like Elaine does. It's working out great for me :)
Overthinking things this way is pretty common for young people - and it's gender neutral. Young men do it too. Eventually, most people grow out of it.
It’s interesting that most people assume Rogers reaction is the neutral correct one. In my opinion he’s emotionally illiterate.
Load More Replies...Consider that even a bad example serves a purpose . . . don't be like that . . .
Load More Replies...Some people think like Elaine and some like Roger, but it has more to do with their personality than their gender. Can we please move on from these stereotypes already?
C'mon people, we are in 2018 no 1431. Enough with the outdated stereotypes. Both women and men have feelings and we all overthink or overreact sometimes...
First off, Roger is more caring and loving guy than I ever will be, remembering something about a horse six months later... Second, we never get to know what was actually wrong with the transmission...
I'm a guy and I overthink a lot. These stereotypes are what got us into this mess.
I had a transmission problem and it turned out to be a computer setting having something to do with the towing package. Simple fix.
I feel like thats more "people with anxiety vs people without" I have anxiety and thats how I think
That's way more dialogue then I'd ever have on a drive in the truck. A few years back I made a 6 hour drive with the wife, and she counted the number of words I said during the drive, it was 3.
Geez! I got tired of reading her thoughts. I was more interested in the car story.
people are complex beings, there are some people like Roger and Elaine but there are many many other kinds of people. Men and Women have differences in mind and body but the range of kinds of people is enormous.
So the difference between men and women is that men ignore women and are bad at communicating, and women are attentive and concerned about mens' feelings?
Sweeping over generalization that has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with personality. I've never counted the months I've dated someone because I have better things to do and think about with my time.
I love Dave Barry. Awesome comedic writer. If you need cheering up, pick up any of his books.
Nope. I'm a single mom, but that could be me as Roger. Guys ghost after the first initial dates or before you've even met. I will never know what was going on in their head because they don't communicate it with me. I gave up on dating because of all the flakey men.
I don't know what I just read, but I get the feeling it'd be safer never to date again. Or drive, for that matter.
This is stupid. The whole point is that you shouldn't try to read people's minds but anyone can make that mistake, male or female.
Czechoslovakia did not exist in 1995. It was already separated into two countries.
Haha, I definitely do NOT think like either one of them. I would have said it and then IF I really thought something was wrong (big if cause I probably wouldn't have thought anything bad about the silence like the girl did), I'd just straight up ask how he felt about the fact that we'd been dating for 6 months now. End of story. No worrying over assumptions, that's too much stress. I feel sorry for people who think like that girl does cause they must be stressed almost all the time!
Yeah, Elaine more seemed like a person with bad anxiety (which is horrible, imagine being that stressed about every little thing) than the "average woman". And even in the 90's would any of my friends (myself included) sit there for hours analyzing every tiny detail 😂 who has that time or energy?!
Load More Replies...I can safely say that Elaine thinks like me (over thinking problems here), but I can't say that ALL women and men are exactly like these two.
Where is he getting his info from? Women in psyche wards? Even back in the 90's I can't imagine this got more than an awkward chuckle.
This is just an old joke turned into a not so interesting "story". Thumbs down.
When someone makes an observation (such as we've been dating six months) normally a person comments back or if they drift off into la la land the person who made the observation would notice it as such and ask where they drifted off too. But yes back in the 90s when women had to internalize their voice it tended to turn into overthinking. I believe now overthinking is gender neutral due to the confusion of our times.
I think if you want to know how somebody feels about something, you should ask more directly. Making a statement like 'Do you realise we've been dating six months', the specific question is unclear, ie. are they asking how we feel about time passing quickly in general, or about how we felt about what we experienced during that time, or about whether we feel the relationship during that time should continue? I'll just give a short friendly neutral response and maybe they'll actually ask me what they want to ask... That said, he gave zero reply to her initial question regardless of its actual meaning, which I thought was rude.
Load More Replies...I'm a guy. A natural born alpha male, at that. And I believe that I overthink everything. Not to the extent of Elaine, mind you. But i was aware while reading it, the implication of the author regarding the confusion and chaos that is relationships. I personally decided to quit dating several years ago, because of the nature of it. In the end, it's never worth it. I'd rather die alone. lol
both of these are kind of everyone, y'know? it's not gender specific but yeah typically you have two types of people with this X'D
True or not, this is awfully funny. And I've seen variations on this theme play out between all sorts of people, not "just" romantically inclined people.
Roger comes across as a real featherweight. Regardless of what he was thinking, in this dialogue he's not the least bit concerned with what Elaine is saying or thinking. Better off dating his hand.
In Africa, we're kinda spontaneous (the new generation i mean) and the old stereotypes are gradually fading
Apparently I'm a female Roger, cause by the time we got 1/4 of the way through, I was skipping her godforsaken rambling just to see what was actually wrong with the car!
I thought that I over thought everything. But compared to this, I'm more like Rodger.
Totally sexist. Not all guys are like that and some women are like that as well.
Thats why i read that to women they all agree and 9/10 of my relationship problems were caused by women like this in three states on every coast and four races... Yeah, not so much of a stereotype or outdated when this is all life experience of five years. Gtfoh.
Men are from Earth women are from outer space! Guys, "I think we started dating in February" Gals, "Our first date was February 19th at 4:38PM. I was wearing a …" Guys, "Ok February, that means I am due for an oil change in 5 weeks and a tire rotation 3 weeks after that." Gals, "Oil change? I think that was done just a few years ago. That's guy stuff, how can anyone remember that sort of thing?"
Men are from Earth women are from outer space. Guys "We started dating in February, I think" Gals "Our first date was 4:38 PM on February 18th I was wearing a …" Guys "So February, that means I am due for an oil change in another 5 weeks and a tire rotation three weeks after that." Gals "Oil changes? I think it was done just a few years ago, I'm not sure. That's guy stuff; how can anyone remember that kind of thing?"
Is it normal if I think Elaine's an idiot and if I was in this situation I would likely be thinking the stuff Roger's thinking, although they are not really smart either? I guess the fact I was born a woman was some kind of sh***y mistake.
I LOVE Dave Barry! I have 5 of his books. I didn't discover him though until 2010 at the library in the humor section. Oh! And I met him!
I'm a combination of both Elaine AND Roger. And I'm a woman. Am I bonkers?
Lol there seems to be a lot of mention of Slovakia/Czechoslovakia on bored panda lately (my mum was born in Czechoslovakia, but I don't normally hear a lot of mention of it)
Haha. That was mildly amusing. I don't think it was written as a holy gospel to have heated arguments about, more of a joke, but it does have a grain of truth in it. I think it is a lot more common for females to overthink(attention, internet - "more common" does not mean all girls always do that and neither does it mean no guys ever do it). I can slightly relate to Elaine though I'm not quite as bad, I usually realize when I'm overthinking stuff and try to break the pattern if possible:P If that's someone so dear to me, surely I should be able to ask them a few(even if awkward and silly) questions and clear my weird worrying mind up if it comes to that.
Side note, it really amazes me how people here seem to react with a complete outrage whenever someone mentions men and women being different. Men and women...are different? Different doesn't mean not equal, different doesn't mean they don't have things in common, different doesn't mean they can't understand each other etc etc. Different just means that there are real biological/physical differences between us that are a fact. And it's not a bad thing at all ^^
Load More Replies...Brilliant. Share it with every friend, especially women. They have no idea
Roger doesn't strike me as very smart, well, neither does Elaine, actually.
I first came across this many years ago, and it was very reflective of my friends at the time. I practically wet myself laughing then. looking around at my current social circle, I have to say that many things haven't changed...
Roger is driving her home....the only thing he is thinking about is what color panties she has on....and then a close second is how to beat the level 5 guardian, third, a tall glass of kool aid and a grilled cheese.
I laughed my a*s off, cause maybe not 100%, but it is definitely true. He may have asked "I didint understand what you mean by that, can you explain?" But as he is a man, he wouldn't do that so, yes it's true...
I agree, women read into things and overthink and are emotional and sensitive and our brains overreact. Get used to it.
Making something that has absolutely nothing to do with politics and somehow turning it into a Dems vs. Republicans thing? ...you right, 2018 for ya!
Load More Replies...This doesn't seem quite right. Roger doesn't strike me as a racquetball kind of guy.
If you're a "guy," and approximately halfway through this post you stared skipping through Elaine's dialogue to get to Roger's reactions, then you agree with this post.
Replace guy with "normal person" and you are avsolutely right. If that's the way Elaine communicates, she was't dating Roger, but the her image of him.
Load More Replies...it's a stereotype. I'm a girl and I'm like Roger... I do not overthink like Elaine does. It's working out great for me :)
Overthinking things this way is pretty common for young people - and it's gender neutral. Young men do it too. Eventually, most people grow out of it.
It’s interesting that most people assume Rogers reaction is the neutral correct one. In my opinion he’s emotionally illiterate.
Load More Replies...Consider that even a bad example serves a purpose . . . don't be like that . . .
Load More Replies...Some people think like Elaine and some like Roger, but it has more to do with their personality than their gender. Can we please move on from these stereotypes already?
C'mon people, we are in 2018 no 1431. Enough with the outdated stereotypes. Both women and men have feelings and we all overthink or overreact sometimes...
First off, Roger is more caring and loving guy than I ever will be, remembering something about a horse six months later... Second, we never get to know what was actually wrong with the transmission...
I'm a guy and I overthink a lot. These stereotypes are what got us into this mess.
I had a transmission problem and it turned out to be a computer setting having something to do with the towing package. Simple fix.
I feel like thats more "people with anxiety vs people without" I have anxiety and thats how I think
That's way more dialogue then I'd ever have on a drive in the truck. A few years back I made a 6 hour drive with the wife, and she counted the number of words I said during the drive, it was 3.
Geez! I got tired of reading her thoughts. I was more interested in the car story.
people are complex beings, there are some people like Roger and Elaine but there are many many other kinds of people. Men and Women have differences in mind and body but the range of kinds of people is enormous.
So the difference between men and women is that men ignore women and are bad at communicating, and women are attentive and concerned about mens' feelings?
Sweeping over generalization that has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with personality. I've never counted the months I've dated someone because I have better things to do and think about with my time.
I love Dave Barry. Awesome comedic writer. If you need cheering up, pick up any of his books.
Nope. I'm a single mom, but that could be me as Roger. Guys ghost after the first initial dates or before you've even met. I will never know what was going on in their head because they don't communicate it with me. I gave up on dating because of all the flakey men.
I don't know what I just read, but I get the feeling it'd be safer never to date again. Or drive, for that matter.
This is stupid. The whole point is that you shouldn't try to read people's minds but anyone can make that mistake, male or female.
Czechoslovakia did not exist in 1995. It was already separated into two countries.
Haha, I definitely do NOT think like either one of them. I would have said it and then IF I really thought something was wrong (big if cause I probably wouldn't have thought anything bad about the silence like the girl did), I'd just straight up ask how he felt about the fact that we'd been dating for 6 months now. End of story. No worrying over assumptions, that's too much stress. I feel sorry for people who think like that girl does cause they must be stressed almost all the time!
Yeah, Elaine more seemed like a person with bad anxiety (which is horrible, imagine being that stressed about every little thing) than the "average woman". And even in the 90's would any of my friends (myself included) sit there for hours analyzing every tiny detail 😂 who has that time or energy?!
Load More Replies...I can safely say that Elaine thinks like me (over thinking problems here), but I can't say that ALL women and men are exactly like these two.
Where is he getting his info from? Women in psyche wards? Even back in the 90's I can't imagine this got more than an awkward chuckle.
This is just an old joke turned into a not so interesting "story". Thumbs down.
When someone makes an observation (such as we've been dating six months) normally a person comments back or if they drift off into la la land the person who made the observation would notice it as such and ask where they drifted off too. But yes back in the 90s when women had to internalize their voice it tended to turn into overthinking. I believe now overthinking is gender neutral due to the confusion of our times.
I think if you want to know how somebody feels about something, you should ask more directly. Making a statement like 'Do you realise we've been dating six months', the specific question is unclear, ie. are they asking how we feel about time passing quickly in general, or about how we felt about what we experienced during that time, or about whether we feel the relationship during that time should continue? I'll just give a short friendly neutral response and maybe they'll actually ask me what they want to ask... That said, he gave zero reply to her initial question regardless of its actual meaning, which I thought was rude.
Load More Replies...I'm a guy. A natural born alpha male, at that. And I believe that I overthink everything. Not to the extent of Elaine, mind you. But i was aware while reading it, the implication of the author regarding the confusion and chaos that is relationships. I personally decided to quit dating several years ago, because of the nature of it. In the end, it's never worth it. I'd rather die alone. lol
both of these are kind of everyone, y'know? it's not gender specific but yeah typically you have two types of people with this X'D
True or not, this is awfully funny. And I've seen variations on this theme play out between all sorts of people, not "just" romantically inclined people.
Roger comes across as a real featherweight. Regardless of what he was thinking, in this dialogue he's not the least bit concerned with what Elaine is saying or thinking. Better off dating his hand.
In Africa, we're kinda spontaneous (the new generation i mean) and the old stereotypes are gradually fading
Apparently I'm a female Roger, cause by the time we got 1/4 of the way through, I was skipping her godforsaken rambling just to see what was actually wrong with the car!
I thought that I over thought everything. But compared to this, I'm more like Rodger.
Totally sexist. Not all guys are like that and some women are like that as well.
Thats why i read that to women they all agree and 9/10 of my relationship problems were caused by women like this in three states on every coast and four races... Yeah, not so much of a stereotype or outdated when this is all life experience of five years. Gtfoh.
Men are from Earth women are from outer space! Guys, "I think we started dating in February" Gals, "Our first date was February 19th at 4:38PM. I was wearing a …" Guys, "Ok February, that means I am due for an oil change in 5 weeks and a tire rotation 3 weeks after that." Gals, "Oil change? I think that was done just a few years ago. That's guy stuff, how can anyone remember that sort of thing?"
Men are from Earth women are from outer space. Guys "We started dating in February, I think" Gals "Our first date was 4:38 PM on February 18th I was wearing a …" Guys "So February, that means I am due for an oil change in another 5 weeks and a tire rotation three weeks after that." Gals "Oil changes? I think it was done just a few years ago, I'm not sure. That's guy stuff; how can anyone remember that kind of thing?"
Is it normal if I think Elaine's an idiot and if I was in this situation I would likely be thinking the stuff Roger's thinking, although they are not really smart either? I guess the fact I was born a woman was some kind of sh***y mistake.
I LOVE Dave Barry! I have 5 of his books. I didn't discover him though until 2010 at the library in the humor section. Oh! And I met him!
I'm a combination of both Elaine AND Roger. And I'm a woman. Am I bonkers?
Lol there seems to be a lot of mention of Slovakia/Czechoslovakia on bored panda lately (my mum was born in Czechoslovakia, but I don't normally hear a lot of mention of it)
Haha. That was mildly amusing. I don't think it was written as a holy gospel to have heated arguments about, more of a joke, but it does have a grain of truth in it. I think it is a lot more common for females to overthink(attention, internet - "more common" does not mean all girls always do that and neither does it mean no guys ever do it). I can slightly relate to Elaine though I'm not quite as bad, I usually realize when I'm overthinking stuff and try to break the pattern if possible:P If that's someone so dear to me, surely I should be able to ask them a few(even if awkward and silly) questions and clear my weird worrying mind up if it comes to that.
Side note, it really amazes me how people here seem to react with a complete outrage whenever someone mentions men and women being different. Men and women...are different? Different doesn't mean not equal, different doesn't mean they don't have things in common, different doesn't mean they can't understand each other etc etc. Different just means that there are real biological/physical differences between us that are a fact. And it's not a bad thing at all ^^
Load More Replies...Brilliant. Share it with every friend, especially women. They have no idea
Roger doesn't strike me as very smart, well, neither does Elaine, actually.
I first came across this many years ago, and it was very reflective of my friends at the time. I practically wet myself laughing then. looking around at my current social circle, I have to say that many things haven't changed...
Roger is driving her home....the only thing he is thinking about is what color panties she has on....and then a close second is how to beat the level 5 guardian, third, a tall glass of kool aid and a grilled cheese.
I laughed my a*s off, cause maybe not 100%, but it is definitely true. He may have asked "I didint understand what you mean by that, can you explain?" But as he is a man, he wouldn't do that so, yes it's true...
I agree, women read into things and overthink and are emotional and sensitive and our brains overreact. Get used to it.
Making something that has absolutely nothing to do with politics and somehow turning it into a Dems vs. Republicans thing? ...you right, 2018 for ya!
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