Who Talks More: Men or Women?
About the stereotype that women talk more than men. But do they?
Once again as the protector of truth, justice and the American way, I’m tackling another profound topic: Who talks more men or women?
No need to thank me, it’s just my job to probe controversial topics that are burning in readers’ minds. It’s long been accepted that women talk a gazillion times more than men. Even articles in popular “women’s” magazines have perpetuated this idea.
The accepted numbers were: women speak about 20,000 words opposed to 7,000 daily for men. Consider Gabriel and Carlos, the bizarre couple on Desperate Housewives. Gabriel is always chattering and plotting while Carlos only mutters a few words in reaction to her endless jabbering. Of course, let’s not forget the ultimate strong, silent type – Dirty Harry portrayed by Clint Eastwood. I’ve never heard of a women described as the strong, silent type.
My father further cemented that image in my thoughts when he always told my mother that she talked too much. They had a kind of Archie and Edith Bunker type of relationship.
So just when you think it’s one of those given that you can hang your hat on, badabing, researchers have jumped into the act to challenge that. But I’m not buying it, just yet.
A professor of psychology Matthias Mehl at the University of Arizona recently reported in the journal, Science, that men talk almost as much as women. Perhaps professor Mehl has a little too much time on his hands, but and his little researchers actually placed microphones on 396 college students for up to 10 days to calculate how many words they spoke during the course of a day.
Score: Women – 16,215. Guys – 15,669. Only 546 words separate the chatty sexes, nearly blowing the long accepted myth that women talk more out of the stereotypical waters.
Where does that leave us? We’re we wrong all this time? Have we done women a great disservice? Perhaps. But I’ve done some research of my own. What I won’t do for the readers of this column. We need to get to the bottom of this.
Let’s say we accept the findings of professor Mehl. But he neglected to take the study to a deeper level – which sex chitchats more; and which one is talking about serious stuff. Ever think of that Herr Professor?
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