Friday, May 6, 2011

Do men suffer from blind confidence syndrome?

There's a reason many hands of elementary school boys shoot into the air at twice the speed and frequency of girls when the teacher asks a question, regardless of whether they actually know the correct answer. Is it genetics that make boys more assertive and more confident than girls? Should we blame their mothers for treating them like little princes that, surely, the whole world should admire and look to for answers?

It's amazing to me the gall of some men, ready and more than willing to half listen to a conversation and loudly interrupt with an opinion in a tone that suggests there is no room for a counterpoint.

More amazing is the blind confidence when it comes to women. Take the Life Center at the Y, for example. Sometimes I feel terrible for the women employed there. Naturally, they are young and in great shape. They're all very pretty and sweet. And quite often, I'll see men sidle up to the front counter where one of them is folding towels and proceed to flirt. There's one guy in particular who is absolutely relentless. One day I was on an elliptical next to one of the Y employees who was there on her own time working out, and three or four guys -- older than her by at least 10 years -- interrupted her workout to come talk to her.

Imagine if it was a guy in his early 20s, working out on his own time. How many women who age him by at least 10 years would come and interrupt his workout to make fools of themselves? I'm betting not a single one. I never see women gathered around a male Y employee, saying ridiculous things and hoping he'll flirt back.

Must be nice to live life without shame. But, guys, just so you know, many of you are just wasting your time. Leave the pretty Y girls alone. Jeez.

1 comment: