I find myself put off by statements that start "All men are . . ." or "All women are . . ." Does anyone really believe that? If you know more than two people of either sex, you see different aspects of people being people. If you know anyone longer than two months, you see him or her responding differently to similar situations depending on lots of other variables.

That said, yes, men and women tend to communicate differently, with emphasis on different aspects of any situation. And men (especially young ones) tend to think about sex more than women, or so I'm told. And more men tend to have sex outside their primary relationships more readily, or so I assume. Notice how often I said "tend to". Everything is a continuum, with most people nowhere near either end.

Are all men pigs? Not hardly. I think most people are pigs sometimes, and some people are pigs most of the time. I don't hang out with people who are pigs more than very rarely, so I don't worry about it too much. Most of my best friends (which includes my wife) are women. If the conversation is about sexual motivations and responses to stimuli, I understand my male friends better. If the conversation is about almost anything else, I understand my women friends better. I don't understand watching sports, enjoying working on cars, drinking beer, farting in public, spitting on the gound, endlessly discussing the ins and outs of relationships, getting angry over small slights, worrying about how much money a potential mate earns, or getting grossed out by the sight of a naked member of the opposite sex.

I assume everyone I meet is a good person, and I'm prepared for them to be very piglike. I give most people two opportunities to be piglike before I write them off, unless the first is so bad I can't ever trust them again.

John Peekstok