Barrier between men and women

Are there any?

Nowadays, we have stay home dads, we have football fanatics that are all girl. So based on professions and interests, it seems that men and women can almost be…. bff’s! However, why does there always seem to be some barriers that still exist? Especially when it comes to romance, love, relationships, and dating.

Scenario 1. Guy A, Matt, has a girlfriend, girl A, Ashley. Matt and Ashley have a good mutual friend, girl B, Tanya. They knew Tanya individually before they started dating. The couple starts dating. But Matt and Tanya continue to share some common interests that Ashley doesn’t care for. Matt keeps asking Tanya to hang out, never one-on-one, there’s always a third person. Ashley knows all about it and is completely fine with it (or at least it seems). Tanya is starting to feel uncomfortable, as she doesn’t want to eventually come between them. And Tanya, probably has high morals and standards, feels that she shouldn’t be spending so much time with a guy that has a girlfriend, even if the girlfriend knows about it and is seemingly okay with it. Matt thinks Tanya is worrying too much. Answer? Solution? Is Tanya just thinking too much and being over cautious? Or is Matt playing with fire? toying with the boundaries? Guys seem to have a lower threshold to situations that lead to temptation and a downward spiral. Not saying that men are more likely to be unfaithful, but men seem to find themselves in compromising situations more often. And when they realize it, it’s sometimes too late. So what should Tanya do?!

Scenario 2. Guy B, Tom, finds this girl that he absolutely adores, girl C, Cathy. But he doesn’t think that she’s as attractive as he would like her to be (wth!??!). So he tells his buddy that she’s hella awesome, but is nothing to look at. He struggles whether or not to date her. He’s falling for her hard. But can’t get over the looks. Dates her for awhile, then breaks it off, because he just can’t get over how plain she looks. (editor’s note: she’s not ugly, just not super hot and skanky looking… ) He’s heartbroken, because he really liked her. For everything that she was.    Another friend, girl D, Dora, finds a guy that is wonderful, guy C, Kevin, not the hottest of the bunch, but they get along really well. She finds him to be more and more attractive as she gets to know him, because of his personality. And the looks doesn’t matter afterwards. If anything, he becomes more and more handsome because of who he is.      So, when personality and looks start competing, do guys usually choose the looks? even though this girl is everything he dreams of, except for … the face or the body? And do girls always cherish the heart and the personality more?

Scenario 3. Break ups. Girl E, Edna, breaks up with a boyfriend. She wants to burn everything away. So much so that a group of her friends rush to her house to prevent any crazy fires that may get out of hand. Meanwhile, guy D, Dan, breaks up. And he tells himself and all his friends, “Good Riddance!!” and goes out to drink it off for a few days and perhaps even go on some rebound flings.   Do we even handle break ups differently?!

Scenario 4. Girl F, Frances, needs to take some time off from everything, she’s feeling overwhelmed. She books a massage, a manicure, reads a book, spends a quiet night with some girlfriends. Guy E, Ernest, is also getting overwhelmed from life in general. He plays sports, go drinking with his buddies, sleeps with some random chick, plans a few dates in 1 week.    Do we even handle our stress differently? Looking for different ways of relaxation?

No matter how we seem similar during the sober and reasonable times of business and profession, when it comes to love and war, the barriers immediately show themselves. As if there was this high wall that we can’t jump over or climb over. And thus, these sayings, “Women: can’t live with them, can’t live without them” or “Women are so hard to figure out” etc come to existence. (Obviously, these sayings can be made toward the male population as well.)

So at the end of the day… are we equal? Are we the same? Or is it that all bets are off when it comes to dating and relationships?