The Great Battle of the Sexes: Conflict Resolution

From Seth Greene, Rebecca’s husband:

Ever noticed how men and women resolve conflicts differently? It's like watching two different sports. Men treat conflict resolution like hockey; a quick fight, maybe a few penalties, and then it's back to the game. Women, on the other hand, treat it like a season of a dramatic TV series - it's got episodes, cliffhangers, and enough plot twists to keep you guessing what's coming next.

Let's start with the guys. When men have a conflict, it's a straightforward process. They have it out, sometimes it's loud, sometimes there's a lot of arm waving, and occasionally, a remote might get sacrificed. But give them a few minutes, maybe a couple of hours, and they're back to hanging out like nothing happened. It's as if their argument is just a commercial break in the long TV show of their friendship.

Now, women? That's a whole different ball game. First, there's the initial confrontation - voices raised, problems aired. But just when you think it's all out on the table, phase two kicks in: the silent treatment. This is where men usually get confused. Silence from a woman isn't peace; it's her just plotting the next move in this chess game of feelings.

During the silent phase, guys might think the storm has passed. Oh no, we're just in the eye of the hurricane. Because next comes the multi-episode saga where everything you've ever done wrong gets brought back up.

Anything else that happened since then that she might have been even a little bit annoyed about comes out? Did you not drive fast enough? When she told you to hurry up, did you then take the turns too fast and make her car sick? Did you mow the lawn while it was wet because she complained the grass was getting too long and now the wet clippings are sticking to sneakers and getting in the house?

Oh, you better believe that's coming up in season two of this argument.

And just when you think you've seen all the episodes, just when you think the season finale has aired with some sort of resolution - bam! Reruns. The argument that you thought was resolved comes back up, because maybe you didn't really understand the moral of the story the first four times it was explained.

Men, when you think the conflict is over, that's just the plot twist. Women have layers to their conflict resolution; it's like peeling an onion - there are tears involved, and just when you think you're done, there’s another layer.