Six common myths about men

Do you think you really know what goes on in a man’s head? Chances are you're way off base. Here's what they don't want you to know...

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus right? This means when a guy is quiet, he is in his cave contemplating string theory and when he is cheery he is hunting for females, right? Right?

Myth #1: All men know everything there is to know about sports

Wrong! Maybe in 1980 when Naas was still king and rugby was made up of about 15 rules he might have known them all, but lately men are more interested in the competitiveness of it all.

Rules change and seem to multiply every season, who can honestly keep up?

Ask a man to explain to you what a nutmeg is in soccer or to name the 10 ways of getting out in cricket and I am sure he will change the subject to something like submarines instead.

Myth #2: Men are handy and can fix stuff

This may have been true MacGyver was on television and all men tried to emulate his prowess. These days however, I bet you that for every problem, he knows a guy who can fix it.

He might even have so many guys on standby that he actually refers to them all as “the guy” just to avoid confusion.

Don’t get me wrong, you still get men who know how to wire a plug, or fix an aircraft carrier, but of course these are men who are also known as “the guy”.

Myth #3: Men are not emotional

A website on marriage counselling says that men are probably more emotional than women. Unlike femininity though, masculinity does not permit emoting on a regular basis. So men are like Victorian novels, placid on the outside, but concealing a deep emotional life within.

Myth #4: Men think about sex every four minutes

Or every seven seconds, as some theories state. This myth must have been started by men. Only we have such big egos and libidos that we think something like this is even possible. Remember that men cannot multitask, so if this were true, planes would fall out of the sky and ships would sail down Church Street on a regular basis.

Besides, when a man reaches his midlife crisis, his human screensaver of fornicating gets replaced by the Grim Reaper.

That is why men buy fast cars or bikes when they reach 40. It’s not to fulfill a lifelong dream, it’s because they want to go through the pearly gates in a fireball, not with pipes stuck up their nose.

Myth #5: Guys do not like to communicate

Men actually love to talk. Have you ever asked a man to explain something to you? You can’t get him to shut up again.

But men also censor themselves according to how they think women will react to something personal or profound, so in many cases we just don’t bother. If a man is interesting and you can get him to open up, you might just be in for a revealing surprise.

Myth #6: Men cannot show love and are afraid of it

Men crave love just as much as women do and I would even go so far as to say that men are more romantic than women.

Before you throw your virtual keyboard at me, let me say it was confirmed by Dr Terri Orbuch, a social psychologist with 24 years’ experience.

In fact, men fall in love quicker, they are more idealistic about love and they suffer more from a break-up.

If you need more proof, have a look at some wonderful monuments men have created over the years to show their love, the Taj Mahal in India, the Eleanor Crosses in England and even the love of a mistress was honoured with the Petit Trianon in France by Louis XV.

Truth be told, most men have a romantic side and most are not afraid of commitment or even showing their feelings, it might just need to be unlocked first, somehow.