Male-Female Expectation about
Marriage The differences between men and women
clarify why they have different expectations about communication in marriage.
For women, talk 1 intimacy. Marriage is
an orgy (狂欢) of 2 : you can tell your
feelings and thoughts, and still be loved. Women’s greatest fear is being pushed
away. But men live in a hierarchical world, 3
talk maintains independence and statue. They are on 4 to protect themselves from being put down and
pushed around. This 5 the paradox of the talkative man who said of his silent wife, "She’s the
talker." In public settings, he feels challenged to 6
his intelligence and display his understanding. But at home,
where he has 7 to prove and no one to
defend against, he is free to remain 8 . For his wife, being home means she is free from the worry that something
she says might 9 someone, or spark
disagreement, or appear to be showing off; at home she is
10 to talk. The communication 11 that endanger marriage can’t be fixed by
mechanical engineering. They require a new conceptual framework about the
12 of talk in human relationships. Many
of the psychological explanations may not be 13
, because they tend to blame either women (for not being
assertive enough) 14 , men (for
not being in touch with their feelings). A sociolinguistic approach in 15 male-female conversation is seen as
cross-cultural communication allows us to understand the problem and forge
solutions without blaming either party.