This is in response to a recent posting I read about a "newly single man" submitted by guinessfish. It was a well written article, but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree and offer my own opinions on man's behavior.

Men are not emotional and sensitive by nature and not many people are going to disagree with that. This is why when men and women find a good partner, they can form strong connections because they each bring something to the table that the other needs. Women need an emotionally stable man that is a provider, and men need a woman who is a nurturer. This is especially true in the family unit. Men are not emotional creatures and there's a good reason for that. Women are. Many of us men are tired of being ridiculed because we don't cry at movies, get misty at baby showers, or sob on our friends' shoulders when our turtle dies. We're more than happy to leave that to women. They look better than us when crying anyway.

Most of your guy friends don't want to hear about your relationship problems, or lack of relationship, especially if they're in one. It's not so much that they don't care (although that does have something to do with it), they just get enough of those talks at home with their girlfriend or wife. I don't know about other people's friends, but when I'm with mine, our free time isn't spent comforting each other. If you want sympathy, call your sister. Or you can always go to your local strip club. As long as you have dollar bills, they'll care. We're guys. We're not overly sensitive, we're not big fans of crying, we're not constantly worrying about being single. Sometimes we actually DO want to come home to an empty apartment.

This is a good example of what is meant by the feminization of our culture. Most guys aren't going to sit around their apartment and wonder, "Gee, why can't I find anybody?" If they do, here's a good reason - you're sitting in your apartment by yourself! Furthermore, you're probably not going to find many single women in Home Depot. If there are women there, they're probably doing some home improvement shopping with their husbands.

For all the women that are reading this: you need to stop pretending that you don't know what guys are really like. We're all taught to study each other from day one. It really isn't a big mystery. There's always some truth to stereotypes, and there are plenty of those between our two sexes. I would not recommend trying any fancy experiments. If a girl walked into a room full of guys watching football, drinking beers, and high-fiving each other and was brave enough to do something as ridiculous as saying she's about to cry, then she should be able to handle whatever ill-natured comments she receives.

I will agree with guinessfish on this - being single isn't such a bad thing. Suffering in a bad relationship because you're too insecure about being alone is much worse. It doesn't matter how old you are, there are plenty of places and ways to meet people, you just have to be willing to go out and find them. Get rid of the mentality that you're the only thirty-something out there who's single. Sitting at home every night being introspective doesn't exactly help you meet people. If you'd rather sit at home, then don't complain about how hard it is to meet anyone. It's just like finding a job. You're not going to find one sitting on your couch, and you'll probably go through a few of them before you settle on one you like.

And for crying out loud, spare your friends the whining.....it's football season!