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Why I can't deny that women blabbing on about diets, men and shopping is boring

Yesterday I harped on about how the news for women in the major newspapers in the UK was boring as, well, men apparently. But today I'm pleased to announced that while things are equally as bleak (Colleen's getting married! Women think about shopping a lot!) there's a rebuttal from Neil Tweedie in response to Sabine Durrant's rant about boring men in yesterday's Telegraph. I thought I would be reduced to a heap of dismay and irritation upon reading Tweedie's "And you call us boring?" article, however, I sadly ended up nodding my head.

Call me a misgogynist or a bad feminist if you so wish, but I can't deny that most of what women feel they should care about or discuss with other women is very, very boring. I don't think that women are actually boring, I just think the social rules that we play by and the things we buy into (like girly shopping and dieting) are about as exciting to listen to as a getting a pap smear.

Tweedie has the usual low blows and ridiculous banter that male journalists so enjoy, for example:

"As we know, moaning is the sole preserve of the fairer sex. When a woman says she wants a deep and meaningful conversation, she usually means she wants a moan. The subject - her man, her shrivelling ovaries, working motherhood, whatever - is in reality peripheral. It's that need for a dopamine-oxytocin rush."

Eesh. However, I can't help but wince a little as maybe he has a point. It seems as though in some social situations, women become superficial caricatures of themselves. As if when their brain spots another woman they can't help but reduce the female experience down to nothing but shopping, ovaries and men. Therefore, they sem to only be able to discuss matters that appear to be ripped from The Daily Mail's Femail section:

"I shouldn't have bought these shoes, they're killing me. But, you know, they were on sale and how could I resist! My husband says I have too many shoes, but can a gal every have too many shoes! Hahahahaha!"

Tweedie explained that one of the men he quoted in his article didn't want to be named, as "unscientific, generalised sniping at the opposite sex being a one-way street, of course". And really, he has a point. While most men, including Tweedie, seem unable to criticize or discuss women without calling the women they're debating with "dear", it seems women will happily rip men to shreds. Then, they throw up the feminism card and claim that what they're saying is fair because of the years of inequality we've suffered, etc, etc, etc.

What I found interesting, was that Tweedie had back up to help "prove" his point from women. Olivia Ogilvie from Hammersmith told Tweedie that:

"It is a bore - how women complain endlessly about their men, or the lack of them. And you can get sick of the hours spent with girlfriends immersed in trivia - diets, how this or that girl looks. If I was a man having to listen to it all, I'd be quietly switching off. Women say they want to be taken seriously, but frankly, most of the female conversation I encounter is pretty predictable."

Sadly, as I expressed earlier, I have to agree with Olivia. However I must also strongly point out that I do not think that it's all women who do this. Just as I don't think that all men are boring or chauvinistic pigs. I think it's fair to say that in their own way, both men and women are equally irritating and boring. I suppose it's also fair to say, that maybe this should serve as a reminder to us that not all women love discussing shoes and shopping, and that men probably don't give a rat's ass about our diet.

Cate Sevilla is a freelance writer in London and regular contributor to Dollymix.

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