unravelling the mystery

Who here has, at even one point in their lives, wondered what makes a man and a woman tick in a relationship? *raises hand*

I mean, really, men and women were created very differently, and it boggles my mind sometimes how a relationship is nurtured through the years. So anyway, I came across these helpful articles over at Yahoo! I am not sure if these are blog entries or formal articles, but some of them are pretty enlightening.

One article is entitled "What's the Difference Between Flirting and Cheating?" Now, isn't that an interesting question? Guys tend to flirt incessantly, all the time maintaining innocence and claiming that they're just making new friends. Yeah, right. Hahaha. Before you think I'm this maniac of a woman who goes berserk when my guy just so much *glances* at another girl, let me assure you, I'm not like that. Well, if he practically salivated, it might be an issue, but if it's just a casual glance, it's perfectly fine. And I'm not going through some kind of I-think-I'm-being-cheated-on type of thing either...

Here's an excerpt of that article:

My last blog entry raised the question of why
men cheat, and thousands of you weighed in--not just on the whys of
cheating, but on what, exactly, constitutes cheating. In fact, one woman said
she considers it cheating if her man so much as looks at another woman. Huh? You
mean he's not even allowed to scope, peek, glance, admire, or notice another
beautiful woman? Now, it's one thing to hold a man's words, actions, or nether
regions to a high standard. But his eyes, too? That seems to make about as much
sense as our societal obsession with Britney's apparently empty underwear
drawer.

Link to the whole article here:
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/menlovesex/6165/whats-the-difference-between-flirting-and-cheating;_ylt=AvBvuiLXnH_dIaK8dcX4ZQqrJNIF

I browsed through the comments, and this particular one struck me the most:

Hmmm... First thing. Why is the article automatically about men? Women cheat
plenty. I am a married woman of 12 years BTW. Flirting isn't cheating if it is
accepted by both partners as okay. I would say if my spouse had dinner with
another woman and hid it from me that would borderline cheating just because he
kept it from me. I have a lot of male friends and we go to dinner and for walks
and to the movies and my husband doesn't think I'm a cheater. Neither do I. We
are also both openly flirtatious but the plain and simple fact is we trust each
other and we love each other. I used to be a jealous person because I had an ex
who was controlling and jealous, without merit. I think as long as it's open,
honest and genuinely in good fun their is no harm in flirting. As for looking at
someone else. Girls get over it, we all look and just because you are married or
partnered with a person doesn't give you ownership over their thoughts. I would
be more threatened by an emotional bond stirring than I would be a passing
glance at another beautiful human being. Bottom line if you can't trust your
mate you shouldn't be in a relationship with them at all even if that means all
of the trust issues are your own. Deal with them first and then move on to a
relationship!!!

I so agree. The key here is her statement "Flirting isn't cheating if it is accepted by both partners as okay." Like I said, we were created differently - something might be okay for me but not okay for another person. You just have to agree on certain boundaries that's acceptable to both of you - never mind if other people deem it unacceptable; what matters is how you two who are IN the actual relationship perceive it. If your partner does something that offends you the slightest bit, talk to him. Talk talk talk. Make sure that you both understand why it offended you and possible "solutions."

It's just a bit refreshing to read "guy" articles every now and then, don't you think? :) We know how we girls think, that's a given. And I think it's a bit unfair when we, girls, fight with guys every single time and not even attempt to understand why they act the way they do.