Women can talk about anything from handbags to sex to perfect desserts and makeup and teething in babies and politics and social change and global warming without having to prove who’s on top.
This is because in this sexist world, women have learned that communication is not about power or about who rules vs. who gets to grovel in the mud.
What is being said is not important.
What is being communicated is this: I care about you.
I read an interview once with Dustin Hoffman when he played a man masquerading around as a woman in the movie “Tootsie” about how he envied the way women can talk to each other.
In this sexist world, girl talk about fashion, let’s say, is looked down upon as proof that the person who is doing the talking is dumb.
For a long time, I didn’t realize this was happening (… and that’s why smart women feel they have to look ugly, wear no makeup and show they are above such trivial girl talk concerns.)
Next time you hear giggles in the office and women oohing and aahing over new boots, thank God for the gift among women to find in such simple joys a way to give love.