Chp. 2 "To Communicate, Decipher the Code"

Laura: Wellllllllll, the Chapter got us talking... I felt that in this chapter he took gender stereotypes to an all new level! Seriously he needed to relax with the blue and pink and gender roles. On the flip side he spent time revealing the "honor code" men have; which I totally agree with! Kweku needs to be respected as well as feel respected. I am also a little uncertain as to the author's audience. I feel he is targeting people who have NO idea about relationships. The author uses STRONG language to get his point across - to the point of OVERKILL - that I end up so annoyed that I think I failed to see his point and had to reread it! I did find this quote helpful, "As a rule, women have learned to fight with words. They are the masters of the art, and husbands can feel helpless before the onslaught." Sometimes, when I am over-reacting and flying off the handle, Kweku just sits there with no comment. It makes me so mad, but when he does respond I come back with even more wit and fire... it is not helpful AT ALL! The author then delves into the consequences my words have on my husband.

Kweku: To piggy back on what my wife wrote, I found this quote quite interesting: "Men, for the most part, are masters at stonewalling their wives, who confront them because they feel unloved." Hmmm...
Here are two other good points the author makes in this chapter:
1. "What I say is not what you hear, and what you think you heard is not what I meant at all."
2. "Men hear criticism as contempt; women feel silence as hostility." Laura and I agreed on the first part of the sentence, but disagreed with the word "hostility." In her own words, "women feel silence as cold and uncaring." Thus, we altered the statement to: "Men hear criticism as contempt; women feel silence as cold and uncaring." Now that's more like it...