The Gender Divide

There are endless pages of information devoted to this, the differences; physically, psychologically, emotionally. The never ending discussions as to which gender is the best at multitasking. Identification of the similarities in order to achieve a greater understanding of the differences. Some is interesting, some is boring and a lot is pub talk nonsense.

Well, I thought I'd add my own pub talk nonsense. There are certain things that men just instinctively like and women don't get at all.

Two of those things are opinel knives and merguez. I haven't ever met another woman who appreciates either or understands what men find so fascinating about these items.

Take opinel knives, let's just accept that they are a bit useless (sorry men), they go rusty as soon you breathe on them, the safety catch becomes impossible to move after about a week, thereby rendering the knife a health and safety nightmare and the wooden handle eventually starts rotting away. I don't need the added excitement of losing a finger every time I chop some carrots. Give me a nice sharp Global knife any day thank you. But, to men, the opinel is a design classic to be admired and coveted. Within an hour of visiting, my friend Will asked my husband in breathy tones whether he was really looking at two opinels in the kitchen "you mean you've got the number 9 AND a number 12?!" (Yes Will, there is now twice the opportunity to suffer a serious legume chopping injury, and the number 12 is so big it could actually take my whole hand off), Will and Paul then had the inevitable boy conversation about opinels that I have heard numerous times before.

Now to merguez, not a bad food item, but it's a sausage, and densely packed with spicy meat. There's nothing that special about it. There are other sausages, some better some worse, and some just as good. Try convincing a bloke of that? For a man, the merguez seems to have an almost mythical status. It's not even a rare item, but in any French market a merguez stall has a magnetic pull on men who cannot pass without buying a string of them. Why the merguez inhabits this position in the male psyche is a mystery. Perhaps there was some ancient legend involving merguez that started the whole thing off? Anyway, any woman will tell you the she rates merguez on a par with chorizo; and that a quality British banger is preferable to either.

In the interests of equality I accept that there are things that women like that men don't get too. Trying to get a man to appreciate the beauty and craftmanship of a Floris candle or a Brora cardigan is an utterly hopeless activity, don't waste your precious time ladies.