Saturday, July 22, 2006

Who Are You II?

I have to admit I am really amazed and pleased with the result of the survey in Who Are You?

I had no idea that my readers, in age, created such a beautiful bell-shaped curve. Seems like what goes on here attracts a wide audience. I'm especially happy about the 20-29 audience.

While I happen to be in my 40s, it doesn't realllllly feel like I'm that age, and I don't want this to be a blog that only attracts people my age. I can't believe I just wrote that, that's the kind of stuff I used to hear older people say.

My only disappointment is that there seems to be more men than women reading, although the balance is still pretty good.

Gotta work on those women readers, though, not sure what is best approach. Risk is always trying to be everything to everyone and then no one is happy.

I guess I could have more pictures appealing to women, like this one. Only I'm not sure it really does appeal to women, or if it appeals more to men who like men.



It is called "Sailor Loading Fixed Ammunition," McClelland Barclay, Oil on canvas, 1942.

Or I could try to write more things that women might read, such as Mauren Dowd's fabulous opinion piece, How to Train A Woman, in the New York Times.

She describes how women may want to mold their men to be more obedient and less irksome, but there are nagging questions about nagging:

Does it work?

Apparently, someone called Amy Sutherland struck a chord in a recent Times essay -- about how she successfully applied the techniques of exotic animal trainers to change some annoying traits of her husband, Scott.

He became her guinea pig for methods she discovered as she researched a book on trainers teaching hyenas to pirouette, baboons to skateboard and elephants to paint.

''The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't,'' she wrote. ''After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging.''

She began using ''approximations,'' which means rewarding the small steps toward learning a whole new behavior. ''With the baboon you first reward a hop, then a bigger hop, then an even bigger hop,'' she wrote. ''With Scott the husband, I began to praise every small act every time: if he drove just a mile an hour slower, tossed one pair of shorts into the hamper, or was on time for anything.''

And Maureen Dowd quotes Helen Fisher, a Rutgers anthropologist and the author of ''Why We Love, saying, ''If I were a man rewarding a woman, I'd do it in the format women find intimate, which is face to face. I'd go straight up to her, while she was doing the dishes, I'd turn her around face to face, and I'd say: 'Thanks so much for being on time last night. It meant a lot to me.' '' (You might also tell her that you will not only finish the dishes, but that you want to finish the dishes.)

Maybe I should do a bit more like that. What do you think?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What women want?

Oh geez. You could write a thousand books and never get it right. Men are a little easier, but women.

Never.

As for the picture with the sailor?

If that doesn't appeal to men who like men I'm a monkees uncle. There are so many phallic symbols there and in particular the GIANT shell.

What women want...Lord but I could get filthy rich if I could give that answer.

Anonymous said...

Regarding women:

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker!

Jerome K Jerome

Anonymous said...

"Maybe I should do a bit more like that."

Are you talking about in your own personal relationships, or with regard to your blog?

"What do you think?"

If you are referring to your personal relationships, ask the women in your life.

If you are referring to your blog, review what you have written (in the past) with a more critical eye regarding your personal treatment by gender. Do you tend to choose sexy women shots to go along with your commentary for instance??

The painting is a hoot, by the way. Only a man could have painted it. Phallic symbols galore - helmets, bulging muscles, missiles, thrusting, firing, shooting, and even the sea foam in the background. Man, oh man. LMAO!

As for the subject of your posting - women with the idea that they can or should try to manipulate or control their man's basic behavioral tendancies... well men have dominated women for centuries, so... Frankly, I think women have better things to do with their time. Then again, it might to fun to employ a few of the techniques mentioned for observational purposes.

Here's something rather more interesting to chew on - http://crookedtimber.org/2006/07/18/the-truth-about-boys-and-girls/

"“girls do better in school than boys” debate"

GWS

Kansas said...

Ok Doc, now I know you're a bright man, but this is a no-brainer. You ask about attracting more women to your site, you ask what we want, and bravo for that!

Then you post not one but TWO Shakira videos!

Doc, Doc, Doc...trust me, this is not what women want!

Most women do not want to be reminded that they are not hot little Latino size 4 sex symbols! Maybe I'm wrong...she is kind of mesmerizing, isn't she? Hmmmm.....

Oh sorry, it's the hip thing...it's captivating....back to what we want.

We want you to look like Johnny Depp.

We want you to act like William Wallace. (Braveheart)

We don't care if you have money so long as you have a job.

AND WE WANT YOU TO PICK YOUR DAMN UNDERWEAR UP OFF THE FLOOR!

Now...is that too much to ask?

Now let me ask YOU a question, if I may. Do you know where your wife keeps the forks? What I'm really asking is, if you were to empty the dishwasher, would you be able to put all the dishes in their proper places (I mean where your wife keeps them)?

If you answered yes, then you don't need to look like Johnny Depp. You are a keeper!

God love ya for even posing these thought-provoking questions! We appreciate you just making an attempt to understand us! THIS is what women want!

Kansas said...

And PS: I think insinuating that men can be "trained" like dogs is insulting...not sure to which species, but it's definitely insulting. :>

Kansas said...

Back atcha Beeta.

PS. I am immediately changing my name to moogirk! :>