I seem to be getting into discussions on these "female identity" issues frequently at the moment - I am probably leading conversations in this direction on purpose.
I had a very interesting discussion today with a working mom (of two kids) on why moms who get together tend to talk about a very narrow range of topics (children, moves, new haircuts...and these repetitively), whereas moms who meet dads tend to at least touch upon other topics (jobs, politics, even cars).
We agreed that we both preferred the latter topics, but end up talking about the prior ones. Why is this?
My first answer would be that this has to do with interests, or expectations of what other people are interested in. Would I dare bore my male friends with my thoughts on whether or not I can cut my hair even shorter (here a brief thanks to my gay friends, whom I can raise this topic with any time!).
A second response would be that we are all made up of different "identities", and different people trigger us to activate or live out different parts of ourselves. With moms, we discuss what unites us most - being mothers. With dads, we are forced to be slightly more creative. And looking for these different areas of interest, which are less repetitive, because they will differ from person to person, is more fulfilling and interesting, at least to me.
So, my (not very serious) suggestion today was that we should make a list of discussion topics for our next "moms' meeting". The day's Financial Times. The US election. Books. Exhibitions. The anything-but-children-childcare-etc-session. At least once in a while?
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