The following is a conversation I overheard between two of the boys I nanny for (Garrison is 7 and Cade is 8):
Garrison: Did you know that I have SIX [Nintendo] DS games?
Cade: Really! I think I have SEVEN games! Or EIGHT maybe!
Garrison: Oh, well I have a friend that has TEN games!
Cade: My cousin has FOURTEEN games! But he probably won’t let you play them because he doesn’t know you.
And so the story goes: boys love to one-up each other. From a young age boys are inclined to prove their masculinity to their other testosterone infested friends. Furthermore, I have found that the one-upping continues as boys grow older, although on a larger scale and slightly subtler. While big boys may argue about who has the faster car, the prettier girlfriend or the most money, they tend to do so in a less obvious fashion, flaunting their girlfriend around in front of the guys or cruising around in their expensive foreign sports car. No, big boys don’t waste their time with conversations such as the one you read above; they prefer to one-up by doing, showing, flaunting, etc.
Having grown up with two sisters and no brothers, this post is of course simply based on my recent observations of the opposite sex; however, I believe I have been around enough guys and have listened to enough “guy talk” to support my claim. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not writing this with the intention of bashing the male species; in fact, I admire their unwavering desire and ambition to be the best. Of course it would be nice if these efforts were geared more toward being the most gentlemanlike, the sweetest, or the most well-mannered, but maybe it's a start.
No comments:
Post a Comment