There is a common saying that is often brought up when people start discussing relationships to their friends and families: communication is key. Oftentimes, people – both men and women – have difficulty communicating with one another, which in turn damages relationships and oftentimes leads to misinformation and confusion amongst people. Over time, people have noticed these differences in the way men and women speak to one another and have chosen to exaggerate the differences as a means to shed light on the problem, resulting in a string of memes being brought to life commonly known as the Guys vs. Girls meme (although it has other names). This meme format highlights the perceived differences in how men and women communicate, express emotions, and approach various situations. While exaggerated for comedic effect, it reflects a common observation that gender socialization can lead to distinct communication styles and perspectives between the sexes.
In this meme, one can see a pair of girls and a pair of guys talking to one another in some context, situation or prompt. The girls would then talk to each other with the use of text, followed by the guys talking with one another. However, the two conversations – both discussing the same context/situation/prompt – are vastly different from one another in most cases.
Oftentimes, the conversations held by the women are long-worded and aimed to be more “nice” untoward each other, whereas the guys have a very stoic/spartan type of short speech and would rather say some very bizarre things towards one another, which in turn sometimes means that they are rude to one another.
These memes were written up around the same time as the “for the boys” meme or “boys will be boys” meme, which are similar. Ultimately, most men reading these memes tend to be able to understand what the two guys in the meme mean when they speak to one another. This meme spreads the stereotype that guys are often misunderstood by women and mostly understood by other men, which is a sad but proven truth. These memes also comment on the societal norm that men have difficulty understanding women – this idea can be found in other memes, like the memes regarding men not understanding when a woman tries to flirt.
The differences between the two conversations helps us understand that being masculine can still imply being stoic and sometimes out of pocket. However, the comedic value of the meme can also be used as a way to allow for change in the way men and women communicate, resulting in a less-confusing system of communication between both groups.
Fight Clubs/Night Clubs 