Saying that men talk about baseball in order to avoid talking about their feelings is the same as saying that women talk about their feelings in order to avoid talking about baseball.
Deborah TannenLife is a matter of dealing with other people, in little matters and cataclysmic ones, and that means a series of conversations.
Deborah TannenSome days you just want to get dressed and go about your business. But if you're a woman, you can't, because there is no unmarked woman.
Deborah TannenPublic discourse requires making an argument for a point of view, not having an argument - as in having a fight.
Deborah TannenThe one who decides who goes ahead has the upper hand, regardless of who gets to go. This is why many women do not feel empowered by such privileges as having doors held open for them. The advantage of going first through the door is less salient to them than the disadvantage of being granted the right to walk through a door by someone who is framed, by his magnanimous gesture, as the arbiter of the right-of-way.
Deborah Tannen