Yes! Men are worse gossips than women

There are also people who invest valuable time talking about other people especially because they are envious of them and cannot have what such people have. Interestingly, studies have shown that the male folk form a good number of such populations of gossips. Prof. Nigel Nicholson, in his book, Managing the Human Animal, said “men […]

There are also people who invest valuable time talking about other people especially because they are envious of them and cannot have what such people have. Interestingly, studies have shown that the male folk form a good number of such populations of gossips.

Prof. Nigel Nicholson, in his book, Managing the Human Animal, said “men enjoy a gossip as much as women, but they call it networking instead.”

Holly Hom, a PhD student at the University of Virginia, asked a group of students to write a weekly diary, noting how they felt when they gossiped about people. She said it was clear that both sexes enjoyed passing on mischievous information about others, but men enjoyed it more.

The report challenged the widely-held view that women gossiped more than men. She said “men definitely seem to be getting more out of gossiping than women.

“We found that men felt better about themselves when they criticised another person’s behaviour. It gave them a sense of moral superiority and showed others that they knew the difference between right and wrong.”

Men, you can deny that you engage in what you call shop talk, networking or friendly talks; the truth is, you gossip just as much as women do.

Some people are likely to ask and wonder what it is that makes men enjoy gossip so much so that they prosper and continue to flourish at it. It is probably their ability to twist and turn things and issues far away from their original state so that by the time the gossip spreads it is so much more different from the way it emanated.

Another factor may be their ability to drop the finished products of their story twisting and turning like hot potatoes inside the mouth.

Or maybe it is simply boredom or joblessness that gives them time to be this negatively creative and spiteful.  It is impossible to tell why men devote so much valuable time gossiping, which is as a result of petty mindedness.

It is interesting how someone you have never met before or even heard about can have so much data and information about you. Susan Anieho, an unwilling beneficiary of such gossips explained. “In my first month at my place of work, just as the official induction process ended, I had another orientation from a few of the guys I mingled with. They gave me a load down of who to mingle with and who to avoid and who was doing this, that and the next thing. Luckily for me, I decided to be objective and questioned why the guys would be so interested in spreading such talk especially when I saw them hanging out with the so called wayward and bad people. I decided that, they were trying to take a hit on me, or were outright senseless people who were bored with their job. As time went by, it turned out that over 90 percent of what I had been told were false and I became good friends with some of the people I had been warned about. It is just plain ridiculous.”

According Khalid Umar, “with us guys, anything can start a gossip anywhere. What I find interesting is the willingness of fellow guys to receive it with rapt attention. Speaking realistically, no one, including me, will turn a deaf ear to sweet gist as gossip is usually full of tasty imaginations. Ears are up as lips chorus ‘eh ehn’, ‘is that so?’, ‘na wa o’, ‘it’s a lie?, and add an encouraging ‘so what happened next?’

“I agree that men indulge in gossip more than women and often talk about women as their secret liaisons, inept lovers and colleagues even when hey lie about it or secretly desire these things. Why come to the open to talk about things you did in private? I think it helps boost our confidence. But all of these for me are repulsive and leave a sour taste in the mouth.”

Study revealed that women are more inclined to pass on tittle-tattle to bond with their friends and build closer relationships with colleagues but men are more into it.

Isiaku Rabiu admits that ‘’nobody denies that men have a tendency to gossip and backbite. But it is quite uncivilised and too womanish. When women gossip, it’s obvious because they don’t pretend to be holier-than-thou, which is why they are called chatter-boxes. But it is the men who are chatter-boxes and don’t know when to keep quiet as they usually have a whole lot of issues to gossip about. They pretend it’s current and social issues, but spare time to backbite and be malicious with lies.”

Gossip however you look at it, is not something that should be indulged in or become anybody’s hobby. Worse still is when it is malicious and involves a lot of lies.

As a man you should leave such to the women folk and look for more productive ways to use your energy and time rather than being a lay about chattering away like your wife or sister or daughter.