[Disclaimer: The following deals in generalizations. It is not an "every guy" or "every girl" doctrine. I'm going to focus on the stereotypes, because they are that way for a reason.  Also: I said this for the girls. ]

When guys upset girls, it is rarely about a difference of opinion or the refusal of one or both parties to compromise a deeply held belief. For instance, the follow exchange has never happened:

Guy: “All I’m saying, baby, is that the federal government was too decentralized and weak under the Articles of Confederation.”
Girl:  [Starting to cry]“You’re wrong! It gave the states the ability to act autonomously, now they have no power because the federal government has taken it all!” [Slams door]

No, when guys upset girls it comes down to their real or perceived insensitivity concerning one or both of two things:

1. Their bodies.
2. Something they care about.

English majors are looking at that list and objecting strongly to the terrible inequality in that list and the use of a numbered list with less than 3 points.  But that’s ok. I’m not writing this about conflicts between myself and English majors. Back to the show…

As I was saying, it’s never about difference of opinion. It may start with a difference of opinion, but it never ends there.

Guys and girls manage their feelings in entirely different ways.  A guy tends to take things at face value.  What is said is assumed to be what is meant and that is the end of it.

A girl almost never takes things at face value, and even if she does, it isn’t without much consideration.  Girls tend to take things to one extreme or the other.

For example:
Guy 1: “Is that a large frosty?”
Guy 2: The size of this frosty is large, so I will answer yes. “Yes”

By contrast…
Guy: “Is that a large frosty?”
Girl: I knew I shouldn’t have gotten a large frosty! They always make me feel fat, but I didn’t think it was a problem, but clearly he thinks thinks I’m fat and is probably dating me out of pity. I’m never going to ever eat another frosty!! “We should break up.”

This is what I call the slippery slope. Something neutral is said, something awful is inferred. Pictured, it might look like this:

In general, girls take things to their final conclusion. They do not rest somewhere in the middle. For instance, once the girl in the previous example associates the question with her weight, she is unlikely to stop anywhere before “I am fat.” She isn’t going to think “Well, he probably doesn’t think I’m fat.  He might think I’m on the high side of normal and he might be surprised that I can eat this whole frosty, but that is all.”

That would never happen.

You could also picture it like this:

In either case, gravity (in this case, gravity being the mysterious female mind) is likely to move the conclusion to one extremity or another.

Now, critics may point out that I’ve used only one example and that not every girl is self-conscious about her weight. This is absolutely true.

But it is also absolutely true that in this image obsessed, sex-crazed culture we live in all girls are feeling the pressure to look a certain way.  I chose weight because it is the most easily demonstrated, but you can substitute any insecurity…even ones that have nothing to do with looks at all.

The other way that guys upset girls is by being insensitive about something they care about deeply.  This is hard for guys to understand because we tend to separate ourselves from our beliefs, friends, and relatives.

This is why…

• a comment about a girl’s best friend can be just as offensive as if you made a comment her.
• a joke about a cause a girl believes is considered an attack on her personally
• Ad infinitum.

While both guys and girls do it, girls are more likely to personalize the things they care about.

None of these attributes are inherently negative, they are just different. A guy’s inclination to be neutral and take things at face value makes him a better leader in personal and business relationships, but a girl can aspire to the same level.

Girls are able to empathize and put themselves in other people’s shoes much more easily, but a guy can learn to see the other side.

As I said, these are generalizations, but I think you will find they hold truth in most guy/girl conflicts.