Quote Originally Posted by ReineD View Post
Girl talk is the stereotypical, female version of Guy Talk. You know, guys talk about cars, sports, the stock market, the hot babe who lives down the street, and girls talk about makeup, their clothes, recipes, their kids, the fight they had with their husband yesterday, etc.
These are often "bonding tactics" - ways for women to get related to each other - especially if there is a male in their midst. There are often more conversations around feelings and simply sharing. There is very little "can you top this". The aim is to share common experiences. Attempting to establish rank is generally frowned upon.

In reality, everyone talks about everything. I personally love to talk about ideas. :p
Edit - my female friends and I discuss current events, politics, work matters, the politics at work, our mutual hobbies, our children, and give each other news of the people that we know.
There is a different relationship to such ideas as well. For men, politics and economics tend to be more detached conversations, talking about what "They" should do, with most members of the group clear that they are too busy doing their jobs, putting food on the family table, to actually stick their neck out and get directly involved.

In "Girl Talk", there is a much more direct and "hands on" relationship to such ideas. There are discussions of different projects the various women are taking on in their communities, fund raising, charity work, and service work, with the open and unspoken invitation for other women to get involved (along with any men who happened to have survived the bonding talk.

IF we ever talk about fashion, it will be a two minute comment, where one will tell the other about a new find, if she recently bought something. We never, and I mean NEVER talk about makeup. Most of my friends don't wear any. They don't need to, they're beautiful enough as they are!
This depends on the group. Often, fashion, especially complements on outfits, accessories, and other fashion are simply ways to affirm the various members of the group, to make them feel more like they are part of the group. Often, there is the compliment, and the option to share where they got it, and how much of a bargain they got. Again, the goal is more one of inclusion and helping the other women in the group feel more part of the group.

One of the biggest differences between "guy talk" and girl talk, is that rivalries - though they exist, are minimized in girl talk, while in guy talk, rivalries, conflict, and competition are a key element of the conversation. There is often a "I can top that" element of guy talk. Even if it's talking about childhood hardships - the one guy will say "we had rats for pets", the second guy would say "we had them for DINNER", the third one said "you got RATS, we only got little mice".

When they talk sports, they talk about how they could make the team do better, and if there are fans of rival teams, there are discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of each team, usually the fans of describing the strengths of their own team, while the rivals pointed out the weaknesses of the same team. Often, it would turn into a few friendly little wagers on the outcome of the next game.

Among men, guy talk is a more socially acceptable way to establish "pecking order" than the more violent and physically aggressive tactics they used as young boys. Some will be intellectual bullies, flooding the conversation with factoids - establish his rank as an expert. Others will try to minimize this advantage, challenging minor points in the facts, or pointing to the irrelevance of the factoids being dumped.

Man-talk is more confrontational as well, with more focus on the opposites of views, with little or no common ground. Girl-talk is more cooperative and collaborative, with more focus on common ground, shared experience, and possibilities for solutions that take the best features of both sides, and avoid the pitfalls raised by both sides.

Men are allowed to join in girl-talk and if you get a chance, you should do so. It helps, however, if you are aware of the differences, and learn to abide by the rules of girl-talk rather than trying to do "guy-talk" tactics in a circle of women. You will tend to shut things down, and they will tend to agree that you are an "unpleasant fellow" once you have left the room.