4 Stereotypes Men Believe About Women

Few things are more mysterious than the opposite sex. The mystery keeps us intrigued, but it can also be frustrating and confusing. In our quest to figure out what we don't understand, and to make the unfamiliar familiar, we often resort to using the over-simplification of stereotypes. Many stereotypes are harmless, but some are so pervasive that we've come to regard them as truth.

Here are a few of the stereotypes men believe about women that may be affecting your relationships:

• Women are slaves to their emotions. Women deal with and express their emotions differently than men, but that doesn't mean that their approach to emotions and communication is wrong. It also doesn't mean that women are unable to put their emotions aside when a situation calls for reason and logic. Emotions are a powerful force, but they can be kept in check (yes, even when a woman is PMS-ing).

• Women are crazy. Women do some crazy things, but so do men. It has nothing to do with the face that they're women, and everything to do with the fact that they're human. Women are not biologically programed to act in ways that seem insane at times any more so than men are. Writing something off as a woman's innate "craziness" is a poor attempt to rationalize behavior that men have difficulty comprehending, in an attempt to relieve them of the burden of trying to understand. This dismissal might temporarily give the illusion that things are easier, but will harm relationships in the long run.

• Women do not like, and are not good at, the same things as men. Women can't play sports. Women aren't good at math. Women don't understand money management. Women can't use power tools. Women aren't good drivers. The list of stereotypes about women's wants, needs, and abilities could go on and on. They're bound to be true for some parts of the female population, but they're true for parts of the male population as well (just ask the two men I saw get into a fender-bender on the highway last week).

• Women all want to settle down. Despite what Beyoncé may have lead you to believe, women aren't all desperate to find a man to put a ring on it. Evolutionary biology suggests that women are programmed to want financial stability, children, and a dedicated partner, especially as they get older, while men are programmed to play the field. That may be true for many women, but there are exceptions to every rule. Some women don't want children, and genuinely prefer being single.

So what are some stereotypes that women have about men? Let's take a look...