In the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, Dr. John Gray says that it is in knowing your differences that misunderstandings are easily avoided. Once you know what your differences are, that is when you learn to accept and cooperate with your differences instead of trying to change each other. This, to him was how Martians and Venusians met, fell in love and had happy relationships together...because they accepted and respected each other. So, may I ask, was it when they came to earth that amnesia set in?
And so to test this theory, serious investigation was needed which I valiantly did.
After reading the responses I gingerly gathered from my respondents, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had opened Pandora’s box or if I had hit an Achilles’ heel. Few gave melodramatic answers, others, corky and casual, some with pungent wit and criticism. More so, I wondered when Martians and Venusians would get along, live peacefully and harmoniously in this sublunary smidgeon which goes by the name of earth, given these reports of dyed hair, endless texting, consistently inconsistency and then some.
Read on.
Aeinid Mercado, 18, Occupational Therapy, University of the Philippines: Boys nowadays are like smoke machines. They just don’t know when to stop. They smoke whenever they want to and pretty much at any chance they get.
Kate Cruz, 18, Hotel and Restaurant Institutions Management, De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde: Guys now are inconsistent. One day it’s you who’s queen of his world, the next it’s somebody else. Most guys now lack breeding and are sometimes barok. Most of them don’t look beyond the physical assets of the girl. Some are in it only for sex.
Nicole Aquino, 21, Management, University of Asia and the Pacific: Guys nowadays are too mayabang. They think too highly of themselves.
Lala Jara, 18, Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University: I don’t like those guys who work out too much. If they already have a buffed-up body they flaunt it by wearing tight shirts. There are guys who also feel guapo just because their cars are all set-up and naka-porma. The guys with really noisy and irritating cars don’t appeal to me that much, papansin kasi. Some guys nowadays think that they’re God’s gift to womankind as well. I don’t go for the hiphop look too. Most of the guys nowadays just don’t mean what they say.
Catherine Ebarvia, 16, senior high school, St. Theresa’s College: Guys nowadays wear enormously big pants that are too baggy and have chains dangling from their pockets. I don’t like guys with colored or dyed hair. Some boys even have more earholes than I have. That, I don’t like.
She Leong, 19, Communication Arts and Marketing Management, De La Salle University: Guys can be so thoughtless and self absorbed that they totally disregard others' feelings. They can be immature brats. I don’t like the way they act all tough kasi feeling nila yun ang macho and their inability to control their temper, parang mga bata. I also don’t like guys who have cars which are so set-up and noisy(like it’s lowered when the streets of Manila have too many humps) and have no tint to just show off. Guys think the girl is a trophy to display. What I really hate is the way guys eat they are so messy, as if they were still babies being spoonfed. I also don’t like guys who wear too much perfume that it already hurts my nose. Guys can also be so insensitive that sometimes, I think, they forget that they’re with a girl.
Nice Ilagan, 18, Advertising Arts, University of Santo Tomas: Boys are consistently inconsistent. I hate it when guys think too highly of themselves, their arrogance can kill. They fool around then lie, and yet don’t get any guilty about it at all. Boys who don’t respect girls don’t deserve attention at all. I hate boys who play with our feelings, they can’t possibly imagine how much that hurts us. Boys don’t stand by their word. I don’t like those guys who dress, look, talk and even smell dirty. They have this irritating way of making us feel insecure then get mad when we get jealous. Lastly, I hate the way they make us feel so weak...that is when they make us fall so deeply in love.
Katz Ortiz, 20, Liberal Arts, University of Asia and the Pacific: I think guys don’t know that most girls are turned off when they try to get attention through their loud cars.
Julia Suarez, 18, Behavioral Science and Business Management, De La Salle University: There’s this problem of insensitivity with guys nowadays. To a degree, it’s typical naman for all the boys. They are afraid to show sweetness or gentlemanliness, as this is what the girl expects. Guys are too fickle-minded.
Monica Racoma, 18, Communication Arts, Miriam College: Guys today use way too much gel. I don’t like guys who are still stuck wearing baston pants and who are jologs. I also hate the always sabog or wasted look.
Nico Panlasigui, 19, Economics, Ateneo de Manila University: Girls who are superficial and shallow. Some girls try to do or wear things that don’t really suit them.
RJ Villanueva, 19, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University: I don’t like girls who are too rowdy. Some girls today are so palengkera when they talk and laugh. Most girls have this habit of generalizing men which is not fair. The girl usually has a pre-conceived notion about the guy (which is usually bad) that overshadows the actual personality of the guy.
Jod Penson, 20, Asian Institute of Tourism, University of the Philippines: Girls who wear clothes that are too revealing. They don’t leave anything to the imagination anymore. I don’t like girls who act that they’re all that.
Christian Gallegos, 17, senior high school, Jose Abad Santos Memorial School: I don’t like it when girls' force themselves to wear clothes that don’t look good on them. Anything that’s too much is bad, so it ain’t cool when they get too demanding, too loud and too kikay. They tend to be too poised that we guys can’t take it anymore. Like when they get pikon and act like sore losers. I hate it too when they lack understanding and easily get mad.
Allan Chan, 19, Interdisciplinary Studies, Ateneo de Manila University: Most girls don’t apologize even if they know they’re wrong. I hate it when they get jealous over things that are really non-issues. They always keep you talking and pretend to be interested even if they’re not. I hate girls when they overdress, and most of all when they break your heart.
Jan Chuidian, 19, Computer Science, University of the Philippines: Most modern girls are not straightforward. They’re too scared to tell the truth that they use flowery lines that end up being more destructive. I hate it when girls are too into themselves, those who always use makeup and who are always worried about how they look or what to wear. I hate it when girls are glued to their cell phones that they can’t watch a good movie or even eat a decent meal without texting a dozen times.
Alvin Quizon, 19, BS-Management, Ateneo de Manila University: I hate it when girls say one thing and mean another, when they manage to get you to say sorry even if it’s not your fault and how easy they make you forgive them. They don’t have a hard time making you do what they want you to do and I hate the way they make you love them more.
Dondon Tatad, 22, Advertising Arts, University of Santo Tomas: I hate girls especially when they nag and become narrow-minded. I don’t like girls who wear too much makeup that they look like matrons already. Some girls nowadays are sort of like hypocrites, they hang out at coffee shops like Seattle’s Best or Starbucks but they don’t even drink coffee at home. I hate groupies and girls who are excessively vain. I hate it when they are self-centered, they pity themselves and think boys mishandle them. It ain’t nice to see girl crybabies either. Girls nowadays are fond of making guys pay for them that it gets really irritating. I don’t like girls who wear daring clothes and show off thin shins, plus that "I love your car" attitude never turns me on.
Karl Tan, 19, Management, San Beda College: I hate girls’ mood swings. They usually have that insensitive side too. I hate it when girls wear tubes and think they’re so cool. It’s not nice when they overdress and wear too much makeup. I really don’t like it when they spend too much time shopping, they can’t seem to make up their minds! I don’t like them over-acting, like when they think they’re too fat when they aren’t, so they stop eating.
Ca Bergara, 19, Management Thames International Business School: A lot of girls nowadays are phonies, pretending to be someone they’re not. Some are just plain old maarte.