Women care more about female opinion

The heightened sensitivity women show towards the opinions of other women probably isn't the conclusion that will be drawn by most readers of this news report, but it's the most significant one:

Don't rely on the man in your life to tell you that you're piling on the pounds. Chaps are much more reluctant than women to confront a partner about their weight. Almost a third of men don't want to raise the subject compared to a mere 10 per cent of women who would be reluctant to suggest their partner slimmed down.

However, when it comes to telling a close friend to go on a diet, it's a very different story. Then, 23 per cent of women would find it hard to bring up the subject compared to only 8 per cent of men.

It isn't news that many men are afraid to confront women. I'm only surprised to learn the number is only around one-third. But it is informative to learn that whereas 90% of women are willing to tell a man he's too fat, they are more reluctant to confront their friends. This helps explain why women will completely blow off a man's opinion about her appearance, while obediently complying with one absurd and counter-productive piece of advice from her friend after another.

From the Game perspective, of course, one does not want to be in the 30% of men who are afraid to call a whale a whale. If you can't even manage that, don't be surprised if whales, and ill-tempered whales at that, are the only girl you can get. The fact is that pointing out flaws, real or imaginary, on an otherwise shapely woman is an effective means of modifying the relative value perception.