AS FRIENDS

• Do we make good friends? 

RAYMOND Local women are not only good listeners but they’re also not shy to tell you what to do. They’re unlike my female friends from other Asian cultures, such as Japanese, Korean or mainland Chinese women who will listen but be hesitant to give their feedback because they’re afraid the men will be offended.
MANOJ My local female friends are the best when you really need someone to talk to. They’ll hear you out, look at the problem from every angle and advise you on the best course of action.
Daniel They tend to be a whiny lot. They have a lot of baggage, a lot of emotions and a lot of things to complain about.

• Are we good conversationalists?

CHUEN Yes. Most of the Singaporean women I know are very well read, articulate and opinionated. It is easy to have an in-depth discussion with them on topics from novelist Haruki Murakami to US politician Sarah Palin. Trying to have a conversation like that with a woman from other Asian countries is more challenging.
MANOJ Sometimes you bring up a certain topic they don’t know about but they feel that they need to prove something. So they throw all these big words and theories at you and you know that it’s all bulls***. Sometimes they try too hard.
JONATHAN I feel that there is a dearth of good female conversationalists in Singapore. Not many men here are witty either, that’s why the women don’t get enough practice.
MANOJ Most of them were the product of an education system where the emphasis was on writing well instead of speaking up. But they’ve really come quite far. They take the time to be on top of politics and current affairs. They make the effort to put their point across. For example, they were really feisty at last year’s Association of Women for Action and Research’s (Aware) extraordinary general meeting.

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