Boy/girl relationships are tricky. Beginning them can be the most difficult thing in the world, especially if you’re rather shy. Sometimes, you can come across strong and the opposite party thinks you’re flirtatious. Other times, you’re too timid and the opposite gender thinks you’re scared. Confusing, right? Well, fear not, for today I have teamed up with Christian girl blogger Keziah E to answer some of humanity’s most difficult questions: about those of the opposite gender.

Keziah and I are writing about the two different sides- she is covering the side of the girls, and I’m answering the questions about the boys. There are two categories: Misconceptions and flirting. Keziah and I will each give 10 misconceptions about our own gender, then follow that up by giving 6 ways we think the other side flirts. Ladies, if you aren’t already, make sure to follow Keziah’s fantastic blog by clicking here. With that, let’s dive right in!

10 Misconceptions About Boys (Elisha)

1: Showing off is flirting. Often, we show off just to show off. In fact, many times, our showing off is a type of “proving ourselves” to other guys, a rite of passage, if you will.

2: Doing physical activities is showing off. I play basketball, and often, after youth group, I’ll go and shoot hoops. Many girls thought I did that to show off, but I honestly just love the gym and I’ll take any time to shoot that I can find.

3: That we like flexing everything. A lot of boys, including myself, flex in different ways. Whether it’s the athlete flexing his muscles or the nerd flexing his Pokémon cards (I am both), we tend to flex a lot. However, this isn’t meant to show off or look prideful, we just like showing the cool stuff we can do. As younger boys, we often look up to older guys, who often seem like gods to us. As a nine-year-old, I looked up to a guy who was really strong, and so (several years later), when I had put on some muscle, I showed him. Flexing, yes, but not showing off.

4: We are only attracted to how a girl looks. Girls often think that we are attracted to their physical attributes. While this can be true to many boys, most of the Christian guys I know are not this way. I, personally, am attracted first to the inside, with the outside being something of a bonus.

5: When guys fight, it’s a serious thing. We fight all the time. Guys are a lot like lawyers- in the court, they can fight like cats and dogs, insult each other’s mothers, and break a guy’s nose. Outside of the court, however, they’re best friends. Guys are the same- we might fight one day and be best friends the next.

6: When guys punch each other, it’s intended to harm. To quote Manny in Ice Age 3, “A punch in the arm is like three weeks of therapy”. We punch in the arm to show affection.

7: We don’t understand what you’re talking about. We aren’t stupid, and when you’re talking about makeup or something similar, we often understand more then we let on.

8: We don’t understand why you go to the bathroom together. We know everything.

9: All guys love sports. Not true. While many, such as I, love sports, there are others that don’t. One of my best friends is not an athlete and instead chooses to spend his time as a computer programmer.

10: We lift weights to be attractive. Completely untrue. Only the most idiotic of men lift weights to be attractive to women. Every other weight-lifting dude that I know, myself included, lifts to get stronger and be fit. It is within the heart of all boys, teenagers, and men alike to be strong. Why else do you think that little boys, around the ages of 6, are so obsessed with their “muscles”?

10 Misconceptions About Girls (Keziah)

1. All Girls Are Flirtatious, Overdramatic and Boy-Crazy. Okay, sure. There are some girls of this stereotype. But that type does NOT make up the entire population of females! I have met many young women who do not flirt at all, are the opposite of being dramatic, and have never even thought about a boy in a romantic way, in their life.

2. We All Take A Very Long Time In The Bathroom To Get Ready. I, for one, absolutely do not take a lot of time in the bathroom. I have always seen no reason for it and I’m known for having taken a shower under three minutes. When girls take a while getting ready, it’s usually to do their hair (think curling or straightening hair) or doing make-up. Not all girls like that though, and they prefer their hair more natural and not as much (if any) make-up at all. So, no. Not all girls take a long time in the bathroom.  

3. We Are All Very Emotional And Cry Easily. We girls do tend to be more emotional than guys, but not all of us cry easily. I rarely cry, and I know plenty of girls who are the same way. Our hormones can get really crazy and throw us off, which is one reason why girls tend to be more emotional than guys. But we generally are not extremely emotional and just burst into tears, at every. single. sad. thing. That’s just not what the majority of girls are like.

4. Girls Get Grossed Out Easily. This goes back to thinking we are all extremely dramatic. There are some girls like this, but we girls can handle a lot, too and a good amount of us are not grossed out by a lot of things.

5. Girls Are Mentally Weak. In general, women seem to be very mentally strong. We have a lot we have to deal with in our daily lives and we may seem weak at times, but overall, girls are not mentally weak at all.

6. We Are Not Adventurous. Women are actually very adventurous. Most of us love getting out to go somewhere and enjoy the thrill it gives us. Personally, I think that there are a lot more women who are adventurous, than who are not.

7. All Girls Gossip About Others. It is true that we girls tend to talk a LOT, sometimes badly about others. I have met some very nice women, however, who don’t gossip at all and respect the lives of others. So, no. Not all of us gossip and talk badly about others.

8. Girls Hate Sports. Okay, sure; some girls do hate sports. But overall, there are WAY more girls who love sports (and even play them!) than there are, that hate them. I, for one, love watching and playing football.

9. Every Girl Uses Loads of Make-Up. There are a lot of women who wear make-up, but there are a few of us out there who don’t wear it on a daily basis. Even when we do end up wearing it, we don’t always wear a whole lot.

10. Girls Are Extremely Hard To Understand. Okay, in defense, guys are really hard to understand and figure out, too. Each person is different in their own way and you’ll never be able to perfectly figure one person out. I think that guys can be just as hard to understand as girls can be.

6 Ways Girls Flirt Without Knowing It (Elisha)

1: Making an overt effort to laugh at everything. We know when our jokes are lame, so when you laugh hard at a dad joke, it makes us think that you’ve got a crush.

2: Being touchy-feely. When you touch us randomly, especially on the arm, we instantly think you’re flirting.  

3: When girls constantly shift their hair or seem to worry about their clothes/appearance in our presence. We understand a desire to look good, but when you’re constantly stressing about your appearance while we’re around, we will be led to believe that you like us.

4: An overabundance of phone use. When a girl asks for our phone number immediately, texts us periodically throughout the day, or texts us at 11:00 PM, we think they’re flirting.

5: Random actions. When girls do completely random things that make no sense, such as dumping a glass of water on our head out of the blue, or stealing our hats while we’re talking, we’re inclined to think that they’re attention-seeking and thus flirting.

6: When girls appear helpless or ask you to teach them something. Again, this seems like they’re seeking attention and want to make us, as guys, feel stronger or more masculine, so when a girl acts “dumb” on purpose, we might take that as flirting.  

6 Ways Boys Flirt Without Knowing It (Keziah)

1. Locking Eyes Constantly With A Girl. A girl is automatically going to think you like her, if you’re constantly looking at her. We aren’t oblivious to guys’ glances, and the more you do it, the more she’s going to believe that you’re thinking about her.

2. Touching or Brushing Up Against the Girl. Even if you just poke a girl in the stomach, or pat her on the back, this can be viewed as flirting. In the girl’s mind, you just want an excuse to touch her, thus making you seem like you’re flirting.

3. Telling Stupid Jokes. Okay, I get that a lot of guys just tell jokes because they think they’re funny. But a lot of times, girls will read this the wrong way, and think you’re flirting with them, by trying to get them to laugh at what you’re saying.

4. Acting Like A Gentleman. This one is just sad to me, because I wish it weren’t this way. I wish that all guys were gentlemanly and chivalrous, and this wouldn’t be a thing. But, unfortunately, it is. When a guy acts like the gentleman he is and holds the door open for a girl, or helps her with something, most girls think that the guy is flirting with them. I really wish that this weren’t the case, but unfortunately, it does seem to be…

5. Winking or Raising Your Eyebrows. Yep, this is one. I’m not really sure why, but when a guy winks or raises an eyebrow at a girl, she feels like he’s flirting with her.

6. Complimenting A Girl. Again, I really wish this wasn’t one of the things that made girls feel like the guy was flirting. This should just be a natural thing that everyone does, but unfortunately, it is not. When a guy compliments a girl and tells her that she looks nice today or he likes her dress, she automatically feels flattered and thinks that the guy is trying to flirt with her. Which, maybe he is, but even if he wasn’t trying to, the girl will take it that way.

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It can be hard to understand the other side. To quote my brother, “If a man is able to learn the ways of the women, and teach them to the men, he would rule the world.” Any man that can learn all the secrets and teach them to me gets my vote in the 2020 US Elections. Anyway, thanks so much to Keziah for doing this collab with me (and on such short notice!). You’ve done a fantastic job!

If a man is able to learn the ways of the women, and teach them to the men, he would rule the world.

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Alright, that’s all for today. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you learned something important. If you did, and you want to see more posts like this, make sure to click that Follow button below (or to the side). Then, when I release new posts like this, you’ll get notified. Thanks again, and I hope you have a fantastic day!

Note: A special thanks to my TS brothers for helping me come up with some of these. You guys are fantastic.

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