Commitment to self : what language reveals about male fear of commitment

Much has been said and written in the Western world about gender differences, which involve many, if not most, everyday domains. Metaphorically, the distance between the sexes can be measured in astronomical terms: women are supposedly from Venus, while men are apparently from Mars. However, looking at the issue in a more down-to-earth manner, perhaps in time the rift may become smaller, particularly because women seem to have toughened up (at least their image) and, with every passing year, more and more men lean towards metrosexuality. However, are these changes affecting people’s mind-sets sufficiently to effect a departure from the well-embedded schematic views of each other? Among the questions that the authors aim to raise in this brief study are those concerning communication issues and emotional interaction between the sexes. Central to this study is what occurs when male sensitivity and courage are put to the test by their partners in the context of relationships and commitment. Various communication strategies men commonly apply when challenged by situations which require empathic responses will be considered as well as communication blunders resulting from the metaphorical euphemisms men use in their attempts to conceal their deficient emotional maturity. To address these issues the study will draw on such disciplines as linguistics, cognitive linguistics, media and cultural studies, sociology and psychoanalysis. While as distant planets men and women follow their own orbits, they do occasionally seem to be on collision course or even collide. Often these collisions cause ruptures and explosions of supernova proportions.