What degree of empathy do you have for the opposite s*x?

Question

If you found out that something terrible has/had happened to someone of the opposite s*x and you didn't really know them well, what would your reaction be?

Do you try to understand what they have gone through and how they may have felt? Would your reaction be same or different if the person was of same gender?

This is for both men and women.

Answer 1

You have to think of it this way, no matter how different men or women maybe, we both feel pain, love and any other emotion there is. So if you focus on the fundamentals then it's not that hard to put yourself in one's shoe, no matter the s*x and understand their reaction. I have a high degree of empathy for the opposite s*x because I know how hard certain things can be for the other s*x due to societal expectations

Answer 2

I am not very empathetic for anyone.  I try, but imagination is not my strong point.  The other side of that, there is enough difference between men and women that we don't feel things quite the same.  I have proven this by paying attention to the jokes that men and women like.  Some are very gender biased.  Women cringe at some that make men laugh.  Men have a different reaction to jokes they don't like but that women think are funny.

I try but know that I do not succeed.  At least I try.

Answer 3

I have the tendency to over empathize... no matter what gender, sexual orientation, color, religion... species one or it may be.

Answer 4

I'm not sure that there is a generic reaction to 'men's issues' because news about men doesn't usually lump them together as a demographic. However my attitude towards news about women's issues has changed a lot over the years. There is a lot of false information created and promoted by feminists in order to get us to sympathise with women and dislike men (see Section 3 here http://www.freewebs.com/feminism-evaluat...

As a result my reflex is now to question anything I hear about problems facing women as a group (e.g. wage gap) whereas before I found out about feminism I would instantly be on the side of women regarding their problems. I guess feminism has backfired for people like me who actually take the time to understand what feminism is really about.

Answer 5

I try and understand. Just recently a pal of my husband's had his wife leave him yet again. My thoughts are the same for him as her; just end it and have mercy on each other.

Answer 6

"Do you try to understand what they have gone through and how they may have felt”?

NO, not if it a woman, not much

Women don't want men’s help, thoughts or ideas, now if i see a woman in trouble, like car trouble, or in distress on the streets I don't really care

I refused to help some women in the rain the other day, they had some problem or the other, I don't know

I think they had a crash, I really don’t care. Best to just leave them to it

If I get involved with their problem, I’m said to be patronising, condescending, or something else…

If it’s a man that’s entirely another thing. i always help

Answer 7

My reaction would be no different if it were a male or female.  Why should their gender matter?  

Answer 8

I always try and put myself in other people's shoes before judging anyone, so this is the same case. My reaction would be different if the person was of the different gender ofcourse, for one I wouldn't be able to understand as well or be able to empathize as well as I'd be able to for someone of the same s*x.