IT'S been said that men have only three basic needs in a relationship - sex, home-cooked food and ego boosting - whereas women seek emotional attention and financial support. Is this replica breitling watches caveman theory true and, if so, can the gap between the sexes be bridged? AUDREY VIJAINDREN finds out.
MUCH has been said about how men and women are from different planets - they just don't speak the same language or think the same way.
How far true is this?
Last year, Durex's Sexual Wellbeing survey revealed that 49 per cent of Malaysian men feel they don't know enough about the "emotional" aspects of relationships, while only two per cent of Malaysian women felt the same way.
"Intimacy" apparently means different things to a man and woman. The perception is that men who are attuned to their emotional side are not "real men".
Durex Malaysia general manager Voong King Yee says Malaysian men are generally not that open when it comes to expressing their emotions.
"This might be due to our upbringing where men have been programmed from young to think that expressing oneself is not a manly thing to do."
HELP University College psychology lecturer and licensed marriage and family therapist associate Charis Wong Yen Wai says men have been conditioned to shut down their emotions.
Men learn that the way to connect is to be physical and sexual. It's what society has trained our men to be.
"Typically, Asian men are only comfortable touching someone while in bed or playing football. If he is not having sex, he doesn't really get touched in his everyday life."
Wong says for women, an emotionally connected conversation builds intimacy.
"It is very natural for women to touch and hug."
She says Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs may provide insight into this.
replica tag heruer watches The hierarchy is represented in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and lowest levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualisation at the top, which includes the need to bond emotionally with our partners.
The bottom layer consists of water, sex, breathing, food and excretion. The topmost layer consists of morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts and spontaneity.
"The cavemen days may have been predominantly based on the bottom of the pyramid, which deals with the basic means for survival.
"For men, the cavemen theory could have been heavily represented by the act of sex in order to obtain an heir to carry on the family name," she says.
As humans progressed, they moved up the pyramid.
"Thousands of years later, women are financially independent. We don't need a man to meet our lower needs of the hierarchy. We can turn our attention to spirituality, faith and having a close intimate partner.
"This means that men have to meet our needs for emotional connection - food and shelter will not suffice," Wong says.
She says while men and women may speak different "love languages", it all comes down to the basic fundamental human need of wanting to be loved.
"We are wired to be loved and cherished. Men may have learnt to seek emotional intimacy through sex, and women find it through talking
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