I have never read the book, but about fifteen years ago Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus was published. I do know that the book spoke on how we Earthlings are expected to feel and act according to our gender. The ideas presented in the book created a bit of a craze, the theories that illustrated some of the differences between how men and women operate: men are about abilities and working alone, while women are about feelings and co-operating. People latched a hold to the ideas and ran with them.
The Man and I have four pets (pretty crazy, I know). Even crazier … I had all four pets before he entered my life. And when the invitation was extended,he decided to move in with me, regardless, … really. Even with all my ‘indoor’ animals. Amazing.
All six of us live pretty well together, even though we all have distinct personalities. Our dog Luke is the wildest of the bunch. The Man says that he has Attention-Deficit Disorder. Luke is excitable, energetic and focus-less. Each morning when The Man wakes at some ungodly hour (I think it’s 5 AM or even 4 AM – if it’s a “gym” day), Luke does a “Tasmanian Devil” spin all the way to the back door in front of the man.
Our other dog Casper is the quietest of all the animals in the house. Casper, in principle, does not belong to the Man and me. Casper is Luke’s dog. I got Casper as a companion for Luke, hoping that he would settle Luke down. That did not happen. Our Casper is a sweet, mild-mannered, quiet and slim dog, who appears to move on tip-toes.
Our cats, M’aiq (pronounced “Mike,” or as I say it, “Mi-iiike”) and Ophelia (one lone household female) came from the same litter. M’aiq is a large long-haired all-white male; one of the most beautiful cats that I have ever seen. Ophelia is a smaller short-haired gray and white tabby, beautiful in her own right.
Which brings us back to “M’aiq from Mars; Ophelia from Venus.” M’aiq likes his alone time. He actually broke out of the house (to our horror) a couple of years ago. We imagined the worst, but he soon materialized, and we coaxed him back into the house. M’aiq is all about himself. He’ll come to us for attention and insist on it more often than Ophelia.
Ophelia, when feeling a bit neglected, will meow loudly and simply jump in one of our laps, settling in for some petting. Or she’ll seek out M’aiq where he is lounging and cuddle up with him. It never happens the other way with M’aiq seeking out Ophelia. And my biggest clue about the Mars/Venus theory … Ophelia helps groom M’aiq.
She spends a lot of her own time licking and cleaning his fur.
Sweet.
M’aiq never returns the favor.
Typical male.
But I’ll stop here. I mentioned all of our pets earlier (not just the cats) for a reason. Our male pets, the two dogs and M’aiq, are somewhat independent (well, as independent as pets can be). While Ophelia is a bit more dependent, demanding more attention and on most nights, sleeping with The Man and me in the bed.
Luke and Casper clean one another. When the lazy Queer has put off giving them their regular bath, Luke and Casper lie on the floor and lick one another. So which one of the dogs is from Mars, and which one is from Venus. I would naturally think that Luke is from Mars and Casper is from Venus. But no… Luke is the co-operative one. Casper is much more about getting the job done (he scares away all of the backyard squirrels; Luke just wants to play with them – I can tell).
One of our close friends always talks about the dual nature of everyone and about how each of us has both male and female energy. So I think I’ll just buy that. I mean, seriously … we are living on Earth. Whether you come from Mars or Venus, we are all immigrants here.
