ag5@pucc-k (Henry Mensch) (01/15/85)
() >Here's something I haven't seen discussed after a year reading net.singles. >Many women, when signing letters, use the format: love, so-and-so. This seems >to be the prefered way of signing even to casual acquaintances, at least for >some women. Men, on the other hand, seem hardly ever to sign as such. Why is >this? Is it that tried and true reason: societal pressures don't allow men the >freedom to express themselves? Or is it something else? And, does how one signs >mean anything, or does it really matter? Well, yes it does matter how you sign a letter ... I don't imagine that you send off complaints to the utility company with "Best Wishes for the Future" or "Many Hugs and Kisses".... Of course, men do seem to feel societal pressures not to express love as an emotion, and as such, are reluctant to express it on paper. Remember, love *is* a four-letter word (are you reading this, JS?) :-) Personally, I don't feel pressured to *not* sign (or to sign) a letter in a particular way. Although there are not many men that I love now (either in the platonic or carnal senses) I do feel comfortable signing letters to male or female friends with "Love." -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services {ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax|purdue|uiucdcs|cbosgd|harpo}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ". . . he wasn't festive but was probably ambidextrous"
js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) (01/16/85)
>Here's something I haven't seen discussed after a year reading net.singles. >Many women, when signing letters, use the format: love, so-and-so. This seems >to be the prefered way of signing even to casual acquaintances, at least for >some women. Men, on the other hand, seem hardly ever to sign as such. Why is >this? Is it that tried and true reason: societal pressures don't allow men the >freedom to express themselves? Or is it something else? And, does how one >signs mean anything, or does it really matter? You've noted that many women sign letters with 'love', even when the is only to a casual acquaintance. I've often wondered why this is myself. Most of the previous discussion I've seen on this addressed the question of why men don't do this as well, but it seems to me as though the real question is why most women sign letters with 'love' when they don't really mean it. I don't use 'love' when signing letters unless the letter is to someone who I really feel that way about. Recieving a letter like that can be very confusing in the few cases where you're not really sure whether the writer meant it. If this practice is as widespread as it has been reputed to be, perhaps some of the women on the net sign with 'love' when they don't mean it. How about it ladies? Care to explain why? BTW, about societal pressures not allowing men the freedom to express themselves; what societal pressures? When I love someone, I tell them so. No one laughs at me. When I'm hurt, I cry. No one says: "Hey, men aren't supposed to cry." (at least not since I turned 8.) -- Jeff Sonntag ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j "Know thou, O rash and foolish mortal, that this is none other than the infamous subterranean abode of Zazamanc the Archmage. Abandon hope, all ye who linger here."
llfe@hound.UUCP (L.FENG) (01/17/85)
Well, I've always used "love" as a closing salutation. If you think about it, using "yours" is just as bad. "Sincerely" is pretty hokey, and nothing just doesn't seem right. Perhaps I'll start using "See you later alligator." Lynda -- From the lunch hour of hound!llfe.