How women act differently in the presence of men

I went to a mixed school but in the sixth form my English class turned out to be female-only (purely by accident, not design). The two teachers we had said it was the best group they had ever taught and they had never seen a class make so much progress. It was the best learning experience I have ever had. Everyone was competitive, but competitive by pushing ourselves to do better, not by doing the next person down and making it hard for them to work, everyone could speak and the atmosphere was respectful, funny and good-natured, and we all used to bring in books, films and articles that we thought would help each other or other people would find interesting. When you can speak without fear of being belittled, shouted down or contradicted just for the sake of an argument, you can really flourish as a person. I think mixed education sacrifices girls for the benefit of boys.

Next time I am in a mixed meeting vs an all female one (rare) I'm going to check out posture.

I wonder if women are more "demure" for want of a better word when gentlemen are present...

Lol @ me having in depth discussions about hair.

Not so much actually - but I like to pay compliments to women I know to make them feel good if there is something to comment on and so I do that in the bogs sometimes

They are always super-pleased it's part of my little mission to spread a little love

I feel it's incredibly important to allow women to experience politicised women-only space. I hadn't experienced it until fairly recently. It's remarkable how different women are when men aren't present.

What I notice in women-only spaces with other women - when a man arrives they often pay him loads of attention in a sort-of fawning (although perhaps jokey-fawning) way.

YYYYY I also read the thread I think you mean, and thought, this whole women's spaces thing, do women really act that much differently? I can't think of a time when I'm in a "women's space" and talk about womanly things that I wouldn't with a man there.

And the very next day in the bogs at work I had a long conversation with a colleague about how awful her menopause symptoms are.

And I thought, OH!

And remembered that in the bogs at work I discuss with colleagues who I know such things as makeup, hair, clothing, health concerns, children, and what random men have said or done that was weird / horrible on the occasions stuff like that happens.

Also when my friends come round sometimes when DH is working in the evening, when he comes home the atmosphere shifts / topics change.

The other thing is being free of the male gaze - twice at feminist conference type things where there were no men / hardly any at all, and when I was heavily pregnant as well I could feel it kind of "lifted". And until I was in those situations I didn't realise that it was there all the time whenever I was in public.

So actually, there's lots, and that thread was great as it made me realise that and how important it is.

Thinking about things I feel comfortable talking about...

I don't talk about the physical dimension of being female around men.

I don't talk about male violence/history of suffering at the hands of violent men, because in the past men have basically preyed on me using things they've heard and re-enacting them, exploiting the same vulnerabilities.

I don't make eye contact as much.

I don't take off outer layers of clothing.

I don't talk as much in general.

I find I often roll my eyes in my mind at the way men turn the conversation to their own needs when feminism is being discussed.

I have some female friends whom men we know tend to think of as spinsterish, nice, polite ladies. When they are in women-only company they are more like characters from a Martin Scorsese movie. The sheer level and imagination of the swearing is unbelievable.

Is it weird if I feel odd discussing this in a mixed space?

I definitely act very differently in women-only spaces as opposed to mixed ones.