Receiving a compliment can go a long way. Compliments mean a lot if a woman has on a nice outfit, is having a good hair day or her make up is on point.
Compliments also go an extremely long way when someone is given one about a personality trait or on something that they are proud of. By giving a compliment, you can make someone’s day or week and put them in a good or better mood.
But is there a difference in how a woman responds to a compliment based on the person giving the compliment?
Yes, it will be taken positively, but there is a noticeable difference in how a woman takes a compliment from another woman versus the same compliment from a man. It seems to be taken more genuinely if there are two women complimenting each other than when a male compliments a woman.
It can be seen as sign of validation and support by other women when a woman is complimented, especially since there can be so much female competition on different levels of schooling, in the workplace and in the media. Women complimenting each other seems to be something the gender needs to work on, as it is a self-esteem booster more often than not.
Women complimenting each other can go beyond the shallowness of complimenting someone’s hair or outfit, as it should.
In an article by Amy Green last year in Psychology Today, she reflects on a People article talked to actress Jennifer Aniston about being named the world’s most beautiful woman. Aniston tells Green that she cannot remember the countless compliments about her hair or skin, but remembers how great it made her feel when a female fan told Aniston that the show “Friends” helped the fan through a difficult time.
In the article, they also interviewed other female celebrities who all shared the same reflection of a compliment.
Now, women complimenting each other seems to be about support or validation, but it can also be about comfort. In almost every instance, women are genuinely comfortable with compliments from other women. Some see it as a plus.
A man complimenting a woman is different.
Though a man complimenting a woman is often seen as genuine, it does not have the same impact. It can still make a woman’s day— a compliment is a compliment— but it is not received as genuinely.
There could a variety of different reasons on why it is received differently. It could be based on the confidence of the woman, who that particular male is, what type of compliment was given and so forth.
Men and women notice different aspects of a person’s appearance, so there is a different range of compliments that are given.
Women notice the details or how maybe how hard another woman tried on an outfit, whereas a man may look at it in passing and not really notice the amount of time it may have taken or the amount of effort the make-up required.
It always feels good to be complimented, but with so much female-on-female hate in the world, complimenting each other can be simple and can someone’s day that much better.
