I can't speak for all men, only myself. I simply don't get subtle. If my partner wants me to know something, they have to put it on a billboard and then whack me in the side of the head with that billboard. That's one of the reasons I'm so open in conversations with my friends.

I've noticed a lot of men are this way.

I have to take up for the guys here, and as a feminist I think women should speak up for what they want. A lot of the motivation behind relying on hints and subtleties is out of a subconscious desire to not seem bossy, demanding or aggressive. We are conditioned to be submissive instead of open.

I always want people to spell things out for me, because I'm not a psychic. In my past relationships, women have always complained that I didn't read their "obvious" body language (I'm also not a psychotherapist)...something very obvious to them might not be so obvious to everyone else. You can't rely on getting your message across that way, so you might as well eliminate any doubt and just come right out and say what you're thinking...If you try to guess what she's thinking and plan something spontaneous, it never works out. You could take her out to dinner ("Why? What's wrong with my cooking?" ), or buy her candy ("Are you trying to make me fat?" ) or flowers ("What a waste of money...They're just gonna die anyway!" ). Ever try to buy jewelry or clothes for someone like that (and forget about lingerie...)?

I remember my father (who was not at all the romantic type) once bought my mother flowers for their anniversary. She lit into him like the shrew that she was: "What are you bringing me flowers for, Ronnie...Are you feeling guilty about something? What's her name?" Mind you, this was completely unprovoked...He threw the flowers in the garbage. I remind her of that story every time she says 'He doesn't do anything for our anniversary'.

From the flip-side of not being a mind reader, I think people put FAR too much trust in their own ability to know what someone else is thinking by the way they perceive their actions...Am I frowning because I'm pissed off about something? Maybe I have a really bad toothache... If I look like death warmed over when I get to work, is it because I'm hungover or on drugs? Maybe I haven't slept in two days [I don't take drugs or drink alcohol (AT ALL!), but I am very often worn out from lack of sleep]. If they asked me about it (instead of pretending to be the second-coming of Miss Cleo) I would give them an honest answer...but where's the fun in that, right?

Everyone misses stuff and forgets stuff. You will be fine, talk it over and move along.

Men have a reputation for missing things like this, but men usually appreciate a direct approach.

I'm just going to throw this out there... I found it interesting. Not trying to offend anyone, so please don't take it that way. It is very apparent that men and women use their brains differently.

I have known plenty of women who thought they could pick up on hints, body language, etc, and were wildly off base more often than not. Their self assurance that they were super intuitive blinded them. I have had to explain the painfully obvious to even longtime girlfriends in the past.

Solution: EVERYONE should be upfront about their expectations.

Men aren’t psychic.

Men arent mind readers

It isn't fair to blame him for this. All people are clueless about some things. Best to be direct. I generally read signs fairly well but if I am not sure, I just ask. I usually ask even if I think I'm sure. The price of being wrong about stuff like this is high.

Happy Birthday!

Next time, ask for what you want.

Because women and men think differently, blame it on society or DNA or whatever you want.
It amounts the same as when men are asked "Do these pants make me look fat?". We dare not answer that question as all answers are wrong. If we say "no" that is interpreted as "You are fat but the pants hide it", if we say yes then "You just called me fat", if we don't answer it's "You think I'm fat".
When we have to interpret something we almost always get it wrong so please don't don't do that to us, don't beat around the bush, please please just tell us bluntly. After all we probably confuse the hell out you, too.

And if the men read the so called clues,they will end up on the National TV for sexual harassment. So to avoid it,say it loud and clear. If you can tell us here,why not him?

Aww. But if you just want casual sex, that's what most guys want anyway, so grab another friend, or make one.

Men are simple creatures, who don't understand the female mind. I am currently in a gender blend, thanks to taking derris scandens, weighted toward male, so even though I can remember how females feel, I tend to default to the clueless side, seeing women as puzzling, mystical creatures that nobody can understand.
So, yes, someone has to spell things out for me.

It's what Jeff Foxworthy says: Men only want two things - a cold beer, and to see something naked.

If someone is interested in me, they have to spell it out...casual flirting might be overlooked, or put down to being friendly.
I pick up on female flirting attempts more easily than that of males, however.

Communication is important, if you only want to say how you feel after your upset that they haven't gotten a hit, then just come out and say it next time. You are likely to get a clear answer in response.

For the most part men and women just think and communicate differently. The trick is for both parties to learn to speak the other sides' language at least a little. It takes work everytime but that's just the way it is.

Well... It strongly depends on the people... there are women, whose "hints" and "body language" I cannot understand at all... and women whose "hints" and "body language" I do understand.
To make things even funnier - the woman I had most perfect understanding in that matter with... actually had completely different taste than mine and in general we are not matching personalities altogether. So sexual experience eventually was a mutual compromise, despite we were capable to understand each other's body language...
Thus sometimes is better to actually speak, than just rely on hints.

Giving hints is a complete waste of time. Just say what you want, and communicate your expectations clearly, so there is no confusion. People aren't mind readers, and non-verbal cues are bullshit. Be direct, be honest. As far as birthday sex goes, sorry you were disappointed. Being more direct might have prevented that.

Evolutionary biology and psychology theory:

Women: evolved (mostly) back at the cave, taking care of the kids, surrounded by children, other women, and whoever else was around that wasn't out hunting; taking care of people. Evolved to be social, to be receptive and responsive to subtle cues (need to know when the kids are sick, e.g.), to attend and invest heavily in relationships.

Men: evolved (mostly) hunting with other men, focusing on feats of physical power, goal-oriented teamwork, strategy (bring down that mammoth), death-defying stuff. Not so much into the "subtle cues" of intimate interpersonal dynamics.

According to this picture, you are dead right about men not picking up signals and it's a consequence of how we evolved. I have no idea whether it's accurate. Sure sounds plausible to me.

Because we would have to be able to recall your words to your actions.

With what I see in the news everyday, I am nervous about reading body language because making a mistake isn’t I’ll never do that again, it can be life destroying. Especially in a new relationship. I do hope a good party is still exactly that.

Men are pigs. I'd never fuck one. Not sure how you women put up with it.

The more this 'me too' movement grows, the more women will need to explicitly state what they want, just sayin'. And don't worry about bad birthdays. We all have them and they only get more frequent as time goes on. Try to remember it's just another day so you can just be your normal level of disappointed with the world, that's what I do.

Men and women’s brains just work differently, there are a couple of books that I’ve read that are really good at showing just how, “ The Female Brain” and “The Male Brain, both are easy reads and gave me several Aha moments.

Women can't read each other's minds, why would these same women believe we can?

I once said to a gay friend of mine (in a relationship) "Surely the best thing about being gay is having a cat in hell's chance of understanding what's going through your partner's mind." His answer? "No. It doesn't work like that. Still no clue."

This isn't necessarily a battle of the sexes. It's just human nature to assume people understand what you understand. I've recently had a whole new (to me) branch of IT dumped on me in work: SQL database maintenance and report writing. I'm from a C++ programming background. My boss thinks that because he can knock up the most basic report in Crystal, I (with my "programming skills" ) should have no problems picking through a much more complex one, written by someone with far more in depth knowledge of the software than either of us. And it happens so often in my world. "You do computers. You must automatically fully understand every piece of hardware and software ever created." And don't get me started on people asking for one thing when they really want something else entirely. They haven't even thought the thing through properly, but you're supposed to know exactly what needs doing.

Expectations vs reality. It just doesn't work like that. So be direct. Make your expecations clear and reasonable. When communications break down, it isn't always just one party that's to blame. If you want someone to make coffee, ask them to make coffee. Don't be surprised when "Put the kettle on" results in them filling it with water and switching it on, so that you can make the coffee when it has boiled.

Have you straight out said' I expect birthday sex.'? Men aren't mind readers and they have different brain chemistry then women so I'm not surprised they don't pick up on hints. Personally, I think the problem is you. Learn to state what you want, then get upset if you don't get it afterwards.