There are huge differences in the way men and women gossip - and it's not as simple as talking about football versus talking about shopping.
不要以为男男和女女互相八卦的唯一区别在于前者聊足球，而后者聊购物。不是!这两种性别的生物八卦的方式可大不一样。
For men, gossiping together brings them closer - but that effect doesn't work for women, and gossip can threaten friendships.
对于男人来讲，八卦能拉近彼此的距离——但不幸的是，这条定律对女人来说可不受用——女人更容易在八卦后反目成仇!
Oddly, the fact that men might be talking about football actually brings them closer. ]Even boasting about achievements such as pay rises seems to bring men together.
说来也奇怪，男人之间竟然连谈论足球都拉近彼此关系;即使是夸口“老子工资又涨了!”都能让哥俩间更亲近。
'The male friendship is more characterized by engaging in group activities so gossip can serve to enhance the bond between individuals within the group,' says David C Watson of Grant McEwan University at Edmonton.
“男人之间的友谊，多是通过参与团体活动、相互闲扯，从而使个人与群体的关系更紧密。”来自加拿大埃德蒙顿市格兰特麦克尤恩大学的大卫 沃森说道。
But because female friendships 'run deeper', gossip can have the opposite effect. Women tend to chat a lot about physical appearance, and this can actually threaten their friendships.
但是，女性之间的友谊更为“深沉”，所以有时反而会达到相反效果。女人们喜欢扎堆讨论打扮啦外表之类的问题，这些东西会损害她们间的感情。
'Female friendships are more characterized by communion or intimacy. Gossip can be more of a threat to the relationship than it does in male friendships,' says Watson. Both sexes, predictably, gossip in rather different ways.
“因为女性友谊的特点在于共享、亲密。因此，八卦这件事不一定会带来像男性一样的效果，却很可能适得其反。”因为这两种性别的八卦方式非常不同。
'Physical appearance gossip was found to be more prevalent in females,' says Watson. 'but it doesn't help with friendship quality. This type of gossip may be a more of a competitive threat to the relationship in females.
“女性间经常谈论打扮、外表之类的话题”，沃森说道，“但这些东西不能在实质上帮助友情的维系。因为这是种隐含了相互攀比意味的方式。”
The study examined gender differences in the relationship between friendship quality and gossip tendency with a sample of 167 female and 69 male Western Canadian undergraduate University students using the Friendship questionnaire and the Tendency to Gossip questionnaire.
这项研究是通过对加拿大西部一所大学中167位女生和69为男生的问卷采访完成的。 被采访人需要做一份关于友谊的问卷和一份对于八卦偏好的问卷。这项研究的侧重点在于两性间的友谊与其八卦倾向的影响。