2011-06-04
Explanation
This four-panel comic skewers the hypocrisy of a common relationship complaint. A bald man grumbles to his friend, "Ugh... my freakin' wife!" and then declares, "Women always expect you to read their minds!" His friend, wearing glasses, asks the reasonable follow-up question: "Have you told her it bothers you?" The man replies, "It'd mean more if she realized it without me saying."
The punchline exposes the man's complete lack of self-awareness. He is complaining that his wife expects him to read her mind, yet when asked whether he has communicated his feelings to her, he reveals that he is doing exactly the same thing -- expecting her to read his mind. He wants her to intuit his frustration without him having to articulate it, which is precisely the behavior he is criticizing her for.
The votey panel drives the point home with the man declaring, "Communication is so unromantic!" This adds another layer to the satire: the man has wrapped his hypocrisy in a romanticized notion that true love should not require explicit communication, even as he faults his wife for holding what is essentially the same belief. The comic highlights how people often project their own flaws onto others and how poor communication in relationships is frequently a two-way problem.