I said men would describe it as gossip, I didn't say I would agree to that characterisation. Gossip is "idle talk or rumor", which I think is a bad thing. But t

I said men would describe it as gossip, I didn't say I would agree to that characterisation. Gossip is "idle talk or rumor", which I think is a bad thing. But talking about people behind their backs is not necessarily a bad thing. Indirect communication (which I think is a nicer way to talk about it than 'gossip') allows people to more directly address problems because it circumvents ego. That is why I feel it might contribute to social cohesion, as long as everyone has pure intentions. The second aspect is of course the question of pure intentions, obviously often competition or spite causes people to gossip in malicious ways, and this might negatively affect social cohesion, or at least exclude individuals. I don't think the effects are very testable in modern society, as a society consisting of only men or women can not persist for more than one generation. I think your dichotomy of women using emotional manipulation, and men using physical manipulation to oppress/compete are analogous in their evolutionary role. Some people think that means the role is to exclude the weak, but I think that's just an unfortunate side effect, and the role is more to ensure the strong exist at all. Unfortunately often nature cruelly ignores that sort of collateral damage.