Do men and women speak and think semantically differently, possibly misunderstanding each other? Are there gender-specific approaches to meaning, and can femininity be characterized more closely in this sense? These fundamental questions regarding gender issues are examined phenomenologically, with the author linking theory and practice, or empiricism, in the spirit of difference philosophy. Men and women from different educational backgrounds in German-speaking Switzerland share their thoughts. They express themselves in free association with core words and focal points from the gender theories of philosophers such as Hegel, Freud, Lacan, Irigaray, and Lévinas. The results of this survey, which are presented in full, are evaluated in two respects: on one hand, through semantic language analysis, and on the other hand, regarding the empirical content of the theories considered.