Reform, ye spitters!

What is it with men and spitting? Do men have a spitting gene that we ladies don't have? I can't remember the last time I saw a woman hock a loogie in public, but I see guys doing it constantly and I find it totally disgusting. Where I lived previously (the Washington, DC area), I mostly saw guys spitting out of car windows on my way to work. Nothing like flying phlegm to start your day off right.

Here at the beach, I am in a new development that is still being built. Lots of construction guys, landscapers, painters, etc. around all day long. Lots of spitting. I wonder what goes through their minds--"I have 2 more pieces of drywall to hang, but first, I really have to spit."??? What is that about? I just don't get it.

The only time I ever spit is when I have bronchitis and it is necessary for my health that I get the phlegm out of my chest; but I'm not walking down the street spewing my phlegm in front of strangers--I do it in the privacy of my own home and preferably not in front of anyone! And I get bronchitis maybe once a year.

When did men get the idea that it is okay to spit in public? If you're a guy, or a woman who already knows the answer to this, life's most disgusting mystery, please enlighten me!