^lol Which is why you're totally biased to a point where it clouds your judgement, so therefor your opinion is very flawed on such things.
The thing is it's just what has been said, that men are encouraged to keep short nails, while when to have longer nails. Obviously trying to tickle harder with long nails will result in either, as has been said, bleeding, scarring, or broken nails. As such, females don't have much of a choice. Likewise, males typically have shorter nails, and as such don't have much to give lighter tickling with. Of course, the other factors are that men are generally more physically endowed than women, and as such, along with how we are raised, tend to have a firmer way of dealing with things, as compared to a woman having a more gentle way.
As for which is more effective, it really depends I believe. Some people are more reactive to different touches. Yes, obviously being to rough will hurt more than tickle, but there's a line there, and if you know where the boundary lies, it can be just as effective as lighter tickling from what I've seen.
And of course, it comes down more to the actual skill of the ler than anything else. Someone who is just mindlessly tickling about typically won't do as well as someone who knows exactly how each finger should hit each spot and how to get maximum effect from it.
