It's not just women that do these things.
That is, say single words in passive aggressive manner that do not convey their meaning and expect the other person to know what they are thinking and feeling without them needing to take responsibility for expressing their thoughts and feelings in a clear manner.
To be honest, if someone says "whatever" or "fine" instead of explaining themselves, I truly don't believe they care whether the other person knows what they really feel or mean, that they're more interested in being angry than being understood.