Several well-known downsides (still) exist to being a woman in society. Sexism can result in unreachable expectations of perfection in beauty, motherhood, and other stereotypes. In many industries, women are still paid lower salaries than their male counterparts, and ladies are expected to “have it all” by seamlessly balancing workplace and family obligations. None of these things are fair, but people rarely stop to consider the downsides of being a man. Luckily, Reddit is here to educate the masses.
Men of the Internet came together to confess the most irritating, daunting, and depressing aspects of maleness. The answers, while sometimes hilarious, are also quite enlightening. There are a few banal answers below, but some men were very honest and raw with their outpourings. Here are some of the most revealing answers up for grabs:
The frustrated YaZEUS starts out with a not-too surprising contribution:
“Making the first move towards girls, might not seem like much but man it really is.”
Then user Grayphobia takes the concept to a gut-punching level:
“Asked a girl for her number yesterday. She replied ‘Why?’ and I f*cking died inside.”
Reincarn8ed speaks of the pressure of sex-drive stereotypes:
“I’m expected to perform in bed at the drop of a hat. Like ‘oh, I’ll just show him my boobies and he’ll be ready to go.’ Guys like foreplay too. Women aren’t the only ones who would love a back and foot massage after coming home from work. And I might have a higher sex drive than my SO, but it doesn’t mean I’m always on. When she’s not in the mood, I’m like ‘it’s cool, I got this on my own.’ When I’m not in the mood, she’s like ‘you don’t think I’m pretty anymore!’ “
Whereas BeDievisLTU applies these relationship pressures to date planning:
“I am expected to be one who engages in relationship. ‘You are the guy, you must start taking to me/think were to go/ do all the stuff.’ Sometimes I wish for a girl who equally participates in relationship.”
ReasontoSmiles talks about the plight of the unattractive man:
“Being ugly will instantly earn you the title of ‘creep’ or ‘weirdo,’ even if you’re a nice guy trying to help someone out with the best of intentions. Conversely, I can’t see the downside of being an attractive male.”
Then DearOccupant counters with the downside of being far too pretty:
“I can see the downside of being an attractive male. Nobody thinks you have any actual problems and they expect you to be good at everything as if your entire life only exists in some f*cking movie.”
Jef1111 gets down with the biological downsides of being a dude:
“Honestly? Having a scrotum/external gonads. Do you know how much I would love to have my testicles internal like a woman’s ovaries. To never need to fear a hot day where the sweat produced down there produces a weak adhesive between your sack and you legs. To never need to readjust my nuts because I pulled up my underwear wrong. Scrotums…f*cking scrotums man…”
User Krebstarpatron talks about the difficulty of locker-room politics:
“Dealing with douche bags. There’s a strong social pressure to ‘stand your ground’ and not be disrespected. You can usually laugh it off and take the high road, but if someone disrespects a woman you’re with? Now you have to get in this a**hole’s world rather than just walk away, even though nothing can be gained by it other than some perceived protection of your status as a man.”
CallMeMombo feels the pressure of seemingly unreachable societal expectations, which are hard to argue against:
“When you’re a guy you’re expected to be strong, not cry, not care about anyone’s feelings but you’re own, hold your emotions in and to never share them, athletic, intelligent, the breadwinner in the family, hold a well paying job (compared to your girlfriend/wife), be up for sex 24/7, be good with tools or fixing things, know how to handle every situation, etc. We’re not allowed to have faults, or to be things that ‘aren’t manly.'”
Things get dark really fast with DrDocPhd‘s observations of male troubles:
“Being unwanted. Disposable. I volunteer at my church during homeless feedings. I can count on one hand the number of girls I’ve seen come in. The vast majority are older men, hunched over with tired eyes and 20 layers of clothes. Too nervous to ask for a second helping, even though we know it’s gonna be their only meal for a few days … I’ve never seen a movie where a girl fights tooth and nail to save a guy. I’ve never read a book where a man gets to ask for help before any other option is exhausted.”
Well, one guy goes even darker, but you’ll have to visit Reddit to see why. Kudos to (most of) these guys for laying themselves bare on the internet.
(Via Reddit)