35 False Stereotypes About Men That Need To End NOW (According To 35 Men)
1. Men are horrible parents.
“When it comes to custody that the mom is assumed to be the better parent, the Dad has to prove it.”
2. Men cannot be victims of domestic violence.
“‘Men cannot be victims of domestic violence.’
Here in the UK, if you report an instance of being on the receiving end of domestic violence, theirs a higher chance of the police coming and arresting you then any action taken against your partner.”
3. Men are all cheaters.
“I’m 60. Of the hundreds of men I’ve met and gotten to know in my whole life, I know of only 2 have cheated on their wives or girlfriends.
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, and there were probably more I didn’t know about, but the men I know don’t do that.”
4. Men aren’t romantic.
“That I only want to hook up with girls at college. I actually prefer to date and be romantic, and have a hard time having non-intimate sexual relations.”
5. Men should always pay for the date.
“Why do I always have to pay for dinner when we go out? Women have money, too.”
6. Men are bumbling fathers.
“THE BUMBLING FATHER. MY RAGE ON THIS COULD POWER CITIES!! Every time I see that guy in the car commercial fail-throw the baseball to his kid, I see red.
Every fucking sitcom about a family makes the dad out to be a 3rd child, along for the ride.
The ‘oh honey sorry, I blew our savings on nachos.’ All that shit. Why are we as a culture attacking fathers and fatherhood? It makes no sense and I take it VERY personally.”
7. Men are all sexist.
“That all men are sexist; I found it is often used as an excuse for women to be sexist.”
8. Men are always the aggressors and women are always the victims.
“We are always the aggressors and women are always the victims. Unlike what you white knights think, women can do wrong and men can be victims.”
9. Men who show emotions are weak.
“That being a nice guy that actually has emotions means he is weak. I didn’t know being human was weak.”
10. Men are all rapists.
“Three was this fun moment a few years ago, where a prominent ‘feminist’ made the statement that all men would rape, given the chance.
I mentioned this to my close female friends, and was met with ‘yeah but it’s only the law stopping you right? If there was no punishment, you’d do it.’
Despite knowing me more than long enough to know that I’d never do that, because I’m male I’m incapable of understanding why rape is bad. Brilliant. Thanks, guys.”
11. Men are all privileged.
“That men are privileged. No we are not. Men are more likely to commit suicide. Can’t opt out of parenthood. Get higher jail time than woman if we look at the same crime. Are expected to sacrifice their lives for others.
Expected to provide all the income to support the family. Keep quite if we have a problem. Have less support system in case of homelessness. And above all there are very few organization helping men but thousands helping woman.”
12. Men can’t have female friends without wanting to fuck them.
“That men are incapable of having female friends they don’t explicitly want to fuck. Yes, she is attractive. But why would that be the only reason I’m talking to her? Women have conversational abilities, too.”
13. Men can’t cook.
“Anytime I cook or bake something and bring it into work the ladies are always so surprised that a man can cook AND bake. I always feel weirded out by it, it’s sexism but not intended to be mean. They just make such a big deal and feel the need to remark upon it. My thought process is embarrassment followed by, ‘Can’t everyone?’”
14. Men who call children ‘cute’ are closet pedophiles.
“On the Internet I have been called a pedo for saying a male or female toddler looked cute in their Halloween costume. I have been accused of being a pedo because of a picture that was taken of me playing with my 2-year-old nephew who had found the remote to his mom’s bed. She has one of those beds you can raise or lower the head or feed on.
She uses it to help her get out of bed because of a back injury. he found the remote and was playing with it when I caught him. In the picture I am holding him laughing and he is smiling. Because he doesn’t have a shirt on there are people who thought it was terrible taste.
Fucking really? He’s my nephew, he’s two, and he’s a he. Grow up, Internet.”
15. Men don’t deserve primary custody.
“When I got divorced my lawyer told me flat out, ‘You will never get primary custody because you are the man.’ No matter that I have a steady job, perfect record, combat veteran, whatever. That’s just how it works. My son was a newborn. I had to write out a written statement pleading with the judge to grant me joint custody, making the case that I could be a good father and deserved to be involved in my son’s life.
Thankfully, I did get joint custody, but it doesn’t really count for much. My ex has moved twice to other states since we separated. The first time I got a job nearby her and moved to be near my son. The second time she moved somewhere across the country that doesn’t have jobs in my industry.
So basically it sucks to be a man in this situation. I have a lot of sadness because I feel like I’m letting him down and I never really had the chance to be there for him. People also immediately assume that you’re some kind of dead beat dad when you tell them you have a kid and he lives in another state with his mom. It’s not like I’ve ever had any choice in this, I’m just doing the best I can with a shitty situation.”
16. Men cannot be sensitive.
“That we cannot be sensitive, artistic/creative, etc. basically that you need to like physical things, sex, and be aggressive.
I think all men are a mix on a spectrum of this, just like women.
Edit: Apparently a lot of people don’t have reading comprehension skills. My comment was made because I was saying this is a stereotype I disagree with. Not agree with. Stop listing creative men. I know, that’s why I made the comment.”
17. Men are emotionless robots.
“That we can all suck up our problems like emotionless robots.
Then you realize the reason you’ve been feeling like shite for the last 6 months stems from that break up that you never really just talked about with someone, because you just can’t risk crying in front of a colleague.”
18. Men with children are pedophile creeps.
“I took my son to the playground the other day. There were other kids there with their moms. I was pushing my son on the swing and a girl came and swung next to us. Her mom ran up and yelled at the girl that she should not be going around random creeps. I bet if I had yoga pants and no beard, I’d be mom of the year.”
19. Men can’t be raped.
“That men can’t be raped. Anybody can be a victim of sexual abuse regardless of gender.”
20. Men are fine with being rejected and never getting to feel desired.
“That we’re fine with rejection and never getting to feel desired.
I can’t ever remember the last time that a woman ever complimented me.
When dating, I can’t ever remember a time when the woman initiated it, wanted to plan additional dates, or, for instance, offered to buy me anything. Basically, it seems like romance is something you do to women, and their mere presence is enough.
Guys need to feel validated and desirable, too.”
21. Men are just looking for a hole.
“That male sexuality is simple, and we’re just looking for a hole.”
22. Men are not good at anything inside the home.
“Men are not good at anything inside the home. My wife is a good cook but my food is legendary. I put a lot of hard work into it. Every time I bring in my cooked from scratch meals that I slave over every morning to try and stay healthy and the office smell it at lunch I always get the ‘what did your wife make for you?’ and then the ‘My wife ALWAYS cooks for me’ shtick.”
23. Men are gross and unclean.
“That we’re gross and unclean. Just because it’s true for me, doesn’t make it true for everyone!”
24. Men can’t be stylish if they aren’t gay.
“Lots of child talk in here already, so I’ll go with the one that a guy can’t be stylish and well-kept (or, hell, even just not a slob) without being considered ‘gay.’”
25. Men don’t have problems because the world is made for them.
“That we don’t have problems because the world is made for us.
Yeah, lots of powerful positions are held by men, but they don’t turn around and make things easier for the rest of us. They’re there to help themselves. We have to look out for ourselves, and oftentimes, with things like breakups, we internalize what we’re feeling not because we don’t have anyone to go to, as other posters are saying, because we don’t want to burden other people with our problems. We know that everyone has their issues that they’ve got to deal with, and to a certain extent, we don’t want to add to those issues by lumping ours on top of them.”
26. Men shouldn’t cry.
“That we are not supposed to cry or do ‘girlie’ things. I am a 6’8″, 260-pound, big motherfucker. I watch Hallmark with my wife. I read romance novels sometimes. I cry. So what?”
27. Men can’t talk to a woman without hitting on them.
“My single largest resentment is that women assume you’re hitting on them if you talk to them.
A few weeks ago, a woman had a flat tire at an intersection. I honked at her and told her to roll her window down. She opened with ‘I have a boyfriend.’
What kind of dehumanizing piece of trash do you have to be to behave like that and why is this more common?”
28. Men are dirtier than women.
“Go clean the Men and Women toilet and come back and tell me men are dirtier than women.”
29. Men should always make the first move.
“That it’s the man’s job to take initiative in relationships. Expected to ask the girl out, pursue the girl, make the first move, initiate sex throughout the relationship, because apparently that’s all men want. I’ve experienced all of these assumptions more than I care to admit. It’s exhausting, and frankly I’m sick of it. We want to feel wanted, surprised, and be pursued as well. If we don’t appeal to this stereotype women typically take it personally. They think we aren’t attracted to them anymore, or something akin to that, when in reality we just wanted change the dynamic a bit. God forbid we want reciprocation.”
30. Men are less complex than women.
“That men are less ‘complex’ than women.
It’s such a widely accepted idea, and yet it’s such bullshit. Yes, women can be very complex, but so can men. It all depends on the person. Most people would say men care about looks and it doesn’t take much to turn them on, but I honestly couldn’t care less about what the media considers sexy. I’m attracted to a variety of characteristics including intelligence, modesty, and drive. But it also depends on my self-image at the time and how the other person seems to value me (or not) in everyday conversation. Sometimes I can get really protective of female friends in a non-romantic way.
You might even call it…complex.”
31. Men are not supposed to show emotions or ask for help with mental health.
“Men are not supposed to show emotions or ask for help with mental health. This is why men commit suicide 4-5 times more often than women.
Men cannot be raped or abused. This is why boys who are abused or molested by adult women are usually ridiculed or ignored.
Men are always the aggressors in domestic violence situations. If a woman beats her husband and he calls the police, he is very likely to get arrested.
Men are expected to work and support their children, and in some cases even their ex-wives. This is why the government forces men to pay alimony and child support.
Men are ‘privileged’ and therefore not deserving of legal protections. This is why bars and nightclubs can charge men more for entry and no one cares, but if a pharmacy sells a pink razor for 25 cents more than the blue one, society throws a fit.”
—cld8
32. Men don’t want real relationships.
“That we generally don’t want real relationships or need actual emotional contact in them.
I personally care a lot more about being able to be emotionally vulnerable and transparent with an actual partner than I do about notches on the belt. Always been that way.
Even most women tell me that’s a ridiculous standard for a man to have.”
33. Men don’t listen.
“That we don’t listen. We just don’t care about 90% of what you think is interesting.”
34. Men don’t get hurt when you kick them in the balls—actually, it’s funny.
“The stereotype that you can just kick a guy in the balls and ha ha it’s funny/acceptable. People don’t realize that can cause permanent, and in some cases lethal results. It’s borderline sexual assault and it’s disgusting when people think that’s funny.”
35. Men are the ones who should move out of the house after a breakup.
“Why are we the ones who always get kicked out of the house? Movies TV shows plays videos real life. There’s a fight the unemployed mom is the righteous one and the man working 60 hours a week to pay the rent isn’t. And he is the one who has to go sleep somewhere else. We’re viewed as lesser than women. like ‘YOU go find somewhere else to sleep. I paid for this house and I paid for this bed and I paid for that damn 100 dollar Fitbit you don’t use and I paid for that couch you sit on to watch the TV I paid for. don’t drive that car I paid for to wherever you’re going! Because I won’t let you use the gas I put in your car! Yeah bitch to your friends on the phone that I pay for monthly! Don’t forget to tell them about those 70-dollar haircuts you get on my card.’”