Women Are Opening Up About The Things We Wish Men Knew About Our Lives

It’s not every day we get to open ourselves up enough to others to have them pick our brains. When it comes to sharing our experiences with the opposite sex this truth goes double. After all, so many in the world believe its a man’s world. And while this reality might make it more accessible for us as women to imagine what men go through, surely men know very little about what it’s like to walk in our skin.

A Reddit post is giving women a chance to give men a slight glimpse in what’s it like to be a woman, check out some enlightening experiences below.

Wearing makeup to look professional.

“The expectation of wearing makeup to look professional. If you were to wear a professional outfit, say, a pantsuit or a nice dress, it appears incomplete without makeup or hair done. Natural curly hair is also viewed as unprofessional. Women have to invest so much more time into their appearance just to appear ‘professional.'”- dividebyzero9

Being polite to live.

“Being polite to douchebags as a survival tool.”- noiseferatu

The sexual innuendos at a young age.

“Having adult men make sexual comments to you as a child. I have been followed and heckled by men when travelling to and from school, in my school uniform. Strangely I don’t get it now as an adult, but wtf as a 13 year old I could not walk past a white van or building site without comments. Legitimate opinions, annoyances and concerns are dismissed as ‘being emotional’. Yet when men get angry or moody no one questions it.” – mmlemony

Life at work.

“The expectation that I, as a mother, have a greater parental responsibility. Allow me to give a few examples. First, if being a parent comes up in any work-environment, my ability to “balance” work and home is a topic of conversation. ALWAYS. I have witnessed the promotion of men over more qualified women of child-baring age because of concerns about work/life balance. I wish I could say this was once or twice, but I have dozens and dozens of examples to pick from. I have been flat out asked about my reproductive plans during interviews. My husband has never had conversations that resemble this at all. Second,if I am ever somewhere without my child, I am asked where my kid is. She’s at home- with her father! When there is a school issue, I’m always called first. I was actually called during work hours because I didn’t attend a school event in “honor” of mothers day. My husband did not receive a call when he couldn’t make it to the fathers day event at the same school. This is equally a slight against my husband, because he is often left out of interactions that involve our child when there is an equal chance that he would be the one who would be involved with planning and executing stuff for our child. He once called out of work because our child was ill, and he was directly asked where her mother was. He was just as offended as I was ( I married well!). He gets looked at strangely for sitting next to a playground, that he is at with our child!” – papillon24

Being considered unattractive because you’re aging.

“I’m a 43-year-old woman. The expectation of looking good…for my age is incredible. If I don’t look at least 5 years younger it’s like I failed something.
“Yeah but this actress or that model looks so good and she’s your age.” If I had a team of skin/hair/makeup specialists and was working full time on myself I would look great too.” – sonia72quebec

Men believing you’re incapable to even buy a car.

“Came here for this. When I went to buy my car, the car salesman goes, “Where’s your boyfriend? Working today?” I had not told him I had one, but of course that was the ONLY way poor little old me could be doing the actual purchasing of a vehicle. Which I proceeded to do, in cash, outright, with my own money that I had made. And then same thing when I’ve been looking for mechanics. Seems like even the most highly reviewed places have a slew of comments from women explaining how they tried to screw them over because they were a woman. It’s fucked.” – shopadope

Feeling uncomfortable about swimming.

“I don’t usually feel I can “just go swimming”. I need to shave, check time of the month, and feel comfortable in my own skin, which tends to prevent the snap decisions of “Let’s go swimming” I enjoyed as a kid.” – PintsizedPachyderm

The ongoing harassment.

“Being constantly harassed. Random dudes messaging me on social media offering sex just out of the blue. Business clients trying to get my personal contacts, finding me on Facebook. Couch trying to convince me I need ‘personal’ sessions which meant me staying after the hours in empty class with him, which I declined of course. Etc, etc. And I am not even pretty! I can only imagine what pretty girls go through.” – nicolaspussin

That feeling that adventures are limited.

“It’s unrealistic to think that all women will have the same ideas about what’s hard. But mine might be… My adventures are limited because of my gender. There are more things I shouldn’t do, and places in the world I shouldn’t go, than there are for men, because as a solo female traveler or adventurer, it’s not advisable. That kinda sucks. *Also: I have common sense. I am smart. My emotions sometimes overrule this. I am embarrassed but it’s part of who I am. Just know this and help me laugh about it. Don’t make me feel bad about it.” –Whoneedsyou

That our gender has everything to do with the quality of our work.

“Having virtually everything one does be preceded by the fact you’re a woman. Example: You’re not a programmer, you’re a female programmer. Certain women find benefits in accepting this sort of labeling, but it exists whether you like it or not. My gender has nothing to do with the quality of my work. It actually has very little to do with anything. Also, being comparable to other women – but this is something I feel is experienced by everyone in varying degrees. What another woman does/says to you has nothing to do with me; I shouldn’t have to answer for it. Women are humans and humans are different from one another. Everyone just relax. EDIT – Oi, quit flooding my inbox with the “Male Nurse” comparison. I understand. It happens to everyone, as I said originally. I only meant to point out that it happens to women quite often, and the distinction between “female” and “male” is unnecessary altogether when talking about occupation, for example. This goes beyond a minor annoyance when you consider how prevalent sexism is in many fields.” – logician-magician

It’s your fault you don’t want to bone.

“You’re a bitch for “friend-zoning” him and leading him on, when you never demonstrated romantic interest in the first place.” – goldstartup

The fear of being vulnerable.

“Men are assumed to be competent until they prove that they aren’t; women are assumed to be incompetent until they prove that they are. It’s really tough to get past that barrier in a lot of places, especially the workforce or in fields that are not traditionally ‘feminine’. Being afraid just to exist out in the world is another thing. There is just this constant undercurrent of fear that we all have, especially at night, especially alone. The feeling of vulnerability is just so hard to explain to someone who has never experienced it.” – Reddit user