ADVERTISEMENT

Being humble enough to accept when you’ve been wrong, and being curious enough to keep learning new things (even when your ego wants to get in the way) are two very good qualities to have as a human being.

It’s important to know the basics of life on Earth. Sadly, one area of knowledge that seems to be very much neglected is what some men know about women’s bodies and reproduction. In some cases, the misinformation they take as fact is simply staggering. You've been warned.

Sabrina Fonfeder, a development executive, noted that men should not make any decisions about women’s bodies, and gave an example of how little about biology some men know. One of her exes, for example, thought that all women got their period on the 15th of the month. The tweet quickly went viral and other women pitched in with similar horror stories.

Sabrina, who created the viral thread, was kind enough to answer Bored Panda's questions. She believes that men having major misconceptions about women is a problem with education.

"We're not taught anything about women because we're supposed to be these beautiful specimens. Get rid of your body hair, periods are gross, and don't get me started on pregnancy and labor and all the things women aren't taught their own bodies until they've given birth," she told Bored Panda. "There is so much shame about just existing as a woman that we don't ever talk about anything that makes us look like less than a supermodel."

Image credits: Sabrinafon

#1

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

probsabot2 Report

Add photo comments
POST
viviane_katz avatar
-
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Horrible man - and some government reps agreed with him. Basically, the bill defined a fertilized egg as an “unborn child” - so a blastocyst has more rights than the woman carrying it. The bill also included life imprisonment and the death penalty for abortions.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

In Sabrina's opinion, changing the education system in a meaningful way can definitely be done. "More women in charge would be a good start. But also it's not that hard to look at what other countries do and just do that. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here," she said that there are already great examples out there. All it takes is the courage to follow in their footsteps.

Bored Panda also wanted to get Sabrina's opinion on what grown men can do to educate themselves about basic biology. In her opinion, there's no excuse for ignorance, considering the wealth of information at everyone's fingertips.

"Men can simply... read? There has never been more access to information on any topic, so I'd tell any man to do some googling and they'll get what they're looking for. Otherwise, ask a woman in your life questions and come from a place of humility," she said.

"If you scroll through the replies of my Tweet, many women talk about their male partners being adamant even when they are wrong about basic biology, and then yelling when they're told they're wrong. That's extremely annoying. I don't think they'll face any sort of shame if they ask questions from a place of genuine curiosity and a willingness to learn."

ADVERTISEMENT

The situation when it comes to knowledge about reproduction is pretty sad in some parts of the United States. According to SIECUS, only 29 states and the District of Columbia actually mandate sex education. Meanwhile, 35 states require schools to focus on abstinence when talking about sex ed.

Shockingly, a whopping 15 states “do not require sex education or HIV/STI instruction to be any of the following: age-appropriate, medically accurate, culturally responsive, or evidence-based/evidence-informed.” What this means is that in some areas of the country, students might be misinformed at the school level.

#4

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

KellyAnneRodak Report

Add photo comments
POST
saragregory0508 avatar
NsG
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ooh, so this is the corresponding argument that a C-section means you aren't a real mum. So C-sections result in entirely fictional people! I'm sitting on my hands reading these so I don't facepalm myself into a coma.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

SaraBlacklock Report

Add photo comments
POST
gangsterghost avatar
Nathaniel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look at all us men queuing up for prostate exams, because of course it is so pleasurable.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

This isn’t the first time that Bored Panda has written about the misconceptions that men have about women. Earlier, 21-year-old Cataleya Jackson went viral after tackling the topic. She gave us an in-depth look at the reasons behind all the wrong info, cultural stigmas, and sex ed.

"One of my friends had a hilarious misconception about periods and my friends and I had laughed about it. They thought that periods just never end, that we'd be 99 on our death beds and still bleeding out,” she told Bored Panda about the extent to which some people are misinformed.

ADVERTISEMENT
#7

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

excuseme_misss Report

Add photo comments
POST
zora24_1 avatar
Trillian
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

D***s are related to pregnancy too so no alcohol for you guys

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

"In my country, we do have sex education at ages 13, 15 and again at 17 (if they've opted to study biology in 11th and 12th grade otherwise it's just at the former 2 ages). It's very scientific and doesn't leave space for questions about things that actually matter, things that happen in real-life,” she said that the education part is pretty sterile and removed from reality.

#11

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

KRoftheAR Report

Add photo comments
POST
lizzyngreg640 avatar
Lovencaress
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My ex boyfriend asked did I need winter or summer pads because it was in the spring time he thought bigger pads were for winter and smaller size for summer like the bigger they we're they kept you warm

mrob avatar
M Rob
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey at least he was trying to learn = credit and if he asked cause he was picking some up for you ... 100X credit!!!

Load More Replies...
amytaylor_1 avatar
Amy Taylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had this one friend who was king of shading me for using super plus tampons... I had severe endometriosis and had 2 crime scene level periods a month. She said "I'm too small for those" and I responded.. "That tells me a lot about your man's D" lol

johngordonp avatar
Emperor Kitten
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Double oofs on this one, because he also thought y'all get... Roomier with each partner

angelanagel avatar
Yoga Kitty
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...but only if it's different partners - after more than three sex partners it is like throwing a sausage in a cathedral! If you only sleep with your husband you magically stay tight that only he fits like a key in a lock... /s

Load More Replies...
dawnsardella-ayres avatar
Mrs. Jan Glass
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Men are ridiculous about this. I had an ex attempt to shame me -- after he cheated on me, lied to me, and got me pregnant-- by claiming I was "loose." Sweetie, that's just a tell on your tiny d**k. Vaginas do not get "loose" related to the amount of sex we have or don't have, and your penis is not enough to stretch it out significantly on any permanent basis. Vaginas literally push out 10lb babies. Your p****r is not that special.

sidtomlin avatar
catski2424 avatar
Nemo
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tampons come in sizes like small, medium and super. Woman are stretchy down there. In general we don't use small tampons because we're small, we don't use super tampons because we're extra wide (with exceptions offcourse) but we choose the size of the tampon on how much blood we loose. Sometimes you need a small for a day (although it's not reccomended to wear tampons more than 8 hours, you can read up on toxic shock syndrome) sometimes a super will last you an hour

Load More Replies...
harperhale-gibson avatar
HarperTheCentaur (they/them)
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also super is the medium size. I know it SOUNDS big, but that is less wide than a thumb. Source: am a vagina owner.

htodaizzle avatar
h to da izzle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i must admit that i thought that women use tampons matching their size of their vaginas. but not that the size is related to the sexual partners you had

suzi63 avatar
Sue
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'll have to look if there's a website that debunks sexual/reproduction myths.

katkatkatrocks avatar
pink_panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Try the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You, or for a more feminist/politically engaged take, Unladylike.

Load More Replies...
narutonobakka avatar
Kantami Blossom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're going to buy tampons for a women just get the brand she wants, it's morons thinking into it too deeply that just makes us men look dumber than we already do.

himorythedreamer avatar
Himory TheDreamer
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tbh I'm pretty sure my mom believes that as well as she's doubtful when I mention virgin or rather young people using tampons as she thinks only married women would be big enough for it. And honestly I'm not sure how tampon sizing works myself.

davcarro-ripalda avatar
Dav Carro-Ripalda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excuse my ignorance, but i've never heard of seasonal pads. I grew surrounded by three women and i was always the shopping person so I knew their sizes/fluxes, but, their season? Can anybody illustrate me on this, please?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

“Most people don't even learn, they just memorize it to be able to reproduce it during the exams, and then they forget all of it. We need better education, and it has to be more informative and relatable than scientific," Cataleya said.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to the woman, there’s a lot of stigma surrounding sex ed. And it needs to be erased. She shared an example of what happened when she was in the 6th grade.

"They called away all the girls from classes, brought us to an auditorium to discuss periods and what they are, why they happen, what we should do, etc. They gave us packets of pads and told us to keep them in our lockers for emergencies. Their heart was in the right place, but by only asking the girls to attend this, they ensured that periods became some sort of mythical and curious event in the minds of all the boys," she said.

#17

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

theyondan Report

Add photo comments
POST
adiiantryx avatar
adiiantryx
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

periods came before calendars would be a small hint to some on this list

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

"[The boys] were not educated, they remained ignorant to what should be essential information to them. And of course, we all scrambled to hide our pads because we all thought we would rather be caught dead than holding a packet of them. They teased us about it and we, being only 11, had nothing to say to defend ourselves because the stigma around periods is very strong in my country."

In some cases, the stigma is so deeply-entrenched, that it would take more than a bit of education to change things. "I have friends whose own parents make them sit on mats on the floor when they are on their periods because they are considered impure and should not touch anything in the house," Cataleya told us.

#22

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

MzStrega Report

Add photo comments
POST
gfstaylor avatar
GFSTaylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was aged about 13 or 14 when our general science teacher (not one of the biology teachers) told the mixed class that the pill was something that needed to be taken every day. "If a boy offers you a single pill and tells you that's all you need to be safe, then he's lying." I can't remember how the topic came up (this was back in the early 80's), but it was sound advice.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#23

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

Lolibangbang Report

Add photo comments
POST
cshikany avatar
Poultry Geist
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We like to drag it out so we can be a bit€h longer ! I use to push it all out at once but not anymore sometimes I make it last up to 10 day just so I can be mean for a 3rd of the month ! Good times

View more commentsArrow down menu

"Some women aren't allowed to enter the kitchen or the prayer room, they're not allowed to leave the house. A majority of women in my country have no access to pads or tampons and use cloth which causes infection and prevents them from being able to earn a living. I could go on and on about how bad it is here for a lot of women," she said.

#25

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

audreygriswold Report

Add photo comments
POST
gangsterghost avatar
Nathaniel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Marjorie, you can have a break from the housework between 2pm and 3pm, if you could just schedule to have your period then please.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

skittavly Report

Add photo comments
POST
evaw81 avatar
Eva
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whenever I see a sex scene in a movie I think of the misinformation men get. I mean, 2 minutes of kissing und then the actual sex, and another two minutes later the woman has the loudest orgasm. No hands were anywhere near the clit. That may work for 1% of all women, I don't know but for most women it doesn't. Stop with the unrealistic sex scenes and stop fakeing orgasms, lol!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Even though most people hate feeling embarrassed, there’s no shame in admitting that you were wrong about something. "There's no shame in it if you're 30 and have misconceptions about periods. It is sad that you may not have educated yourself about it, but there's absolutely no shame in asking women to educate them or to start reading online themselves. Sex Ed is so important," Cataleya told us.

#29

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

sims_simiyu Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#35

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

TitanicMafia05 Report

Add photo comments
POST
saragregory0508 avatar
NsG
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've known women who also make that mistake regarding pad placement (so the husband wouldn't exactly be wrong!). Sex education is lacking for *both* sexes in some places.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

CocoMentos Report

Add photo comments
POST
apoijarvi avatar
Anna
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I didn't know you needed it. I just thought you like to store useless stuff in your vagina for no reason."

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#40

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

SherriStGD Report

Note: this post originally had 89 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.