As many of you probably know, men are definitely from Mars and women are from Venus. Even if you have not read the book of the same name, it is already clear to everyone that male and female types of thinking are quite different, while each of the genders has its own specific features and behaviors.
Any communication with another person is a continuous process of study, analysis and simple curiosity (unless, of course, we are so selfish that we always listen only to our feelings and reactions). And so, in the process of such a study, even the most sophisticated people sometimes discover incredible interesting facts about others, which can be especially interesting if these facts concern another gender.
Recently, a question was asked in the AskReddit community on exactly this topic, addressed exclusively to women. It sounded like: "Women, what is a surprising fact you discovered about men?" We are not at all sure that among the people who wrote over 8.8K comments in just under two weeks were exclusively women, however, the resulting thread has already gained about 9.3K upvotes, and there are really a lot of different interesting discoveries.
Bored Panda has compiled for you a selection of the most unexpected, discouraging, funny and simply the most popular comments from the original thread, so now please feel free to scroll to the very end of this list, mark the submissions that are most interesting to you, and of course, share your own discoveries - if you're a woman. If a man - well, introspection can also bring a lot of great things, while comments are always welcome.
More info: Reddit
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Many men get an erection in the morning. Morning moves around the globe every 24 hours. This means that there is an erection wave that has been going around the globe without end since the beginning of any species with which this started.
That men rarely ever receive compliments in their lives. I purposely go out of my way to express even the smallest compliments in case they haven’t heard one for a long time.
That they suffer from gender stereotyping too.
That they are not criticizing women’s bodies as much as women are led to believe (maybe by themselves or whomever is driving this culture). They are far more acceptant of how women look like naturally than women themselves. This was such a game changer for me.
Well, growing up in a southern country town here in the U.S. A lot of my female friends never wore makeup and were more interested in shooting sports. They were always the most beautiful when they were just doing what they wanted and not focusing on their appearance. We had beauty pagents and stuff, high school girls that were obsessed with looks and all, but I never saw the appeal of that. They looked much better natural with the confidence that they were more than their appearance.
Most men don’t actually know how to fix things. They just pull it apart and put it back together again and hope for the best.
Fix-it-ability, like any other skill, requires training. It's not instinctual.
At my first job, I used to work mostly with women, then switched to IT and now it’s mostly men. I was surprised to learn that guys don’t hold a grudge as much as the women I worked with did. We’d have an argument on Friday, I was worked up about it all weekend and worried how it would affect our future relationship, then come Monday and boom…nothing. They genuinely seemed like they let it go. It’s a pretty sweet thing.
Most times it's easier just to let it go ..... No drama. Failing that a good fist fight solves most petty squabbles.
That they want to be loved as badly as we do and they’re also mushy gushy
I make no secret about this. My greatest dream has always been to have someone to share my life with.
Not surprising but i’m shocked that some women genuinely don’t think men suffer from mental health problems. I’ve heard “he’s lazy” or “he expects the woman to do everything” when 60% of the time it’s just him being depressed as s**t.
I can confirm. Sometimes you just don't want to get out of bed or do something because you just can't.
The fact that men really are physically stronger. I always assumed this was purely based on size but I'm a woman who works out every day (lifts weights, yoga, jogging/peloton.) My older brother doesn't exercise outside of an occasional hike. He's 4inches taller than me and 10 lbs lighter than I am (I'm a dress size 0 or 2.) He's faster than me on a hike (including backpacking) and can lift up heavier things. It makes me SO angry.
That most men don’t care that your stomach isn’t flat.
When they say they don't know why they feel a certain way they ACTUALLY don't know. I find it crazy and I couldn't trust it the first times.
Well we're told to "man up" or whatever from such a young age, it's not even not knowing why we feel a certain way. It's not even understanding what we're feeling.
We are told to man up, and then shouted at to cut out the “Toxic Masculinity.” It has never been harder in the entire history of the universe to be a man than it is right now. Edit: I exaggerated a little to add some je ne sais quoi to my comment. Please forgive me for any hard feelings I’ve caused.
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And, for the most part, if you ask a man "what are you thinking about?" and he replies "nothing", he's probably not lying. I had an ex that would get frustrated at that interaction, but I wasn't trying to hide anything, I was just not thinking about anything in particular. Most of my thoughts are just stream-of-consciousness; I'm not captain of the ship I'm a barnacle just along for the ride lol.
Not a male vs female thing. My wife says this to me all the time. I have a pretty good handle on my motivations.
Men and women are equally capable of empathy and emotions, but men are told they aren't supposed to engage with that, and so they are typically very stunted. It's like learning a new language, you can't expect to be able to understand it without practice
As a man, I can confirm. Not only have we been raised with an extremely limited set of emotions that we're allowed to express, but we don't have the experience talking about them. I'm a pretty intelligent, articulate guy, but when my wife wants to talk about what I'm feeling or why, I can't think of what words I should use - IF I even know what I'm feeling in the first place! It's incredibly frustrating. It's like the right words haven't been created yet. We started watching Brene Brown's "Atlas of the Heart" show on Hulu, which describes the various emotions, exactly what they are, what words should be used to describe them, and how they affect us emotionally. Bottom line: English is a very poor language for taking about something so complex. Be patient with us, ladies, some of us are really trying.
Sometimes, for example during an argument, it's scary to myself when I put precisely into words what was formerly just hovering around in my mind rather undefinedly. Expressing feelings is absolute fire, I highly recommend it.
The only emotion that's really safe for boys and men is anger, so when we have anything other than anger we struggle.
This is the end result of decades of repression being confused for stoicism.
we weren't raised to pick apart and analyze and then label our feelings. so yes we feel, a lot, but we can't say exactly what.
In the process of teaching my husband of 20 years how to tell what he’s feeling
As boys we are taught to deny our emotions, fear, sadness, anger, even affection are all no nos. For many of us, the way we learn to deal with emotions is by detaching from them. So it’s not surprising that so many of us have trouble understanding our own emotions. How am I supposed to know what I’m feeling when I was always told that I shouldn’t feel anything at all?
I don't see the connection with the statement: When they say they don't know why they feel a certain way they ACTUALLY don't know.
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We're only really allowed to display 2 maybe 3 emotions. Happy, mad, and love. Fear? He's a p*ssy. Sad? He's a crybaby. Worry? Man-up, Nancy. Emotional& physical weakness? 🙄 Some man YOU are. It's a huge fear of mine and most men, to be looked at as less of a man. So I don't talk about anything with anybody. A lot of us don't.
I consider myself quite self aware, emotionally speaking. But sometimes I am just down in the dumps despite there being nothing wrong. Other times I am upbeat despite having to firefight. Is this a man thing? I just assume it happens to everyone...
Males are taught by society, and sometimes by their own parents, that being sensitive and understanding is not masculine, and they have to suppress their feelings so they won't appear "soft" and many men don't possess the ability to define emotions, much less understand why they're feeling something.
When asked this I find the best response is to reply with a question, "how would you feel if you were in my position?" Then I might agree or disagree but it can help me find clarity on the original question.
My experience is that most people (men or women) don't know why we are have the emotions we are having. At least not in the moment. Otherwise we wouldn't need therapists
Could it be that women are convinced that they have to have an answer for EVERYTHING? Sometimes, and even oftentimes, there just isn't a concrete reason for feeling a kind of way, whatever it might be. Deal with it, or don't.
we can usually figure it out if we analise it enough over a few says.
It's weird to me that women can't relate to this... you always know _why_ you're feeling a certain way about something? If you think so, I promise you it's not true. Society has forced so many thoughts on us that we have no responsibility for or control over. :( Also see: "They" by Jem.
yep. we arent overthinking in general. mostly we're just wondering what's wrong with the car.
I think your comment ended up under the wrong entry? I fixed your downvote 🤘
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That if you show them exactly how much you appreciate them they are more likely to be motivated to complete a task than if you nag them.
They only pretend to not like gentle affection. Lay your head in my lap and let me pet you you know you like it you fall asleep within minutes.
We're like dogs really! We'd like nothing more than to curl up on the sofa, head on your lap, and get stroked while we doze.
that they have a whole set of unsaid rules about where to pee in public bathrooms
I am constantly floored by how little some men know about their close friends’ lives! I know multiple men who speak to their best friends super regularly, but could not say with certainty if they’re single, what kind of work they do/where they work, etc. I don’t understand it at all, but I just keep meeting men like this.
Some actually want a real relationship and not just f**k
Actually, most of us chaps who managed to get to being a grown up (at whatever age) want precisely that, some of us are actually an ickle bit romantic too x
That 80% of the time they concretely mean exactly what they say, which is why only 20% of the time they understand what I’m saying.
So, knowing this, why wouldn't you (a woman) say what you mean? why play games? why want them to read your mind? why getting pissed at them for something you saw in your sleep? And after all, complain about not having proper communication... This is not always the case, but i have seen it over and over between many couples
when they wake up, they just sit down and stare at nothing for a good 5 minutes...
That when a guy is invested in a girl they are oblivious to other flirting women.
When my husband and I were still dating I saw women hitting on him so bad and he not realizing these women were hitting on him was jaw dropping.
Me: what do those 2 girls wanted? (All dresse up with drinks in their hand)
Edit2: girls were all smiling, giggling and doing the hair thing. And I kept an eye on those 2... they did not go to the restroom after talking to him.
My husband: they wanted to know where the bathrooms were.
Me: dude, these women knew where the bathrooms are, they just wanted to make small talk with you.
My husband: nah, i told the the bathrooms were over there.
Me: 🤯
He was being nice. He realises. And it's weird, because the minute you're in a relationship as a guy, it seems women start throwing themselves at you. Whether it's because without the nerves of chatting up you notice signals more, or that being in a relationship makes you more attractive to women, I really have no idea.
You guys really can love and be faithful
Considering the environment I grew up, that’s surprising
We can, more than we're given credit for actually lol (I do acknowledge however that it's not all of us).
Men like things that women seem to be insecure about
The man in the photo is leading the woman up to the edge of an erupting volcano. We do that stuff all the time.
how much they touch you
my boyfriend won’t let me sit away from him when we’re together (long distance pain :,) and he’d be touching me in some way- hand on my leg, twisting my hair with his fingers, holding my wrist while he scrolls on his phone or looming over my shoulders while I eat and on. I find it funny when while standing he absent-mindedly holds my waist instead of keeping his hand on his xD
Sometimes its good to just "fade out" you know. Let the brain go on autopilot and not think about anything "important".
ProTip: take heed of surroundings -- do not stumble over walkway obstructions.
It took me way too long to notice public bathrooms don't keep toilet paper near urinals and the implications of that scar me to this day.
I learned something! Men prefer oval shaped toilets over round so they have somewhere to put their dangly bits! I had no clue round toilets caused squishing before we bought a new toilet. Husband hasn't shut up about how much roomier it is. Might have something to do with how hilarious the convos get though!
Is Bored Panda part of the Reddit Company? I've also seen shared posts on the Chive Nation from here too and Vice Versa. Are all media outlets merging? It's so boring seeing the same posts on different media platforms ...
they copypaste off reddit. I prefer it here because reddit is really hard to follow with the indents and indents...
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I concur with the frustration of how men are so often naturally physically gifted. I also lift weights, work out, do strong girl things, but can't hold a candle compared to even skinny dudes! It's really annoying. I can still win arm wrestling contests against my 9yo son but I know even those days are numbered!
This is why transwomen beat women in sports but you will never see a transman even make it into the men's team.
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As much as i like this article, none of it is new info LOL. upvote anyway
Ay other men out there dislike for women to wear high heels? Or just not care? You couldn't design a dumber, barely functional shoe. Yet I get told all the time how men love them, but I have always suspected it is more of a competition among women.
Personally, I hate high heels. The clacking sound they make sends a chill up my spine.
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It’s nice to see more mention of men being able to be emotionally honest and loving. I know that growing up in the 80s as someone who wore their emotions on their sleeve, who liked tenderness, and who eschewed violence and braggadocio I was often ridiculed my most other boys, most men, and quite a few girls, too, as a “wimp” “p***y” f*****t” etc. I think this is changing, and men are more and more allowed to be fully realized human beings, not just stifled bags of anger and frustration. I see more and more men that are much more masculine than me, with typical “manly” interests, that can freely express themselves with their partners, their children and their animals. I love seeing some big ol’ bearded biker doting on his little Frenchie in a doggie sweater! That WOULD NOT have happened 40 years ago!
"men are more and more allowed to be fully realized human beings." Well...not by women.
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It was quite refreshing to read a post about things women learned about men, after seeing so many vice versa. I'd say we need more of these, but really a lot of the items in either apply to humans in general, not necessarily by gender
Nonsense. You're gonna give a medal to Bored Panda for asking about the experience of being male in a male-dominated world? While we're at it, let's ask Sauron about the trials of being an omniscient force of malevolence in a world he has made in his own image. Stop acting like the oppressor's story is as compelling as that of the people they oppress.
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And another round of stereotypes and general assumptions, this time about men. Come on, people are super different, men are much more diverse than the hypothetical "average man". The average man or the average woman does not exist IRL. You really need to look at the person before you.
True, but a lot of these are true for a huge majority of blokes, so I don't feel stereotyped.
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Yeah, none of this is surprising, y'all just live in your own little worlds, don't you? The only thing that is surprising (though I've heard it many times), is the whole "not thinking about anything" thing, I just can't wrap my head around that. Like I already have heard about it a ton, so the fact that it's a thing for guys isn't surprising, but the ability to do that is surprising, I just can't see it
Sorry - what is this for? To cuddle up to the "unseen" trials that men experience? Honey, yall boys got nobody to blame but the patriarchy. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SAYING. Capitalism, colonialism, slavery - the psychology of these things CANNOT EXIST without the psychology of the patriarchy - the notion that some humans are made for success, while others are made for servitude. It's a lot easier to see a tribe of people as "less than" when you've already made that distinction in your own wife. Barbarism begins at home, kids. You don't like it? Cede power. We're not making these requirements of you. Nobody relates to the "hero" who faces no hardship. If you want anyone to sing when you're winning, they have to see how you behave when you lose. I really don't want to hear about the "unseen" troubles of men when we live in a world where the #1 killer of women is femicide. We are not equal, as men have made abundantly clear. Neither are men's struggles equal to those of the women they dominate.
So when a woman says on TV that women are unfit to be President, who would be at fault for that? If it's her, that would mean women DO contribute to preservation of the patriarchy. I can easily imagine someone saying, "She was indoctrinated by the patriarchy!" Fair enough, but why is indoctrination only a valid excuse for women? Have men NOT been indoctrinated by the patriarchy? Isn't criticizing men for a bad thing and then tolerating the same bad thing from women kind of like holding women to a LOWER standard than men?
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I learned something! Men prefer oval shaped toilets over round so they have somewhere to put their dangly bits! I had no clue round toilets caused squishing before we bought a new toilet. Husband hasn't shut up about how much roomier it is. Might have something to do with how hilarious the convos get though!
Is Bored Panda part of the Reddit Company? I've also seen shared posts on the Chive Nation from here too and Vice Versa. Are all media outlets merging? It's so boring seeing the same posts on different media platforms ...
they copypaste off reddit. I prefer it here because reddit is really hard to follow with the indents and indents...
Load More Replies... I concur with the frustration of how men are so often naturally physically gifted. I also lift weights, work out, do strong girl things, but can't hold a candle compared to even skinny dudes! It's really annoying. I can still win arm wrestling contests against my 9yo son but I know even those days are numbered!
This is why transwomen beat women in sports but you will never see a transman even make it into the men's team.
Load More Replies... As much as i like this article, none of it is new info LOL. upvote anyway
Ay other men out there dislike for women to wear high heels? Or just not care? You couldn't design a dumber, barely functional shoe. Yet I get told all the time how men love them, but I have always suspected it is more of a competition among women.
Personally, I hate high heels. The clacking sound they make sends a chill up my spine.
Load More Replies... It’s nice to see more mention of men being able to be emotionally honest and loving. I know that growing up in the 80s as someone who wore their emotions on their sleeve, who liked tenderness, and who eschewed violence and braggadocio I was often ridiculed my most other boys, most men, and quite a few girls, too, as a “wimp” “p***y” f*****t” etc. I think this is changing, and men are more and more allowed to be fully realized human beings, not just stifled bags of anger and frustration. I see more and more men that are much more masculine than me, with typical “manly” interests, that can freely express themselves with their partners, their children and their animals. I love seeing some big ol’ bearded biker doting on his little Frenchie in a doggie sweater! That WOULD NOT have happened 40 years ago!
"men are more and more allowed to be fully realized human beings." Well...not by women.
Load More Replies... It was quite refreshing to read a post about things women learned about men, after seeing so many vice versa. I'd say we need more of these, but really a lot of the items in either apply to humans in general, not necessarily by gender
Nonsense. You're gonna give a medal to Bored Panda for asking about the experience of being male in a male-dominated world? While we're at it, let's ask Sauron about the trials of being an omniscient force of malevolence in a world he has made in his own image. Stop acting like the oppressor's story is as compelling as that of the people they oppress.
Load More Replies... And another round of stereotypes and general assumptions, this time about men. Come on, people are super different, men are much more diverse than the hypothetical "average man". The average man or the average woman does not exist IRL. You really need to look at the person before you.
True, but a lot of these are true for a huge majority of blokes, so I don't feel stereotyped.
Load More Replies... Yeah, none of this is surprising, y'all just live in your own little worlds, don't you? The only thing that is surprising (though I've heard it many times), is the whole "not thinking about anything" thing, I just can't wrap my head around that. Like I already have heard about it a ton, so the fact that it's a thing for guys isn't surprising, but the ability to do that is surprising, I just can't see it
Sorry - what is this for? To cuddle up to the "unseen" trials that men experience? Honey, yall boys got nobody to blame but the patriarchy. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SAYING. Capitalism, colonialism, slavery - the psychology of these things CANNOT EXIST without the psychology of the patriarchy - the notion that some humans are made for success, while others are made for servitude. It's a lot easier to see a tribe of people as "less than" when you've already made that distinction in your own wife. Barbarism begins at home, kids. You don't like it? Cede power. We're not making these requirements of you. Nobody relates to the "hero" who faces no hardship. If you want anyone to sing when you're winning, they have to see how you behave when you lose. I really don't want to hear about the "unseen" troubles of men when we live in a world where the #1 killer of women is femicide. We are not equal, as men have made abundantly clear. Neither are men's struggles equal to those of the women they dominate.
So when a woman says on TV that women are unfit to be President, who would be at fault for that? If it's her, that would mean women DO contribute to preservation of the patriarchy. I can easily imagine someone saying, "She was indoctrinated by the patriarchy!" Fair enough, but why is indoctrination only a valid excuse for women? Have men NOT been indoctrinated by the patriarchy? Isn't criticizing men for a bad thing and then tolerating the same bad thing from women kind of like holding women to a LOWER standard than men?
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