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“I Can’t Tell If You’re Flirting”: Men Share 20 Things That They Struggle To Get Through To Women
Remember how John Gray said that men and women are from distinct planets – it is still believed by our society that no matter how hard we try, women won't understand men and vice versa. The common idea is that women are much more communicative and tend to express their feelings, whereas men are seen as more introverted and even apathetic. The myth about women and men having different brains has been busted, so how could it be explained that we both have such behavioral differences?
One neuropsychiatrist suggested that the male brain reads emotions very quickly and then shuts it down behind the mask of masculinity. So, could it be that those differences come from the toxic societal norms? While our world is slowly trying to introduce a healthy atmosphere towards its people, an online user decided to find things out through men themselves and asked the community: "men of Reddit, what's the most difficult thing to explain to women?"
The question received 13.4K upvotes and 8.3K comments where men listed a bunch of random things that they personally had a hard time explaining to women. However, If there's anything on your mind that you would like to add, don't hesitate to comment down below.
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That, despite what movies/TV/literature hammer into your brains, fathers can be emotionally available, engaged, great parents.
I'm the sole parent of a son and two daughters and I've had to listen to "what does mom think of her getting this haircut?", and "tell mom to schedule an appointment" for years.
Mom's in a halfway house you f%*kwit, and I'm plenty capable of making decisions for my own children.
Well done good sir. I do know that there are many fantastic fathers our there, single or not. And as a single mother I also hate the assumptions about "mom stuff" and "dad stuff"... really, do not even get me started on that subject.
That many men only have meaningful physical contact with their SO.
Single men often exist in touch isolation. For a variety of reasons and social pressures, many men experience a lack of physical contact.
Most men I know won't even feel comfortable hugging their best friend. For a long time, the only physical contact I had with other people was either sexual or a part of a competitive sport. Getting closer to middle age I've learned to hug my friends and have platonic physical contact.
It really helped my mental health. I used to feel alone all the time even when I was with friends. Hug your male friends and help them normalize platonic physical affection.
I do not pick up on "signals." Please ask us out or tell me, to my face, like a 5 year old, what you want or are thinking. I am kind of dumb.
That probably won't be enough. Since the probabily of this happening is so rare, a man might think that this is a trick or prank. Kinda like finding a gold chest in the moddle of the road. Too good to be true
When I'm asked what I'm thinking about and I say nothing, it's because I'm usually thinking of something dumb like who would win a fight. Godzilla or Megatron?
That I really want to dress up in full plate armor and own a warhorse.
When you ask me how my day was or what I did today, nothing in my day usually stands out as special, so I just dont remember. I usually dont remember what I do, I just live.
When I tell you I don’t need anything for Christmas it really means you should get me the 7541 piece Lego Millennium Falcon set.
This kind of goes against the "I don't pick up on signals" bit. Just say what kind of thing you want. You don't need to get specific but just say "I'd like something like _____".
That I feel like a creep just by simply existing. I'm always so worried I'm making someone uncomfortable just because I'm a sorta tall, kinda big guy just quietly existing.
I know it's because I've heard from so many people that "guys are such creeps" during middle/high school with no further explanation.
Aw, this is sad. Personally, big quiet guys don't freak me out or make me uncomfortable, they're usually the ones I like. And I swear I really don't assume that "all guys are creeps", I really do give all people a fair chance. I know that the creepy guys make life difficult for the genuinely good guys, especially if you're the shy and quiet type, and it's really really sad.
I can’t tell if you’re flirting with me or not.
Whenever a girl talks to you nicely: "Is this LOVE?"
That the more guys you have hanging out together, the dumber s!#t they get into increases exponentially.
You get two guys, and they might throw a water balloon against a glass window, breaking it over the others face. Get four together, and they fire an airsoft gun into an empty room and break the lightbulb.
God help you if you get more than that... And yes, those do seem to be very specific examples.
True. In my engg. dorm, guys used to wear those containers used to store design sheets over their arms and legs and fight with each other believing they were transformers. Crazy days.
That they need to stop being so f%@king mean to themselves.
That dudes can have a 2 hour conversation with each other (phone, down at the pub, playing online games) and not talk about any personal things.
My SO finds it super bizarre that I can talk to my brother for an hour and not know how his family is going, how his work is, what holiday plans are. Sometimes some bros just want to talk about movies or make fart jokes.
That when you can’t decide between two outfits and you ask us we literally would be ok with you wearing a garbage bag if it means the process could be sped up and we don’t leave the house by midnight.
I still love you even though I can’t give you 100 reasons why I love you.
We don't need a hundred reasons. Usually the answer we're after is something along the lines of "because you're you, and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else". (Don't you dare say that insincerely, though!)
My missus met my oldest friend at a wedding early last year. Haven't seen him since, or for about ten years before, despite living about three miles away from each other.
Just before the wedding, she asked me how come we never met up, I said "he's alive, isn't he?". Couple of days later at the actual wedding, she asked him the same things, and he also said "he's alive, isn't he?".
She never understood that. Never managed to explain that to her.
when guys are friends we just dont have a need to see each other that often. I have friends i havent seen for years but i could still just walk into their houses and it would be like we saw each other the day before. our friends are our friends, its just that simple
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I get this. I hadn't seen my best mate for about 5 or 6 years. But then, three months ago my wife of 22 years died (of cancer). He came to see me as soon as he found out, and I just KNOW that he's there if I need him. The amount of time since we last saw each other is irrelevant, I don't have to see him or talk to him every week to know that he's there for me, same as I'd be there if he needed me.
Honestly, so many of these seem to paint women and men as monoliths. My friends referred to my "hermit mode" where I wouldn't come out of hibernation for a while, and when I did, we all picked up where we left off, much like this one. Or there are women who don't pick up on flirting, or men who do check in with mental health with their family and friends... I don't know why I bother to read these when they just seem to reinforce gender stereotypes.
I'm a woman and I'm like this with my best friends. We can go months without talking to each other but if we need anything we know the other will stop the planet from revolving just to be there.
Oh, no, he died 2 years ago... should have at least texted twice a year ffs :p
I can't imagine that you're good friends if you don't care to see each other at all.
he's not your friend. he USED TO BE your friend. now, you are just acquaintances.
Certain generations of men were taught not to need emotional connections or even strong friendships.
Fortunately, those generations are slowly but inexorably coming to an end!
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One of my friends from school is like that with me. We catch up like three times a year because we're both very busy. As soon as we meet, it's like we've seen each other a week ago. We talk about stuff, hug and are happy we saw each other. See ya in four month!
He'll call when the roof needs re-doin' or he fancies a fishing trip. Or Maybe I'll run into him at the feed store, and we'll block the aisle for an hour while we chat.
if you are confident about somebody's feeling about you, you don't need constant reassurance...dudes is my friend, is a fact, unless proven the opposite I have no need for him to prov it or reassure me of it all the time...and yes sometimes it ges horribly wrong, but that goes any kind of relationship
I remember some time in college, (My brother and I both lived at home, and went to the same college.) not seeing my brother for more than 2 weeks. Work and school just kept us on different shifts.
Wait, did they mean that rhetorically or not? Either way, it might need a bit more explanation.
i'm the same. haven't talked to my BFF for about 5 years. she's still my BFF and if i called her today, we'd pick up right where we left off.
Why we can't coo qt babies like they do. I love babies they're the best. But if I do that in public people would give me weird looks.
Idk if most difficult but it sure did took a while to explain to my ex that we don’t look at each other’s d!$ks at the urinals.
How two or more men can bond just by standing in a room in silence.
That's not difficult. Have you ever seen that glance between two women when they hear a really crappy pick-up line? They are bonding as well.
Its so terrible that our society keeps telling men that they cant express any emotion besides anger. Hugs to all of you.
From what I've gathered in my 37 years as a white male is that I'm evil for everything that happened in the past. I'm an asshole for not showing my feelings but when I talk I should just shut up. I'm not allowed around kids of any age or it's creepy. I'm not allowed around women or it's creepy. If I can't bench press a bus I'm not man enough but being too much of a jock is toxic. This is why I just stay home and I don't have any friends. I never learned how to socialize for fear of doing something wrong. The fact that I'm married with kids is still mind boggling to me.
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Nice thread. Many of them seem to be universally applicable.
Let's top assuming anyone can read minds, and just use words. Radical, I know, but it's worked for us. :-)
Just be yourself and do your own thing. "THOSE THAT MIND DON'T MATTER AND THOSE THAT MATTER DON'T MIND "- Dr. Seuss
You may be in my field of vision, but I'm off in my own world, not staring at you. My eyes are open so I don't fall asleep.
supported. Just be kind to everyone please. Ask rather than assume. And don't pressurise people for answers and a psychotherapysession. sometimes just sitting next to someone or holding their hand says more than $1000 of therapy.
sometimes asking how they are doing and leaving it at that is enough
Load More Replies... Most of these were just stereotypes about men being somehow emotionally unavailable and/or incompetent. Also, as a woman, I never “got” signals when I was young either. I had a serious boyfriend once who did the signals thing, and I asked him, “can you just tell me directly?” He ultimately said well…no. At the time, I thought it was horribly mean that he wouldn’t accommodate me. But you know what? I worked to “get” signals, as in I learned to be more observant and to actually try, rather than pretend that since I was of course correct in my direct approach, I couldn’t possibly be asked to accommodate him. I became a better listener and a more empathetic person. It generally made me better at communication. Sometimes it’s not about inability, but a lack of will , and I’m glad I was called out on that early in life. Sometimes I think men have this man-child incompetence robot thing because no one ever calls them out on it and they don’t believe they need to try.
I wish everyone could just be who they wanted to be without there being invisible socially understood intangible concepts were supposed to follow for no good reason.
I refuse to keep this "men cant show emotions" going. I hug people, I show affection, I cuddle with my friends, I give kisses to those who like it. If somebody has a problem with that, they can go f**k themself.
Bored Panda doesn't usually have many posts where men get to talk about being men (at least not compared to the number of posts about women talking about being women). So this is nice to see.
Its so terrible that our society keeps telling men that they cant express any emotion besides anger. Hugs to all of you.
From what I've gathered in my 37 years as a white male is that I'm evil for everything that happened in the past. I'm an asshole for not showing my feelings but when I talk I should just shut up. I'm not allowed around kids of any age or it's creepy. I'm not allowed around women or it's creepy. If I can't bench press a bus I'm not man enough but being too much of a jock is toxic. This is why I just stay home and I don't have any friends. I never learned how to socialize for fear of doing something wrong. The fact that I'm married with kids is still mind boggling to me.
Load More Replies... Nice thread. Many of them seem to be universally applicable.
Let's top assuming anyone can read minds, and just use words. Radical, I know, but it's worked for us. :-)
Just be yourself and do your own thing. "THOSE THAT MIND DON'T MATTER AND THOSE THAT MATTER DON'T MIND "- Dr. Seuss
You may be in my field of vision, but I'm off in my own world, not staring at you. My eyes are open so I don't fall asleep.
supported. Just be kind to everyone please. Ask rather than assume. And don't pressurise people for answers and a psychotherapysession. sometimes just sitting next to someone or holding their hand says more than $1000 of therapy.
sometimes asking how they are doing and leaving it at that is enough
Load More Replies... Most of these were just stereotypes about men being somehow emotionally unavailable and/or incompetent. Also, as a woman, I never “got” signals when I was young either. I had a serious boyfriend once who did the signals thing, and I asked him, “can you just tell me directly?” He ultimately said well…no. At the time, I thought it was horribly mean that he wouldn’t accommodate me. But you know what? I worked to “get” signals, as in I learned to be more observant and to actually try, rather than pretend that since I was of course correct in my direct approach, I couldn’t possibly be asked to accommodate him. I became a better listener and a more empathetic person. It generally made me better at communication. Sometimes it’s not about inability, but a lack of will , and I’m glad I was called out on that early in life. Sometimes I think men have this man-child incompetence robot thing because no one ever calls them out on it and they don’t believe they need to try.
I wish everyone could just be who they wanted to be without there being invisible socially understood intangible concepts were supposed to follow for no good reason.
I refuse to keep this "men cant show emotions" going. I hug people, I show affection, I cuddle with my friends, I give kisses to those who like it. If somebody has a problem with that, they can go f**k themself.
Bored Panda doesn't usually have many posts where men get to talk about being men (at least not compared to the number of posts about women talking about being women). So this is nice to see.
