You know when you tell a joke that you think is gonna land, but just gets you a bunch of annoyed groans from around the room? Yeah, that's kind of what it's like to be a woman who has to deal with the things men do that they think are cute.
So when a Redditor asked women to list things men do that they think are cute, but actually piss women off, there were a lot of examples.
No, that isn't the compliment some people seem to think it is. What it really is, is just plain condescending. It's also guaranteed to make a woman at least twice as angry.
I've worked retail. I've been told to smile plenty of times. It's definitely not the great, life-changing thing men seem to think it is. And again, it isn't something they'd say to other men.
"In high school I got into a really heated argument with a boyfriend because he insisted that women 'usually appreciate the compliment.' Several other girls jumped in to back me up and he still tried to tell us that we were wrong."
Yeah, no one likes being catcalled. It's weird that men think women like it.
Again, just very condescending. If a compliment seems backhanded, then it probably isn't a very good one. And this is a prime example of just that.
I think it should go without saying that people who pick random fights to show their dominance or whatever are just plain... weird.
"I like soccer and one of my colleagues quizzed me on how many players are supposed to be on the field during a game. Not in a billion years would he have done that to another man. Still pisses me off up to this day."
Yeah... never say that to a woman, or to anyone who has periods. For starters, it generally... isn't. Also it's just a weirdly invasive, insulting thing to say to someone?
"Ugh that is such a cringey thing to do when they aren't even aware of what your first name is."
Especially since they'd never say that to another man...
"There is a guy in my history class who constantly interrupts me just to repeat what I’ve already said with bigger words that he’s using wrong. The teacher lets him do it and loves having him in class."
Classy.
"I heard this constantly from male patients when I was a paramedic. I was the youngest paramedic they had and I was one of the few women.
"IT ISN'T A COMPLIMENT YOU TWAT. I WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET THERE."
"...All it does is put me in competition with others and makes me realise that if my physical traits were different, this man probably wouldn’t respect me half as much, or that I’ll be less attractive to him if my appearance changes."
"I am calm. But it’s okay when you get mad and punch a wall…"
100%. Never, ever, ever tell a woman to calm down. That'll just make everything worse.
This is a very weird thing to say to anyone. Like, it's hard enough to exist in your own skin without people telling you how you should eat or look.
There are these really cool things called boundaries. I don't know if you guys have heard of them, but they're pretty important.
"...which results in us being irritated and them saying, 'See! I knew you were mad' when we wouldn't have been mad in the first place if they stopped insisting."
Yeah like, insisting someone's mad is a surefire way to make them mad.
Ah, mansplaining. It's even more annoying when they try to explain something you actually know way better than they do. Not even remotely cute.
Yeah. That's, like, super weird. I think because the word "woman" seems so normal, but "female" seems really detached and medical. Almost like they don't see women as people...
"8am class and I was a bartender with a bf. 100% dgaf about trying to turn you on bro."
What I'm getting from this is that men like to say really backhanded things to women for some reason.
One thing I'm very thankful for is the way society is beginning to move away from the idea that all women need to be shaving their legs and pits. If hair was abnormal, we wouldn't have it.
Maybe I'm just sensitive, but it kind of feels like a lot of people say really insulting things, and then try to pass them off as jokes. Almost like they've never heard a joke before in their lives.
