7 Worst Things About Being Male

[The Steel Magnolia]

Okay you don't need to support it but I hope you understand that it's not an attack on trans people and that if radical feminists got their way trans people would be treated no differently than anyone else and have all rights. The only difference would be that they would not be treated as a specific gender (because no one would be)

I know that it's not intended to be that way, but by denying the existence of gender of a whole, or rather seeking its destruction, you also oppose everyone who considers gender important.

What exactly do you feel constitutes a gender identity? One problem may be that some of what you consider gender identity, others may consider a damaging social construct.

I think gender is a defining feature among the many that make up identity, and I think prejudice and projection of stereotypes are the real issues that make gender problematic. But I'd much rather see the end of prejudice than I would gender. Remove prejudice from the equation, and it's hard to identify any negatives about the idea of gender. I mean, if you identify as male, female, or anything else, that's fine - it's the implications of how other people will treat you based on your identity and your presentation that are the real sticking points.

[Augarundus]

Was supposed to edit this onto my previous post:

*Whereas there are actual downsides to being female... societal norms that restrict employment severely, harsher gender roles, painful process of birthing, more likely to be a victim of sexual assault (and possibly even random violent crime in general), etc. In most cultures (and species), females do not approach their prospective mates, which means they don't have the freedom to choose romantic partners - only to choose and reject from a certain pool of applicants.

Even if it were somehow biologically true (and not just statistical circumstance) that men are more inclined to a shorter, more painful life, I would prefer a life full of danger and suffering to one of boredom, comfort and constraint. To be a woman for 99% of world history and cultures (and even to some extent today) is to be devoid of self-determination, to be confined to a secure, metaphorical "kitchen". Only now in the United States can women fight in combat - for most of history, they have been generally denied this chance for to prove their heroism and daring.

To quote Oswald Spengler in his Man and Technics:

There is only one world-view that is worthy of us, and which has already been discussed as the Choice of Achilles – better a short life, full of deeds and glory, than a long life without substance. The danger is so great, for every individual, every class, every people, that to cherish any illusion whatsoever is deplorable. Time cannot be stopped; there is no possibility for prudent retreat or wise renunciation. Only dreamers believe there is a way out. Optimism is cowardice. We are born into this time and must courageously follow the path to the end as destiny demands. There is no other way. Our duty is to hold on to the lost post, without hope, without rescue, like the Roman soldier whose bones were found in front of a door in Pompeii, who, during the eruption of Vesuvius, died at his post because they forgot to relieve him. That is greatness… The honorable end is the one thing that cannot be taken from a man.

Even assuming that females were spared all of biology's misfortune, the suffering of a short life, the possibility of calamitous, genetic failure is entirely worth it. A brief life of note - all the more enhanced by the dangers it requires - is preferable to fading into nothingness. The pain of heroism is all the better - boredom is merely the dissolution of pain in time.

[The Emerald Dawn]

If I window shop and don't point out to The and/or Gif, I end up in trouble. If I bring someone home, my wife has sworn up and down that she'll happily engage in foursome. I've always been tempted to try, but I doubt I'll ever actually do.

Leave some for us. You already have 2

Two takes a lot of time, effort, and energy to make sure I am a responsible partner. Trust me, it is not necessarily "better", just different.

[The Emerald Dawn]

Was supposed to edit this onto my previous post:

*Whereas there are actual downsides to being female... societal norms that restrict employment severely, harsher gender roles, painful process of birthing, more likely to be a victim of sexual assault (and possibly even random violent crime in general), etc. In most cultures (and species), females do not approach their prospective mates, which means they don't have the freedom to choose romantic partners - only to choose and reject from a certain pool of applicants.

Even if it were somehow biologically true (and not just statistical circumstance) that men are more inclined to a shorter, more painful life, I would prefer a life full of danger and suffering to one of boredom, comfort and constraint. To be a woman for 99% of world history and cultures (and even to some extent today) is to be devoid of self-determination, to be confined to a secure, metaphorical "kitchen". Only now in the United States can women fight in combat - for most of history, they have been generally denied this chance for to prove their heroism and daring.

To quote Oswald Spengler in his Man and Technics:

There is only one world-view that is worthy of us, and which has already been discussed as the Choice of Achilles – better a short life, full of deeds and glory, than a long life without substance. The danger is so great, for every individual, every class, every people, that to cherish any illusion whatsoever is deplorable. Time cannot be stopped; there is no possibility for prudent retreat or wise renunciation. Only dreamers believe there is a way out. Optimism is cowardice. We are born into this time and must courageously follow the path to the end as destiny demands. There is no other way. Our duty is to hold on to the lost post, without hope, without rescue, like the Roman soldier whose bones were found in front of a door in Pompeii, who, during the eruption of Vesuvius, died at his post because they forgot to relieve him. That is greatness… The honorable end is the one thing that cannot be taken from a man.

"Preference" does not mean "Fact".

Strangely, your statement still not true.

[Ethel mermania]

source for dying younger is not true?
source for women not having better impulse control than men?
source for women having the same sex drive as men?

im not saying who has it better or worse, cause that is a load of crap. but you made a few claims, please source them

As for your last two... At least not as much as people think:


"According to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University, the oft-cited statistic that men think about sex, on average, about once every seven seconds can safely be put to bed—in a college-age population of 163 mixed-gender respondents, the median frequency of sexual thoughts for men was just 19. Women, meanwhile, weren’t far behind at a median of 10 naughty thoughts per day.

The lead author on the study, Dr. Terri Fisher, explained in a press release that the impetus for the research was partly to dispense with the notion that men are slaves to their more carnal instincts, as well as to show that women aren’t so innocent, either.

"It's amazing the way people will spout off these fake statistics that men think about sex nearly constantly and so much more often than women do," she said. "When a man hears a statement like that, he might think there's something wrong with him because he's not spending that much time thinking about sexuality, and when women hear about this, if they spend significant time thinking about sex they might think there's something wrong with them.”

But showing that men think about sex only a little more than women do was just one part of the study’s results. As part of their experimental design, Fisher and her team had tasked some of the participants with recording their thoughts about eating or sleeping instead of sex; in analyzing this extra data, the researchers found that men think about biological urges in general (hunger, tiredness, and, indeed, lust) a little more often than women do. However, Fisher notes that this could be due to gender-specific socialization in our society that discourages women from expressing their physical desires openly, as opposed to a true sex-based distinction.

So, a fair warning to guys with wandering eyes: The biology excuse won’t work so well anymore.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/20 ... omen_.html"

i will take kinsey, he was not trying to prove a point, but i do wonder how much of it is biology and how much is socialization.

as to impulse control, i will stand wiht the diagnostic rates of ADHD, ADD and autism, as well as convictions for violent crimes, as support for the fact that men have less impulse control.

not to mention when was the last time you saw a woman say "hey y'all watch this"

[The Blaatschapen]

Leave some for us. You already have 2

Two takes a lot of time, effort, and energy to make sure I am a responsible partner. Trust me, it is not necessarily "better", just different.

I never claimed it was better. You also have 2 mothers in law, after all.

But you did take two out of the dating pool (I assume). So that leaves less for the rest of us

[The Emerald Dawn]

Two takes a lot of time, effort, and energy to make sure I am a responsible partner. Trust me, it is not necessarily "better", just different.

I never claimed it was better. You also have 2 mothers in law, after all.

But you did take two out of the dating pool (I assume). So that leaves less for the rest of us

Not necessarily. My wife, and girlfriend, are both free to date whom they will as long as they inform me and maintain our relationship.

It just so happens that they are both pretty much on the upper end of the Kinsey scale, and therefore unlikely to date men anyway.

So logically, neither would date you, unless you happen to be a lot like me.

[Ethel mermania]

true enough, mrs mermainia would take my head off, if i played without her. her rule is i cant bring anything home, window shopping is ok.

If I window shop and don't point out to The and/or Gif, I end up in trouble. If I bring someone home, my wife has sworn up and down that she'll happily engage in foursome. I've always been tempted to try, but I doubt I'll ever actually do.

I do have mrs mermania trained to point out good looking women to me, of course i have to point them, and good looking men out to her.

Sadly at this point in my life, the only thing i would be able to do with 3 women is disappoint them.

[The Blaatschapen]

I never claimed it was better. You also have 2 mothers in law, after all.

But you did take two out of the dating pool (I assume). So that leaves less for the rest of us

Not necessarily. My wife, and girlfriend, are both free to date whom they will as long as they inform me and maintain our relationship.

It just so happens that they are both pretty much on the upper end of the Kinsey scale, and therefore unlikely to date men anyway.

So logically, neither would date you, unless you happen to be a lot like me.

Probably not.

And you're likely on the other side of the world, which means that in practice they're not dating potential anyway.

[The Emerald Dawn]

If I window shop and don't point out to The and/or Gif, I end up in trouble. If I bring someone home, my wife has sworn up and down that she'll happily engage in foursome. I've always been tempted to try, but I doubt I'll ever actually do.

I do have mrs mermania trained to point out good looking women to me, of course i have to point them, and good looking men out to her.

Sadly at this point in my life, the only thing i would be able to do with 3 women is disappoint them.

So...many...jokes....

Could this be one of the worst things about being male?

[Ethel mermania]

I do have mrs mermania trained to point out good looking women to me, of course i have to point them, and good looking men out to her.

Sadly at this point in my life, the only thing i would be able to do with 3 women is disappoint them.

So...many...jokes....

Could this be one of the worst things about being male?

its one of the worst things about getting old. knowing what the body could do, but cant anymore.

[Natapoc]

Okay you don't need to support it but I hope you understand that it's not an attack on trans people and that if radical feminists got their way trans people would be treated no differently than anyone else and have all rights. The only difference would be that they would not be treated as a specific gender (because no one would be)

I know that it's not intended to be that way, but by denying the existence of gender of a whole, or rather seeking its destruction, you also oppose everyone who considers gender important.

What exactly do you feel constitutes a gender identity? One problem may be that some of what you consider gender identity, others may consider a damaging social construct.

I think gender is a defining feature among the many that make up identity, and I think prejudice and projection of stereotypes are the real issues that make gender problematic. But I'd much rather see the end of prejudice than I would gender. Remove prejudice from the equation, and it's hard to identify any negatives about the idea of gender. I mean, if you identify as male, female, or anything else, that's fine - it's the implications of how other people will treat you based on your identity and your presentation that are the real points.

How about this: For as long as gender remains I support the right of everyone to be treated as the gender they most identify with and to be fully recognized as that gender so long as they identify with it (And publicly support their right to this often)

Is that so bad? It's a complex problem because I really feel it's important to support people in their quest to be treated the way they want to be treated and I often publicly defend this right.

However I feel the concept of gender as a social construct is highly destructive and causes a lot of harm to people. I don't believe there should be "stereotypical male behavior/roles/customs/privileges" or "Stereotypical female traits behavior/roles/customs/privileges"

I don't believe in any form of differing treatment based on sex (or gender)

[The Blaatschapen]

So...many...jokes....

Could this be one of the worst things about being male?

its one of the worst things about getting old. knowing what the body could do, but cant anymore.

Damn, I only have 20 to 30 years left then. Better get cracking with that technology.

[Farnhamia]

So...many...jokes....

Could this be one of the worst things about being male?

its one of the worst things about getting old. knowing what the body could do, but cant anymore.

Which is why the Annunaki created senility.

[The Steel Magnolia]

How about this: For as long as gender remains I support the right of everyone to be treated as the gender they most identify with and to be fully recognized as that gender so long as they identify with it (And publicly support their right to this often)

Is that so bad? It's a complex problem because I really feel it's important to support people in their quest to be treated the way they want to be treated and I often publicly defend this right.

However I feel the concept of gender as a social construct is highly destructive and causes a lot of harm to people. I don't believe there should be "stereotypical male behavior/roles/customs/privileges" or "Stereotypical female traits behavior/roles/customs/privileges"

I don't believe in any form of differing treatment based on sex (or gender)

I absolutely support the destruction of stereotypical male/female behaviour, roles, customs, privileges, etc etc. Ideally, I don't think there should be any meaningful differences in treatment of gender at all. I don't think that means gender necessarily has to disappear for that to happen however - gender is not just expression, stereotypical or not. It is identity, and even if we no longer place meaningful differences in our treatment between men and women, that doesn't mean people will not or should not define themselves accordingly. And I have no problem with that.

[The united imperial sector]

No not realy but this donst help the sterotype that women are over emotinal.

Which bit does, precisely?

All of it of corse.

[Nadkor]

Which bit does, precisely?

All of it of corse.

All of what?

[Farnhamia]

All of it of corse.

All of what?

The Corsicans. Come on, even I got that.

[Libertarian California]

What sucks about being male? Well, let me tell you. Manscaping is a huge pain in the ass!!



Oh fuck. I said that out loud...

[Farnhamia]

What sucks about being male? Well, let me tell you. Manscaping is a huge pain in the ass!!



Oh fuck. I said that out loud...

Words fail me.

[Saiwania]

I kind of got sidetracked in this thread earlier and I feel like addressing the 7 points of the article as a male:

1. People want to hurt you.
Some people have hurt me but I am certain that it wasn't because I'm a male. I let myself be a push over and lacked assertiveness at one point. Sometimes I deserved to be hurt because I did something wrong, and other times I just wasn't careful enough or made bad choices. I'm not too worried about getting hurt. If it happens I'm sure I'll get back up and manage just fine.

2. You have problems controlling your impulses.
I do not have any major problems with controlling my impulses. I can handle delayed satisfaction reasonably well. I think most adult men are capable of responsibility and rational decision making. But I recognize that some people may have mental impairments where they could lack strong impulse control.

3. For a good portion of your life, you have an irrationally and self-destructively high desire for sex.
Sure, I want to try sex to see what it is like; but just because I'd like sex doesn't mean it has to be destructive. I would never rape anyone just to have sexual intercourse. Having a desire for sex still wouldn't make me want to jump at the chance to have it, I'll still decline if I don't know the woman well enough or am not attracted to her. Additionally, I would need to judge whether the risk of STDs or getting her pregnant would be worth it or not. I have masturbation as my main option for sexual pleasure and for all I know, I might actually like that better.

4. If you are heterosexual, those sexual partners you desire so much do not reciprocate your urgency.
I think that if you are in the mood for sex, but your partner isn't; that is what masturbation is for. Everybody has a right to decide whether they want sex with you or not, and that has to be respected. Sometimes you can't always "have it your way" like at Burger King.

5. You feel compelled to make money, and then to throw it away in public.
I'd feel compelled to make money so that I can live a good quality life but so far as spending it on status symbols and activities, I do not care for that. But maybe some men do have gambling or budgeting priority problems.

6. You have a hard time getting social support for all these problems.
I figure that might be the case because most adult males don't see it as a problem. That a lot of men are able to keep a "stiff upper lip" and deal with or brush aside their problems real or imagined on their own. A lot of males intentionally don't seek help where it is offered or there just isn't enough demand among men for certain services.

7.And then you die (younger).
I don't see that as a big deal. So women on average live a decade longer. I'm still happy to be male and will be content with however long I am given to live on this Earth.

[Libertarian California]

What sucks about being male? Well, let me tell you. Manscaping is a huge pain in the ass!!



Oh fuck. I said that out loud...

Words fail me.

Manscaping is when you shave your pubic hair.

[Individuality-ness]

What sucks about being male? Well, let me tell you. Manscaping is a huge pain in the ass!!



Oh fuck. I said that out loud...

*slow clap*

[Farnhamia]

Words fail me.

Manscaping is when you shave your pubic hair.

I know. And you said that out loud, too.

[Libertarian California]

Manscaping is when you shave your pubic hair.

I know. And you said that out loud, too.

Well, I probably shouldn't mention how I do it then.

Then again, you don't know if I'm being serious, do you?