What is the hardest thing about being a woman?

[Firebird 8118]

Its bound to be the constant attraction to Lark is the hardest thing about being a woman

Sorry dude, I'm completely immune to your charm

Also - [MENTION=18576]Sanjuro[/MENTION]

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

Wanting to travel solo, but then remembering you're a female solo traveler. Also, being called girly, but also being called tomboyish as well. I wish myself and other woman can enthuse about something stereotypically feminine without people going, "Dawwww you're so girly!". Also, doing something that barely falls out of the norm of femininity and being called a tomboy because of it. Also known as having an actual personality. I've seen this post floating going around that's basically like, "I'm not a tomboy, but a not a girly girl either. Like I wanna paint my nails, but I also wanna set shit on fire." What,are you saying you're not a Nancy? That's just being a human. They're are all sorts of women out there, embrace them, folks.

 

[RadicalDoubt]

Probably the high chance of sexual assault and harassment (and having the constant knowledge of that being a thing). I think finding decent and inexpensive clothing is also pretty hard for a lot of women, especially for pre-teens/teens looking for non-revealing clothing and larger women as a whole.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

When dismissal happens because of gender directed towards women. Although sometimes it's difficult to ascertain the root cause of a dismissal, so I don't always know when it's gender related.

I don't know if this is just gender or being physically smaller and weaker than the average human, but I live socially like a wild animal. I assume every stranger to be a potential assailant, and I'm always conscious of vulnerabilities, so I even rarely wear scarves in public and never toss them across my neck. I do fear men more than women in this respect, but not in an absolute manner. Groups of men or one that directs too much attention, I will walk great distances or drive well out of my way to avoid.

 

[GoggleGirl17]

I've never felt burdened or limited by the fact that I am a woman, and I rarely feel threatened, but that is through my eyes and experience. I enjoy and react well to being a woman and what I consider to be its social advantages, though I do worry as I age I will lose some of those advantages. That is probably my biggest concern. A lot of times I feel grateful that I don't have to deal with the expectations of being a man. I don't feel like I have many expectations as a woman, and I'm not offended by that. I like the freedom.

 

[Muladara]

---

There isn't one single thing that is the hardest, it all comes down to personal experience, perception and evaluation of your experience, so in other words it's subjective.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

Not sure if this thread already exists but... the male version does so why not this one?

Whats the hardest thing about being a woman?

U are conditioned by genetics and tradition to be 20% less effective than a man in most areas that affect life.

Also, you can make birth.

Also, you can call upon cops and say a guy did wrong to you

 

[Coriolis]

I've never felt burdened or limited by the fact that I am a woman, and I rarely feel threatened, but that is through my eyes and experience. I enjoy and react well to being a woman and what I consider to be its social advantages, though I do worry as I age I will lose some of those advantages. That is probably my biggest concern. A lot of times I feel grateful that I don't have to deal with the expectations of being a man. I don't feel like I have many expectations as a woman, and I'm not offended by that. I like the freedom.

What do you see as these expectations?

 

[Galena]

U are conditioned by genetics and tradition to be 20% less effective than a man in most areas that affect life.

Also, you can make birth.

Also, you can call upon cops and say a guy did wrong to you

Nice proto-fascist thinking. Hope it's an act you can drop pretty quick.

 

[GoggleGirl17]

What do you see as these expectations?

I think some of my characteristics which may be seen as cute or feminine such as being sensitive and go-with-the-flow would be viewed more negatively if I were a man. I would probably be judged as ungrounded and wimpy, and possibly a loser as well because I don't place my self-worth in things like power, achievement, and being socially assertive. I believe as a man I would experience more pressure relative to these things. It would feel like even if I found people who accepted me, they would only do so because they have low self-esteem and I would be considered low-hanging fruit on the hierarchy of quality men.

 

[Maou]

Emotional intensity, and the inability to stand truly alone for the sake of ones ideals against societal pressures. Women are often collectivist. Women are often always thinking about what could be, that it can always get better. Rarely content with what they already have. Rarely able to stand alone.

That said, I think a lot of what people said in this thread is quite literally caused by the way you think you need to live your life. You are orientated around the approval from society. All these difficulties are in the mind. Change how you think about who you are, and then all of them will disappear. Fuck society, be who you want.

But the hardest part, is doing just that. You will recoil from rejection, instead of standing firm. Lament against people treating you harshly for being who you want to be. You will fall in line, and never be content. You most likely will never reach actualization of self, due to self-imposed restrictions and criticism.

 

[Coriolis]

Emotional intensity, and the inability to stand truly alone for the sake of ones ideals against societal pressures. Women are often collectivist. Women are often always thinking about what could be, that it can always get better. Rarely content with what they already have. Rarely able to stand alone.

That said, I think a lot of what people said in this thread is quite literally caused by the way you think you need to live your life. You are orientated around the approval from society. All these difficulties are in the mind. Change how you think about who you are, and then all of them will disappear. Fuck society, be who you want.

But the hardest part, is doing just that. You will recoil from rejection, instead of standing firm. Lament against people treating you harshly for being who you want to be. You will fall in line, and never be content. You most likely will never reach actualization of self, due to self-imposed restrictions and criticism.

I don't think any of this is limited to women. Plenty of men are not content with what they have and think about what could be. Men have traditionally been given more latitude to act in the public sphere, which means more opportunity to turn those visions into reality. Men also are subject to that same societal approval, and especially in the modern age, are given less latitude in terms of lifestyle choices. Women who have careers, for instance, are still judged less harshly than men who stay home to raise children, just as tomboys are judged less harshly than sissies. It would be better for everyone to do more of the highlighted.

 

[Frosty]

U are conditioned by genetics and tradition to be 20% less effective than a man in most areas that affect life.

Also, you can make birth.

Also, you can call upon cops and say a guy did wrong to you

Women are actually in a lot of ways the biologically superior sex. We live longer, have stronger immune systems, commit suicide less, and are way less likely to have heart attacks. Many genetic conditions are also X linked, which means that things like hemophilia and color blindness are also way less likely in women. Female babies are also more likely to survive difficult births and do better in the NICU. So from birth until out on average later deaths than you, there are a lot of advantages.

We are also on average more empathetic, more verbal, and more likely to graduate college.

so. Yeah. *shrugs*

being male has a its advantages and so does being female. And its a very limited perspective to say something like you did. But- lol- bad joke- what can you expect from a male

 

[fatgurl]

Periods are just the worst part for me.

 

[Abcdenfp]

"The multitude of slurs and labels exclusively designed to repress and degrade women – bitch, slut, whore, slapper, mutton-dressed-as-lamb, frigid, prude, biddie, gold-digger, diva, ratchet, bimbo, air-head, cow, ho, hussy, loose, bunny-boiler, tart, cow, nympho, c**t, skank, drama-queen, man-eater, bird, doll-face, bridezilla, butch, bush-pig, chick, hoochie-mama, cougar, ditz, old-bag, pussy, queen-bee, sex-kitten, tail, wench, ball-breaker etc."

 

[Abcdenfp]

Being disregarded as you get older, women are expected to stay frozen in our youth.

 

[Maou]

I don't think any of this is limited to women. Plenty of men are not content with what they have and think about what could be. Men have traditionally been given more latitude to act in the public sphere, which means more opportunity to turn those visions into reality. Men also are subject to that same societal approval, and especially in the modern age, are given less latitude in terms of lifestyle choices. Women who have careers, for instance, are still judged less harshly than men who stay home to raise children, just as tomboys are judged less harshly than sissies. It would be better for everyone to do more of the highlighted.

I was trying to word it in a way that won't come off as horribly annoyed, because I think being a woman is super easy overall.

I would say men have it harder overall. Because woman, will always be "protected". That is like, the most basic instinct within humanity that has persisted in our evolution for an untold amount of time. Men pioneered the very idea of "society", it was their aspirations that created civilization. It was men's obsessions and stubbornness that created various types of knowledge. So ofc, men will have more latitude in the early stages of societal evolution. They created the space that you can even think about it all to begin with. It was never about "opportunity" that made men successful, it was risk taking and perseverance. It was stubbornness and strong ideas that they pushed against all odds. Men would bank everything on something, and either die trying, or succeed in glorious fashion. Sure, there was smart woman out there. But they can't blame "society" for not being able to do the same things that men do. If they thought all men became successful through sheer opportunity, they are dead wrong. Many men, face absolute opposition, and they still managed to overcome that.

Woman literally do not realize the privilege they have, just by existing. Nor do many woman truly listen to men to understand their way of thinking. Men and woman think very differently about a lot of things. Yet only men are seen as "weak and pathetic" or "incels" if they complain about the behaviors of woman. Despite woman doing the same thing are considered "strong and independent". Woman can do no wrong, in the eyes of society... because of instinct. The only people that blur this line, are those of the modern era, because modern society with all its quirky labels and personalities is quite literally breaking down what used to be the "natural order" of human civilization and the concept of family. I personally think a lot of the "progress" society strives for in terms of equality, is highly detrimental for the species overall, as opposed to the individual. No one considered the psychological implications of both parents working all the time, and their kid being raised by strangers. It just produces families of strangers, who go their own ways, never interacting. Then when they get older/get divorced, all end up dying alone or after several broken relationships, finally find someone to die with. The very concept of family, is dying. I can only think of a handful of people, out of most of the people I know, who has a decent and loving relationship with their family.

When it comes to societal acceptance, relationships, personal obstacles, and level of individual responsibility... it greatly differs between the sexes. I don't even think it is a competition. Woman will be accepted, regardless of their personality as long as they look pretty. This is even more prevalent in today's society with things like live streaming and youtube. Men however, have to compete with both personality/charisma, looks, and financial wealth. Women get to have the concept of standards and pick and choose (even when there is no one to choose from), while most men have to take what they can get, if their "presentation" isn't good enough (not being over 6 feet tall for example). This is just sexual selective evolution that is prevalent in a lot mammal societies. This selective evolution is why people consider men more "funny" for example, because to secure a "mate" when you were not too attractive, you had to have something to keep a woman of interest engaged over tall, physically attractive "Chad". A lot of male traits are the result of this type of sexual selective evolution.

 

[Morpeko]

Wanting to travel solo, but then remembering you're a female solo traveler. Also, being called girly, but also being called tomboyish as well. I wish myself and other woman can enthuse about something stereotypically feminine without people going, "Dawwww you're so girly!". Also, doing something that barely falls out of the norm of femininity and being called a tomboy because of it. Also known as having an actual personality. I've seen this post floating going around that's basically like, "I'm not a tomboy, but a not a girly girl either. Like I wanna paint my nails, but I also wanna set shit on fire." What,are you saying you're not a Nancy? That's just being a human. They're are all sorts of women out there, embrace them, folks.

Probably the high chance of sexual assault and harassment (and having the constant knowledge of that being a thing). I think finding decent and inexpensive clothing is also pretty hard for a lot of women, especially for pre-teens/teens looking for non-revealing clothing and larger women as a whole.

Agree with what's bolded completely. I want to be brave enough to go somewhere by myself (and I am, as I do my best to practice awareness of surroundings and self-defense), but knowing the probability of sexual assault/harassment especially if I'm by myself is very much bothersome. I know men can get assaulted too, though.

The clothes thing that RD mentioned does suck (and I guess another complaint I have is that the fashion industry for women has a lot more problems in general than for men, anyway) though I've found ways to work around it without breaking my budget.

 

[Morpeko]

Periods are just the worst part for me.

This is what I was going to say. This and the ability to give birth. I think the biological stuff about being born female is disgusting, but that might just be dysphoria talking. I'll gladly give up the possibility of living longer and having a stronger immune system, that's useless to me.

Emotional intensity, and the inability to stand truly alone for the sake of ones ideals against societal pressures. Women are often collectivist. Women are often always thinking about what could be, that it can always get better. Rarely content with what they already have. Rarely able to stand alone.

I'd say the emotional intensity is one of my least favorite things about myself (I don't really think I'm collectivist), though I don't know if for me it's connected specifically to my gender.

I think some of my characteristics which may be seen as cute or feminine such as being sensitive and go-with-the-flow would be viewed more negatively if I were a man. I would probably be judged as ungrounded and wimpy, and possibly a loser as well because I don't place my self-worth in things like power, achievement, and being socially assertive. I believe as a man I would experience more pressure relative to these things. It would feel like even if I found people who accepted me, they would only do so because they have low self-esteem and I would be considered low-hanging fruit on the hierarchy of quality men.

I'm kind of relieved to be born female for similar reasons, me being socially withdrawn and submissive in certain ways wouldn't be seen as well, if I were a man. Though I don't mind the idea of me having to live up to being seen as strong since I force myself to do that anyway.

 

[Maou]

I'd say the emotional intensity is one of my least favorite things about myself (I don't really think I'm collectivist), though I don't know if for me it's connected specifically to my gender.

There are some men with emotional intensity as I describe, but it is far more in common with females. But I am speaking of "baseline" or "natural disposition". Because upbringing, culture, and personal willpower can overcome many natural dispositions and instinct. I personally think that everyone is in a battle against their instincts, using what their upbringings taught them (positively or negatively). It is nature vs nurture etc. Some aspects of our nature can be both complimented, and contested depending on how we grew up. That is why there are patterns, regardless of upbringing. Showcasing what ideals some people aspire to.