It can be easy to fall into the trap of forgetting that the other half of the population lives a very different kind of life. The things that you might do without a second thought can, at times, be completely out of the ordinary for someone else.
So one curious internet user asked, “What is normal to men but weird to women?” and netizens shared their best examples. From prison-cell-like living spaces to simply never asking questions, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites, and be sure to add your own thoughts and examples in the comments section below.
#1
Not getting details. Case in point: One of my best friends wife had a baby. I swung by the hospital on my lunch break, congratulated him, and left.
That night, I told my wife they had the baby. It was a boy, and the name. She started asking all this other stuff, length, weight, time, etc, and I had no idea. Didn't bother to ask. Baby was good, Mom and Dad were good. I thought I had covered the bases.
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169points
#2
Accidentally walking behind a woman at night and quickly going to the other side of the road or slowing down to create distance so you don't seem like a creep.
147points
#3
Several years back, my wife and I moved abroad. Our first Christmas back in the US we had separate guys/ladies nights to catch up with our old friends. When we got back that night she was able to give me an update on everyone because for the past few hours they just sat in a circle and took turns talking about their lives. When she asked me about the guys, I responded "I dunno, we just ordered pizza and played video games".
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145points
#4
Me and the bros have been friends for like 15 years... I think we have a total of 3 pictures together haha
130points
#5
Not having any real friends to support them through tough times.
This is particularly true of boomers - I hope it won't be the same for my generation. As I watch my parents and their friends get old, sick, and die, I see that none of the men visit each other in hospital or even know why their "friends" are sick. My mom and her female friends spend their days checking in on and taking care of each other. But when a husband gets sick, there is no one except their wife to take care of them.
The only exception in my parents' friend-group was the gay male couple. They had a community of gay men supporting them.
106points
#6
Being scared of randomly being accused of being a creep in public, possibly even reported, even though you're just minding your own business.
No, I'm not staring at you, I'm thinking about a certainly relevant scenario about how I would fight off a random armed bank robber right now and my state of mind is "Where am I going again? Oh, look, a bunch of ants. Nice."
102points
#8
Being friends with someone and knowing absolutely nothing about them
96points
#9
The one who gets roasted the most is probably our star of the group. We insult because we love.
94points
#12
Deciding to do something and leaving the house 5 minutes later to get it done.
81points
#13
Using shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face wash from the same bottle
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78points
#14
Body hair. It’s fine for men to have hairy legs, armpits, etc., but everyone loses their mind if they see a woman with body hair
76points
#15
Nodding to other random dudes on the street, and getting nods back in acknowledgement
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73points
#16
Going literal years without any sort of physical contact
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72points
#17
Idle mode, literally not thinking of anything for a short period of time
70points
#18
Strapping something down and saying “that’s not going anywhere”
67points
#19
Not having to constantly worry about waiting on line for the bathroom/finding a bathroom
65points
#20
I'm trans, and not many people know that. It gives me a very unique perspective in life of having acclimatised to both men and women social norms. A major difference is that men and women gossip, - but differently. When girls gossip, it's about "who did what, when, how, and *the audacity*" and when men gossip, it's one guy saying "this guy is a s**t c**t, ay." And other guys going "yeah." If I treated either in reversal, men would be put off by it, and women would be wondering *why* I don't like them over the fact that I just *don't,* women need reason, context. Forgiveness is different too. Women are so much more understanding, but rarely forgive once a line is crossed. Men might just not like you over something petty. Buy him a beer or make his life a little easier and suddenly you're not so bad anymore. "He's still a s**t c**t, but he's not that bad" Men aren't better drivers, they're more decisive ones. Women are more cautious, which can slow reaction time when they're accessing the situation. Men leave much more to instinct. Often in each other's eyes, men are reckless, women are too slow. Neither are necessarily right or wrong. Being "gross". Men in men-only environments don't tend to think much about spitting, sticky taping wounds, adjusting their junk, farting, burping, not washing their hands as often as they probably should. There seems to be a lot more group forgiveness that "yeah I do that too, it's normal." When women are together, you still don't hear them ripping one and congratulating each other.
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60points