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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

The double standards on here are getting out of hand

243 replies

SpunkyAmberReader · 30/01/2025 06:52

A male posts that is his wife is grumpy and complains and its immediately the man's fault: "you're not loving enough," "what do you when she complains," "she complains for a reason," "you don't appreciate her enough," "do you get her painkillers when she said she has a headache."

Yesterday I read a thread about a woman who was considering ending her affair because her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and a few posters told her to continue and not feel guilty.

Another poster wrote about her daughter complaining her father / posters husband was always miserable and lots of posters attacked a suggestion that the posters should try to cheer up her husband. The gist was a wife isn't responsible for trying to make her husband happy.

Therr is a really nasty double standard here and in society.

OP posts:
onwardsup4 · 30/01/2025 08:26

@OopsyDaisie I don't think the pendulum will ever fully go the other direction which is why there's absolutely nothing wrong with women supporting women on a site (mainly) full of women.
OP there may have been some comments on that thread saying to continue the affair but I find majority say end it and not to cheat if it's a man or woman cheater.

Daisychainsforme · 30/01/2025 08:25

SardinesOnGingerbread · 30/01/2025 07:26

I don't hate men. I hate the behaviours that are more typically shown by men in our culture, and in many other cultures. I hate the impact that this has on women. When I read about those behaviours, or women's vulnerability in the face of the power imbalance inherent in mixed sex relationships, I hate that too. Hope that helps.

I agree.

I blame the increased availability of porn which skews the minds of impressionable men and promotes misogyny.

BilboBlaggin · 30/01/2025 08:24

Didimum · 30/01/2025 07:52

Do you want to pop Mumsnet an email to change their info banner then? They might not have spotted it.

I think they should change the banner actually. The site has plenty of topics for people, both men and women, who aren't parents at all. Maybe they should change the name too. MN were happy to evolve and diversify and add hundreds of non-parenting topics, so the original name has long since been outgrown (and leads to these silly statements that it's for women parents only).

Having said that, it takes a brave man to come on the site, AIBU especially, as they tend to get pulled to pieces no matter how well meaning they are.

5128gap · 30/01/2025 08:24

139 replies. 94 of them condemning the OP or advising in her husband's interests, several deletions from people who must have broken guidelines in their rush to be as offensive to her as possible. So, double standards..?

Pippinsdiary · 30/01/2025 08:23

DreamyDog · 30/01/2025 07:15

This place is full of divorcees who hate men. They want everyone to be like them.

Got it in one.

Mnetcurious · 30/01/2025 08:21

fairyup · 30/01/2025 07:14

I agree. Women on here are encouraged to have a secret money pot but when it's the other way the man gets a pile on.

I see this peddled out as a double standard on here all the time but there’s more to it. If a woman has given up/slowed down her career path and/or only works part time or not at all so that they both can have children then she will be much more financially dependent on her husband/partner. In these circumstances (especially considering the amount of awful men we read about here - fortunately not representative of the men I know in real life) then it might be a good idea to have some money stashed away in case it’s needed.
Often when we read on mn about a man who has secret money he’s the one with all the financial control anyway so it would be unfair and not at all equivalent to my example here of a woman putting a bit of money aside for herself so she can maintain a degree of financial independence.
Conversely if a man had given up work to be sahp then it wouldn’t be fair for the woman to keep secret money for herself. Each case needs to be judged on its own merits.

SnidelyWhiplash · 30/01/2025 08:21

I agree, OP. The missandry on here gets worse and worse. Plus there’s a real ‘misery loves company’ vibe from women who married a wrong ‘un, and want to make the rest of us believe all men are bastards.

FootstepAway · 30/01/2025 08:21

JustAskingThisQ · 30/01/2025 07:44

Right here in this thread. The glee over the "pendulum swinging the other way" and the thoughts like this:

So one poster writes that they observe "the pendulum swinging back" and from that you claim that "many women" want to hold unequal power over men?

That is poor reasoning. Please don't assume that one person speaks for a whole sex class. As if you can even tell which sex someone is online!

Thepeopleversuswork · 30/01/2025 08:19

fairyup · 30/01/2025 07:14

I agree. Women on here are encouraged to have a secret money pot but when it's the other way the man gets a pile on.

Er, could that possibly be because men overwhelmingly earn more than women and overwhelmingly are likely to be the main breadwinner in the household?

Youre not really comparing like for like here.

Society structurally benefits men financially at women’s expense. Women’s careers almost always end up being sidelined and thus their ability to be financially autonomous. Women are massively financially disadvantaged by child raising.

Having your own money is just common sense.

RIPVPROG · 30/01/2025 08:19

I've spent my whole career working with people who violently and sexually offend. Guess what almost entirely men, and predominantly white.
Equality isn't treating everyone the same. Given the inherent misogyny in society why shouldn't there be a place for women to support women.

comoatoupeira · 30/01/2025 08:18

DreamyDog · 30/01/2025 07:15

This place is full of divorcees who hate men. They want everyone to be like them.

YES! They want their choices validated, or what happened to them to be seen as inevitable, rather than really painful life stuff and failures from all sides.

Sceptical123 · 30/01/2025 08:16

JustAskingThisQ · 30/01/2025 07:16

Putting women first doesn't mean elevating them to a place where they can exploit their power. It does seem that many women do not want equality, they want revenge.

Or they do not want equality, they want women on top and men in the gutter. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Feminism is striving for equality and equal opportunity which applies to men and women, boys and girls.

I get that levelling up means a focus on girls re sport, computers, maths, sciences etc but sometimes it feels that boys today are almost being punished or pushed down for the sins of their gender, which affected women negatively from before they were born.

They should have equal opportunities but girls shouldn’t be pushed ahead of boys or children taught that it is the girls who are special and talented with loads of exciting opportunities in store - they both should be. It’s almost like we’re trying to address the shittiness of the past but still impacting one gender negatively at the expense of the other, only now it’s the other way around and it’s generally accepted bc women and girls have had to endure crap for so long.

But today’s boys are blameless in that treatment. I understand that there is still an imbalance in favour of men in employment etc and it is vital that boys are now taught that they are not better than girls or men better than women, but I also see how todays boys and young men are being attracted to the vileness of Andrew Tate and his crew, (I know still worlds apart and countless will point out the power imbalance of atrocious behaviours such as domestic violence to name one aspect) but now it is bordering almost on a gender reversal with them having to feel empowered and validated - particularly young, white w/c boys and youths who we know are in the bottom for academic achievement etc and have been for decades.

As I say I know it still isn’t equal and there is currently a concerted drive to push girls ahead to make up for the previous deficit, but I think there should be sensitivity to the fact we should be teaching ALL children that no matter the gender, race or religion they are all equal to one another and this will continue into adulthood and for the rest of their lives

FootstepAway · 30/01/2025 08:16

likeyoubut · 30/01/2025 08:11

This. Why do people pretend there is a MN view? There is not. I’ve been here over a decade and there is huge variety of opinion here.

I note that even in the OP they write ‘ a few posters replied that’. A few? So most did not then.

FOUR PEOPLE WROTE SOMETHING THAT I CONSIDER TO BE WRONG!

WHO ELSE HAS NOTICED THIS PHENOMENON? IT MUST BE BECAUSE THEY ARE WOMEN!!

nightmarepickle2025 · 30/01/2025 08:16

You're absolutely right, female entitlement is the main cause of problems in society.... (yeah, right)

SoManyTshirts · 30/01/2025 08:15

I agree, male and female posters are answered very differently. I post quite a bit, but if someone is being a complete cow I tend to bite my tongue and just ‘like’ someone else’s response. Nobody likes a pile on.

Equality has a long way to go, but huge progress has been made in my lifetime with the support of some men. I believe the tendency to view men and women as totally different beings with different feelings, capacities and duties causes a lot of the problems in the personal, social and political spheres.

If we are making the case for equal treatment we need to appreciate that we are all individuals but we share far more than we often give credit for. Men as a class are not the enemy.

FootstepAway · 30/01/2025 08:14

Essentially many of the posts in this thread are trying to say 'I disagree with many of the views posted on MN' as if that's in some way unusual Grin

AMurderofMurderingCrows · 30/01/2025 08:14

Hwi · 30/01/2025 08:12

I am a woman and can't agree more. You are absolutely right. And not just on MN, everywhere - men are horrible white oppressors. I have always found it interesting that the oppressed live longer than oppressors. All that nonsense about patriarchy as well. But this is the way it is, unfortunately.
P.S. Still waiting, as a woman, for a chess match between a biological man and a biological woman, to prove that we are intellectually equal :)

Wow, horribly misogynistic post. Educate yourself, it's not too late.

WarmSausageRoll · 30/01/2025 08:14

Hwi · 30/01/2025 08:12

I am a woman and can't agree more. You are absolutely right. And not just on MN, everywhere - men are horrible white oppressors. I have always found it interesting that the oppressed live longer than oppressors. All that nonsense about patriarchy as well. But this is the way it is, unfortunately.
P.S. Still waiting, as a woman, for a chess match between a biological man and a biological woman, to prove that we are intellectually equal :)

Yes Pearl and and I am a unicorn 🙄

AMurderofMurderingCrows · 30/01/2025 08:13

Oh, and the reason women are encouraged to have a savings? To allow them to leave safely and quickly WITHOUT BEING MURDERED.

Honestly, some of you need to use the brain you were born with. The misogyny, abuse of, and violence against women is still so prevalent in the 'modern' world. Not the other way around. That's why there's a bias in the posts and threads 🙄

Hwi · 30/01/2025 08:12

I am a woman and can't agree more. You are absolutely right. And not just on MN, everywhere - men are horrible white oppressors. I have always found it interesting that the oppressed live longer than oppressors. All that nonsense about patriarchy as well. But this is the way it is, unfortunately.
P.S. Still waiting, as a woman, for a chess match between a biological man and a biological woman, to prove that we are intellectually equal :)

R053 · 30/01/2025 08:12

What a strange, venty thread. Women are more likely to post about parenting matters than men, so you are going to get a heavier female take on things on MumsNet.

I am sure there are more suitable forums for those who are sympathetic to men somewhere else. Why do posters here have to moderate themselves for those who feel it’s too female oriented? Divorced women may also lack adult companionship IRL and use forums for support more than married women? Who cares?

FootstepAway · 30/01/2025 08:12

decorativecushions · 30/01/2025 08:09

Not a clue. I don't tend to remember usernames!

So why is it weird and parasitic to have different opinions on a website of millions of people? Genuinely don't get what point you are making?

Yes, many people have shitty opinions. That's the same wherever they post or don't post.

likeyoubut · 30/01/2025 08:11

GrannyWeasel · 30/01/2025 07:25

Perhaps it is just different people posting on different threads. It's not as if each post represents the thoughts of the whole group.

This. Why do people pretend there is a MN view? There is not. I’ve been here over a decade and there is huge variety of opinion here.

I note that even in the OP they write ‘ a few posters replied that’. A few? So most did not then.

Dianapiano · 30/01/2025 08:09

I am old and I have lived with groups being persecuted and abused because of their race, sexuality and class. I am really unhappy that there are posters who actively encourage animosity against men. It isn't healthy for society. It breeds bitterness and resentment.

decorativecushions · 30/01/2025 08:09

FootstepAway · 30/01/2025 08:03

By the same posters?

Not a clue. I don't tend to remember usernames!