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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Men using Mumsnet for support

177 replies

LoeliaPonsonby · 01/11/2020 20:03

Bear with me. This is not particularly coherent and I am not as eloquent as many of you on here.

But I am naffed off with the increasing number of men using Mumsnet for emotional support (Fully prepared to be told actually it’s always been this way and it’s all in my head). Why are they choosing Mumsnet for their emotional labours? What’s wrong with Pistonheads, or Digital Spy, or another interest based forum?

It just massively gets my back up. I have no problem with random women asking for advice, first time poster or no. But when a man comes along and wants advice about the fact he’s not happy in his marriage, or that he’s realised he’s gay and has screwed over his wife and family (but let’s not talk about them), I just want to say, just fuuuuuck offfff. We are all busy picking up the pieces of the women who’ve been screwed over by your emotional cowardice, can’t you find some men to sort you out?

In real life, I don’t believe in tribalism, in only helping my own “kind”. But on MN it really pisses me off.

So I don’t know what I’m asking. Or why I’m posting this.

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 01/11/2020 20:24

Men using MN for genuine parenting support is absolutely fine - 'by parents, for parents'. But some of the stuff you describe, yes, it's manipulative and misplaced.

PicsInRed · 01/11/2020 20:10

Too often it becomes clear that their wife is a mumsnetter and they're either trying to manipulate her into taking him back, or into feeling sorry for him, or he's sometimes even attempting to get a group of mumsnetters to slag the wife off so he can say to her "See? All your mumsnet mates think you're a bitch too".

Too often it's obvious that there is a subtext to the posting.