Grr... men who walk two paces in front of their wives / girlfriends

[MrsSawdust]

AIBU to think this is rude and arrogant in the extreme? I see it so often, and the poor woman is usually half running to keep up.

Thing is, my own DH does this. He is a wonderful husband in so many ways, and we do without doubt have an equal partnership. But he comes from a very working class northern background in which this way of walking seems to be the norm (sorry for the generalisation).

When I complain (which I do, all the bloody time) he says I should catch up to him and he's just walking in his own way, not deliberately ignoring me.

So AIBU to think that a couple who are walking together should ... well ... walk together?

paparazzi, papparrazzi, oh, fuck it - photographers.

My DH is always telling me off for doing this to him - I am slightly taller and I walk quickly and I know it is rude but something in me cannot stand to walk slowly hand in hand most of the time (I want to run free with the wind in my hair etc.). I do make an effort to walk with dh holding his hand sometimes and when we are alone together particularly, but it does not come naturally to me to want to do this.

Sometimes I think I am a bloke (in my head) as I am the one who does not want to talk about my feelings and does not spontaneously make gestures of affection etc. Fortunately dh is very in touch with his emotions and good at communicating so we balance each other out.

why does she do that?

Mine used to do this. I think the shouts from behind of "OI! DH! Slow down, I have little legs" pissed him off and now I have a foot problem which prevents me from coming anywhere near his speed, he has slowed down and now actually turns to check where I am

I hate it when he longers behind to look in the window of a gadgety shop without saying he's stopping, I could be mid sentence, then look around and he's a good 20m behind me. All I can do is give him a look and sigh. Sometimes, he's worse than a toddler.

DH does this too and it is bloody annoying. we do start off walking side by side but he is a foot taller than me with long gangly legs and his strides are just so much longer than mine. When I complain he says that he can't walk that slow.
I do get my own back though, when he strides on ahead and I try to call him back because I have stopped to look at something and he can't hear me. Eventually he will realise I am not there and have to walk back to me.

I always walk in front of my husband and tell him to hurry up! My mum does it to my dad as well. I think men I know bimble about and take forever.

I think the slow ones are the unreasonable ones!

I am also a fast walker who finds it hard to slow down. I leave dh behind all the time. He hates going for walks with my family because we are all the same. I'm actually the slower one there. I don't think it's a male/female thing.

Have just remembered a friend who told me that when she first met me she thought I was a bitch because I walk so fast.

Oh FGS!

Men of import have always strided ahead. Its how the world got to where it is today!

Behind every great man is a great woman. Its the natural order of things. Even feminists agree with that statement.

I should add I have just had a nice bottle of Sancerre so am feeling rather philosophical.

My DH has a walking pace that is naturally faster than mine and sometimes I get quite out of breath if I am trying to keep up. To be fair he does try to slow down and when he realises I am struggling he apologises.

When we go out for a long walk in the country - as we do most weekends - I don't mind if he gets a bit ahead because I know he enjoys striding out. Thing is that as DD as got older, and so have I, I now find it is DD and DH who are striding out together and leaving me behind!. They do wait for me to catch up though.

My boyfriend does this. We're both fast walkers but he's taller and therefore faster than me. Usually I shout at him to slow down and he waits for me; what really annoys me, though, is when we're in a hurry to get somewhere - to catch a train, for example - and he powers ahead, leaving me in his wake. We both have to catch the bloody train, what difference does it make if he's there 15 seconds before me?! It's usually his fault we're running late anyway .

OP - I had a male housemate like that. I found the best response was to slow down even more, so the gp got a lot wider and more obvious. If he said anything, I would smile and say I couldn't keep up so I'll see you there! It tended to make him slow down. Every time he speed up again, I'd just say, "I can't keep up, mine's a G&T when you get to the bar, I'll be a couple of minutes behind you." Tended to get him to walk at my pace.

Or just sit you DH down tonight and tell him it's been really upsetting you and could he make an effort to walk by your side - or travel separately.

ball and chain might work

and oh don't get me started on men who dither about gah making you late for everything double-gah

DH walks way ahead of me, it is because I am a slow walker in comparison to him, also easily distracted.

Don't care, I am certainly not going to hurry up to catch up with him, it just means that he has to stand around waiting for me.

what about a chain that links the trouser legs together at the bottom, very discrete, almost invisible. They'd have to mince

someone could make a bucket of money with that idea

My DP does this - he says that he can't change his pace. I think it's strange how the same gap will be between us for the remainder of the walk..

Do you wear heels you can't walk in? If so then YABU.

mmmwine - yes I am OK. Thanks for asking.

EvenBeta with wine though.

No I don't wear heels at all. Ever.

It's also not because he walks faster than me / is taller. I am 3 inches taller than him. And the gap doesn't widen.

However I feel duty bound to report that we went out on a date tonight, walked half a mile to the bus stop and through town etc - he held my hand and walked with me the whole time. It was lovely [happy sigh].

I take it all back. At least the bit about my DH. For now

-wags finger at those of you who admit to leaving your poor dp's behind-

I do this too. I often get told to slow down by my poor DW. But it isn't intentional, my natural gait means I walk around twice as fast as she does. Now she's 7 months pregnant it's even worse. I slow down but find I've drifted ahead without realising.

My DH gets mad at me when I walk behind him (ie, if we have to go single file to pass people) as he thinks it looks subservient and he makes me walk in front of him!

As he's always reminding me, "you're a woman: you walk in front and people get out of your way!" I love that man of mine

Tis always me in front ,because my DH walks unbearably slowly