To wonder why male things are always better?

[Bumpitybumper]

Has anyone else noticed things typically associated with men are considered to be better? Examples I've noticed:

Trivial
Names - baby girls being given male names is considered cool and trendy (James, Noah etc) but this seems to seldom work in reverse.
Colours - pink is often rejected even for girls because it's too 'girly' but blue is acceptable for both sexes.

Non-trivial
Professions - women are encouraged to enter typically make dominated STEM industries but little is done to address the appalling pay, conditions and underappreciation of female denominated sectors such as teaching, caring etc
Childcare - the onus seems to be on getting more women into FT work rather than spending time at home to raise their children. Tax system and free childcare entitlements designed to encourage this rather than to incentivise men AND women to be SAHPs.

There are loads of other things I've noticed too.

AIBU to be deeply cynical about why the traditionally male approach is always seen to be superior and to worry that this isn't the best way to achieve equality?

ArcheryAnnie and I didn't catch any explanation for her being called Michael, other than it presumably sounding tougher and more heroic than a feminine name.

I know, Mrsffrumble! And I find it implausible that Michael Burnham is the first baby girl to have been named Michael by the 23rd century - a quick look at the MN baby-naming threads shows how quickly names get passed from boys to girls (and occasionally back the other way).

It's a Bryan Fuller thing - he often (always?) gives the lead female in his shows a traditionally male name.

" shows how quickly names get passed from boys to girls (and occasionally back the other way)."

I can't think of any that have gone from girl to boy- what am I missing?

I can't think of any that have gone from girl to boy- what am I missing?

I can't either. Also there is a tradition of feminising men's names so they can name their daughters after them - Nigella, Roberta, Paula and so on. I can't think of equivalent masculine versions of women's names for naming of sons.

Bertrand splendide I suppose I had my own DS's name in the back of my mind - he was named after a beloved female relative of mine, but in turn she was named after her grandfather! (Think a broadly still unisex name.)

Also there is a tradition of feminising men's names so they can name their daughters after them - Nigella, Roberta, Paula and so on. I can't think of equivalent masculine versions of women's names for naming of sons.

While clearly more an individual idiosyncracy than a societal trend, I've never known whether to admire or shake my head at the chutzpah of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett calling their children Willow and Jaden.

Lisa I am ashamed to say I never made that connection!

Mind you, I always find it weird when men name their sons after themselves - John, John Jr, etc. It's so narcissistic.

I have noticed, too, how much more frequently names passed down multiple generations of a family (the oldest boy is always Thomas or whatever) are male than female, which seems particularly unfair when patriarchal surnames are used. When my dad researched our family tree he found we used to have a female one that died out, which I was hoping to resurrect if this baby was a girl (he isn't).

Pockets are political.

Women's names are chiefly given to boys as surnames as middle names.

E.g. Mary Smith is honoured in the naming of John Smith Evans.

We did this, fwiw: we ttc pfb in the wake of losing my grandmother, and he has her surname as his middle name. It is, however, a very common boy first name, so doesn't "show" as Pankhurst (etc) might.

I have a middle name passed down through female generations, but I never had a daughter (or sister) so the line ends here.

male-dominated professions suddenlyseem to become devalued when women start taking them up

Agree with this and Bertrand above.

I'm a scientist in a previously male-dominated field. As the ratio of females to males has crept up, the salary has slipped down relative to other male-dominated STEM subjects

Ooh yes Jaden from Jada is an example!

I missed that.

Superga ‘unisex’ trainers are actually sized according to men’s sizing.

Men’s fragrances are a lot cheaper per mo than women’s - even for the same brand/scent.

Per ml, not per mo.

I read on here about an area in Ireland where Florence was used as a boys name. With the shortening Flurry. Which i think is lovely. But other than that i can't think of any. I know 3 little boys called Lulu, but they are named a male longer name and Lulu is the shortening. I wonder how long they will keep Lulu.

I also know a few boy Cody's and Jodie's which i thought were girls names.

Except that Jaden as a name is well established as male. That's like saying Luke comes from Lucy.

My son's middle name is my original surname, it is a boy's name so not unusual bit like if my surname was Thomas. I thought of it as giving him a link to my late father without using the first name I share with father but of course I shared the surname as well, I think I must have had a bad case of baby brain.

I love Flurry as a first name.

It was briefly discussed at work a few weeks ago. My colleague asked if we females still felt pressured into getting married and interestingly we all said no. He said he wondered whether it was a class divide and the working class still have that pressure whereas middle class women are more career driven and don’t feel it as much. He also pointed out various points of obvious sexism in today’s society including the fact women are ‘sluts’ for having multiple sex partners whereas men are just ‘jack the lads’ and on the flip side the stereotype that men should do all of the DIY when he is useless and his wife does it all. I think another point was that women can’t actively fart in public and make out like it’s hilarious whereas men still can. Trivial but true.

Also my son has a boy’s name that is also a shortened girls name but has recently been adopted as a girls full name occasionally which actually grates on me. If I hear a girl called it I automatically will say ‘ahh -insert full name-, lovely name’ just to be a twat.

I once got a really grovelling apology email from a kids club i had signed DS1 up for as they had kept referring to him on email as a girl. I just said btw DS1 is a boy after a few emails and they were really sorry. It irritated me because it was as if the worst thing ever was to mistake a boy for a girl. They kept saying they hope they hadn't caused offence to me etc. I replied that it was fine - it wasn't that bad being a girl surely!

I was 'mistaken' for a girl in Scotland a long time ago, just because I had long hair.

My first name and last name are both common in Ireland. Very common. My first name can be for either a boy or a girl, but my surname definitely isnt. Due to most forms requiring surname first, they get mixed up all. the. time.

Best place it ever happened was in the ante natal clinic. Youd have thought theyd have known better.