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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What is something socially acceptable for one gender to do but not the other?

125 replies

FunkyTime · 21/02/2020 17:37

Anything you can think off?

I will start
Going topless - men it's totally fine but women get heckled and slagged off for it

OP posts:
JacquesHammer · 21/02/2020 17:39

Casual sex! Definitely frowned upon for women.

bridgetreilly · 21/02/2020 17:52

Painted nails: completely fine for women, but not men.

Pppppickupapenguin · 21/02/2020 17:54

Strippers.

Ladies nights are 'cool and fun' mens version is 'tacky and sleazy'.

TheMemoryLingers · 21/02/2020 17:55

Kissing platonic friends of the same sex on greeting/farewell - OK for women, not for men - at least, not in the UK.

dudsville · 21/02/2020 17:55

I was thinking about this earlier. A woman can adjust her bra strap but not scratch her nethers.

katy1213 · 21/02/2020 17:56

It's not socially acceptable for men to scratch them either!

SmileEachDay · 21/02/2020 18:00

Be ambitious
Be assertive
Be single into 40s
Leave children at home within 2 weeks of birth
Prioritise career over children
Sleep with whoever they like

I bet we can all guess which sex those things are unacceptable for.

SerendipityJane · 21/02/2020 18:00

Fuck off and leave your kids ?

Isadora2007 · 21/02/2020 18:04

Females-
Wear trousers or skirts/dresses.
Wear makeup.
Sleep in the same bed as same sex friends.
Dance in all types of genre.

Males-
Leave their babies within hours of birth
Carry on their careers after having Children
Have time consuming hobbies that impinge on family time.

titchy · 21/02/2020 18:05

Pee against a tree...

june2007 · 21/02/2020 18:05

Serendeipity. That not exceptable for either but both do doit.( And sometimes it,s easier to walk away then stay in a toxic situation.)

GentleBen · 21/02/2020 18:08

Shave your hair off. I mean, Britney tried it but it wasn't what anyone would call a success...

Stompythedinosaur · 21/02/2020 18:08

Dp got stick at work for requesting flexible working to accommodate childcare.

But generally women miss out - particularly where it comes to leadership I think. Women are 'bossy' or 'nags' while men are 'dominant' or 'assertive'.

MarieQueenofScots · 21/02/2020 18:08

Not paying for your kids.

Imagine if women tried that en masse

Whynosnowyet · 21/02/2020 18:09

Stand manhandling their genitals...

TheMemoryLingers · 21/02/2020 18:09

Cultivate a beard or moustache.

SmileEachDay · 21/02/2020 18:09

That not exceptable for either but both do doit.( And sometimes it,s easier to walk away then stay in a toxic situation.)

Are you denying that the reactions would be different if a woman did this? Men do it all the time - and largely not because of a “toxic situation”

1forsorrow · 21/02/2020 18:10

Women can cry in public, men get ridiculed for it.
Waste hours playing xbox or similar - more acceptable for men than women.

1forsorrow · 21/02/2020 18:12

Not paying for your kids. I don't think that is socially acceptable.

Imagine if women tried that en masse I think women less likely to leave their kids but the couple of women I know who did it couldn't believe they were expected to pay, it was a bit "I'm a lady."

Siameasy · 21/02/2020 18:12

More socially acceptable for men to fart (usually amusing if they do)

What I notice most is that it is not socially acceptable for women to be “not nice” and basically that means women who do not exist for the male gaze or ego are not socially acceptable to either sex

susandelgado · 21/02/2020 18:14

Going topless - men it's totally fine but women get heckled and slagged

I really envy men in the summer.
I would really love to walk around naked to the waist when it's hot!

1forsorrow · 21/02/2020 18:14

Cultivate a beard or moustache. That's my favourite, I'm getting to the age where it might be possible.

TheMemoryLingers · 21/02/2020 18:14

Wear high heeled shoes (although this was briefly OK for men in the 1970s).

Dozer · 21/02/2020 18:16

Upon separation / divorce parent DC only every other weekend and for the odd afternoon/early eve, and pay minimal maintenance.

Dozer · 21/02/2020 18:16

Body hair.