To think most men have a fragile ego?

[MyAmusedOpalCrab]

I don’t mean every single man but honestly… in my experience and that of most women I know, a lot of men have incredibly fragile egos.

You challenge their opinion = they get defensive. You outperform them = they go quiet or sulk. You give feedback = they take it as a personal attack. You don’t need them = somehow that’s threatening.

It’s mad how much energy women spend softening, stroking or tiptoeing around egos just to keep the peace, especially in relationships or work settings. And what’s more frustrating is how rarely it’s acknowledged. If a woman acts emotionally, it’s “drama.” If a man’s ego gets bruised, suddenly everyone needs to manage his feelings.

AIBU to think that most men’s egos are way more fragile than society admits and women are often the ones doing the emotional heavy lifting to protect them?

Nope

Not my husband, he is very gracious and takes criticism very well.

I dunno, I've known a lot of women like this too. People in general seem to be less collaborative these days

This

The biggest con ever is convincing people that females are the emotional ones.

I think more men are led by their emotions than they would like to admit.

I think it's people rather than men, but there are certain things which seem to hit men specifically. My husband is the most caring, thoughtful, reflective person I know but I made fatal error one year of saying yes when a handsome chap at a garden centre offered to put our Christmas tree into our boot.
This gets referenced every year since 😂

Me and my brother were having this very discussion the other night. He thinks that men are as emotional as women, but just express it in different ways.

But, to answer your question, I do feel like most of the men I've been with have fragile egos yes. But then I've also required/people felt compelled to tiptoe around me at points in my youth, due to rejection sensitivity, so who knows.

Oh yes. Sick of walking on eggshells when selfish men think they’re perfect and don’t want to hear any different.
There are only so many ways you can try and phrase things so they land well when they make no effort before you realise they never cared and you leave.

You challenge their opinion = they accuse you of misogyny get defensive.
You outperform them = they say patriarchy go quiet or sulk.
You give feedback = they take it as a personal attack.
You don’t need them = somehow that’s threatening.

See, it's horribly easy to paint stereotypes.

But, to quote Mencken...

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong

We're all people, individuals, and stereotyping is sh*t regardless of gender.

I think most people, regardless of the contents of their pants, have egos that can be bruised. It's a rare person who can take all sorts of perceived criticism without being hurt by at least some of it.

It's not fragility and ego. It's immaturity.

Ego really isn’t gender specific.

This times 1000

what a radical idea

Not any more or less than women have fragile egos I suppose. Quite a few women I know act like that, and a few men like that too but I personally know more women then men like that. I'd say it's a personality problem rather than a gender one.

You need to meet a better class of man.