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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think that all men are…

185 replies

Millie2008 · 16/06/2026 00:09

… really pretty useless?! Well not all men I’m sure.
But a lot of them.
I just feel like I’m seeing examples of useless men
every way I turn…
-weaponised incompetence
-childishness
-selfishness
-carelessness
the list goes on…

I feel like once you see it you can’t unsee it. Friends, family, personal experience, out in public, everywhere!

Happy to be proved wrong

I was just thinking, I’m not sure I can ever go back
to dating men. At my stage of life they will likely be divorced men. And all I’ll be thinking is what did you do to piss your ex off enough to want to leave you…

OP posts:
lulubalu · 16/06/2026 22:20

AWeeCupOfTeaAndAnIndividualFruitTrifle · 16/06/2026 17:19

You could get in touch with Andrew Tate and see if he's interested in setting up a rival faction - he might well appreciate a world with twice as much hatred in it that covers both sides.

That's impressively dumb on multiple levels. I just can't even....

Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:13

PollyBell · 16/06/2026 00:25

OP so your father, brother/s, uncles, work collegues, cousins all are useless?

erm… yea pretty much

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:14

BrendaSmall · 16/06/2026 00:28

Been with my husband since 1983, still best of friends now
Guess I’m lucky!

Yes I really think you are!

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:16

DysmalRadius · 16/06/2026 00:38

Fuck yes!! My dad is a raging bell end, my brother is sweet but feckless and struggles with basic adulting on the regular, I have a couple of cousins who are very much the 'babysitting their own kids' types and a series of male relatives who think I'm 'soft' because I won't force feed my kids or insist that they cut their hair so they don't 'look like girls'.

I worked for years with a bloke who told his wife he worked until 7 to avoid the witching hour while he sat around waiting out the clock. One bloke who always volunteered for travel and told his wife he had to go or his job would be on the line. And one who used the immortal line 'she was a lesbian, but she was actually quite nice' and then got really shitty and threatened me with HR when I pointed out his flagrant homophobia!

And that's just common or garden misogyny and selfishness - actually not that bad in the scheme of things as they aren't violent thugs or casual sex offenders like so many men seem to be.

Almost every dickish man has a family - seeing them up close (more regularly than I'd ideally like) is one of the ways you can tell a man is an unevolved twat.

TBF, my husband is a legend, but we've been together since we were very young, and I suspect he would have been a full on lazy bastard if he'd met someone that would put up with it. Fortunately for him, he met me, and I wouldn't let him! 😇 (And fortunately for me, he wasn't one of those secret wankers that starts treating his partner like shit when kids come along - I've been 'lucky' in that respect!) 🙄

Hard relate to this post. Apart from the legendary husband part.

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:17

HelenaWaiting · 16/06/2026 01:00

They also stink.

Obviously, I'm not joking

literally lolled at this.
more true than I’d like it to be

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:20

Meadowfinch · 16/06/2026 01:29

Most, not all. The vast majority of men are astoundingly selfish, and I have stayed single for that reason. I refuse to waste my life cleaning up after some selfish lazy sod.

However I admit that I have finally met a decent one at work. He is married to a lady who had one child and now they have a second together. He treats both children as his own, adores them both, loves his wife and can't do enough for her. And best of all, he does it all happily.

I am working with a unicorn 😁

This! Sooooo unbelievably selfish - I’m astounded by the lengths they will go to to ensure that their needs are prioritised. But then play the victim on the one occasion where this wasn’t possible 🙄

I’m not sure I trust unicorns…

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:22

TheLocust · 16/06/2026 02:00

Yep. There are a few good ones out there but the majority are useless.

I love my OH dearly but he is generally incompetent and often thoughtless. If we split up or anything happens to him, I wouldn't have another man if he was gift wrapped.

yup. This is me. I want peace. And not to spend my time wallowing in resentment

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:24

TheHateUGive · 16/06/2026 05:53

No i don't have this experience. You attract what you put out I suppose.

I mean… this is offensive to so many women on all kinds of levels.

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:25

Alittlefrustrated · 16/06/2026 06:43

This is it 100% - dare I say you shouldn't even be commenting if you haven't hit perimenopause 🤣 Enlightenment will come. Once it does - just wow. You realise what a slave you have been to your treacherous hormones. The world looks very different.

I like this perspective… liberating

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:30

GreenChameleon · 16/06/2026 07:37

Generally speaking, I think there are just as many childish, careless and selfish women as men. Women are generally better parents, but if you look at all aspects of life, women aren't much better than men.
Violence however is a different matter. Violence is male in 99% (my guess) of all cases and it's a huge problem.

Really? I honestly just don’t feel that I experience it this way - particularly during parenthood. Mothers just generally cannot be childish careless or selfish even if they wanted to - all the whole family system would fall apart

OP posts:
Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:38

FuckYouAndYourEggAndSpoonRace · 16/06/2026 09:09

OP is so raging about this she couldn't even be arsed to come back and respond to posts.

Ha ha - too busy carrying all of the mental and practical load!

OP posts:
JillyComeLately · 17/06/2026 01:03

I wonder how the man haters cope when they have sons.
It must be such a thankless job bringing up a child you know will turn out to be a twat.

PollyBell · 17/06/2026 04:34

FernFaery · 16/06/2026 14:45

But when people think of their dad they think of a nice man that taught them to ride a bike and went to work. They don’t see the endless shit their mothers had to put up with. The vast majority of retired men I know rely entirely on their wives for their social lives, diary keeping, cooking, cleaning, medical appointments and general life admin despite the fact they’re retired and have all the time in the world to do these things themselves.

Being a romantic partner or coparent with a man is very very different to seeing them ‘on display’ at work, or in a social setting.

But women have a choice they dont have to have relationships or children with these men

graygoose · 17/06/2026 04:54

PollyBell · 17/06/2026 04:34

But women have a choice they dont have to have relationships or children with these men

I think that's a bit disingenuous because a) men and boys are held to a lower standard of behaviour than women and girls (see: what was she wearing, don't ruin a young man's promising future for one stupid moment, he's such a good dad for taking his child to the park) and b) many men have been brought up and conditioned by the patriarchy that they are "owed" a wife and mother who will shoulder the mental and emotional load of their husbands and families.
This proposition falls down in a world where for the last 40 years girls have been told we can work, do whatever we want, have it all but boys have been not encouraged to be present partners, pick up the domestic slack, be a true co-parent or even primary parent and see that being a good husband and father is not simply the absence of cruelty, it is active kindness. Perhaps more so in the last 10-15 years, but boys of this age aren't the men OP is talking about.
A terrifying number of otherwise "nice guys" don't recognise this, and this is where we see after 10, 20 years of women shouldering a crushing load at home whilst also working and crying out for help multiple times, god forbid they complain. Think about what society thinks a good husband is and what society thinks a good wife is. We are all of us, men and women, struggling within a system that has historically and encouraged a system of economic inequality in favour of men at the expense of their emotional wellbeing and domestic responsibility to the detriment of both sexes. This kind of inequality in insidious and isn't always obvious until you have had the baby or married the man. So no, it's not as simple as "just pick a better husband."

TheHateUGive · 17/06/2026 05:17

graygoose · 17/06/2026 04:54

I think that's a bit disingenuous because a) men and boys are held to a lower standard of behaviour than women and girls (see: what was she wearing, don't ruin a young man's promising future for one stupid moment, he's such a good dad for taking his child to the park) and b) many men have been brought up and conditioned by the patriarchy that they are "owed" a wife and mother who will shoulder the mental and emotional load of their husbands and families.
This proposition falls down in a world where for the last 40 years girls have been told we can work, do whatever we want, have it all but boys have been not encouraged to be present partners, pick up the domestic slack, be a true co-parent or even primary parent and see that being a good husband and father is not simply the absence of cruelty, it is active kindness. Perhaps more so in the last 10-15 years, but boys of this age aren't the men OP is talking about.
A terrifying number of otherwise "nice guys" don't recognise this, and this is where we see after 10, 20 years of women shouldering a crushing load at home whilst also working and crying out for help multiple times, god forbid they complain. Think about what society thinks a good husband is and what society thinks a good wife is. We are all of us, men and women, struggling within a system that has historically and encouraged a system of economic inequality in favour of men at the expense of their emotional wellbeing and domestic responsibility to the detriment of both sexes. This kind of inequality in insidious and isn't always obvious until you have had the baby or married the man. So no, it's not as simple as "just pick a better husband."

You realise that several absolutely vile women complain that there is no man out there good enough for them. They have no idea that the men they'd most want are avoiding them like the plague because those men want a nice woman.

TheHateUGive · 17/06/2026 05:18

Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:24

I mean… this is offensive to so many women on all kinds of levels.

It goes for men, too. The reason why people like Andrew Tate only find shallow gold diggers us because they aren't good men. The worst women are the only ones interested in them
.

HelmholtzWatson · 17/06/2026 05:27

"Love is often nothing but a favorable exchange between two people who get the most of what they can expect, considering their value on the personality market." Einrich Fromm.

In other words, people get what they deserve in the dating market. All those people moaning about useless partners should get their own glass house in order.

SquirrelGG · 17/06/2026 05:48

Corryvreckan · 16/06/2026 08:30

Completely agree.
The very few nice men are the exception rather than the rule.

I see we have the usual handmaidens popping up here feeling the need to pretend that arsehole behaviour is equally represented in both sexes.

I am very much the opposite of a handmaiden, but agree with pps. Why is it okay to point out arsehole behaviour in men, but not allowed to say that many women are also arseholes. Reading some many of the posts on MN shows just how awful some women are, there is no "pretend" about it.

It also seems to me that some women are incapable of finding the nice men, they appear to be attracted more to the other sort, then complain.

GreenChameleon · 17/06/2026 06:37

Millie2008 · 17/06/2026 00:30

Really? I honestly just don’t feel that I experience it this way - particularly during parenthood. Mothers just generally cannot be childish careless or selfish even if they wanted to - all the whole family system would fall apart

As I said, I do think mothers are generally the better parents. But on the whole, I don't think women are the better sex. I get the impression women have a massive blind spot about their own behaviour, whereas they're very critical of men.

WhereverIlaymycatthatsmyhome · 17/06/2026 06:52

anotherdaytosmile · 16/06/2026 00:11

Most men are cunts. Fact. Finding the good minority ones is a skill.

True.

I don’t have this skill so I stay very happily single.

I have managed to raise a superb son though, who is 25 now and a brilliant partner to his lovely girlfriend.

cheeseyy · 17/06/2026 06:53

People in general are just awful. Women cheat, lie and are lazy etc too. Not according to mn though. It’s just 99% of men who are scum and women can do no wrong

Ilovegolf · 17/06/2026 06:55

TheHateUGive · 16/06/2026 07:34

You said:

"How on earth have I “attracted” my male relatives, my friends partners, my male colleagues? I haven’t, they are simply in my orbit. And yes, most range from vaguely incompetent to utterly vile twats."

So most of the men that you notice around you are this way inclined..all except your magical husband (for now at least). You fit my pattern entirely. You were raised by these type of men so expect all men to meet this negative stereotype.

The only relevant thing thing you said there is “my pattern”. And you are quite right, about that at least. This is YOUR pattern, not mine.

GreyCarpet · 17/06/2026 07:22

I get the impression women have a massive blind spot about their own behaviour, whereas they're very critical of men.

I do agree with this.

Some one said previously that when they look back on times they've been treated badly by others in life it's been a fairly equal split between men and women. I'd agree with that too from my own experience.

It's just that a) the poor behaviour presents differently and b) the majority of people are heterosexual so most women will live.more closely with men rather than women. So men will have a greater impact on our lives.

There's also a strange dichotomy on MN whereby women will claim men are absent parents even within their own home and do nothing but when a man can't use a washing machine (or cook or dress their children or pack for a holiday or whatever) and someone says, "His mum never taught him," or "His mum does all his washing for him," or the wife insists on doing it because he won't be able to do it properly there's an outcry about blaming women for men's behaviour.

Well, if there are supposedly generations of men who can't use washing machines etc or were never allowed to do x, y, z because they werent any/as good at it, there won't be any men to teach their sons how to use washing machines etc and so if women are the default parents and women are the only ones who do these things actually it probably does fall to women to raise their sons differently. Especially if the husband/father isn't doing it. That's how you change it for the future generations.

You only have to read threads where a woman is complaining that her daughter in law hasn't done something (eg taken the childen to visit, allowed her to visit, babysit or whatever) to see that there are also a lot of women who hold other women to much higher parenting and domestic standards than men in the first place and see the home and family as a woman's domain.

Disclaimer: I did raise my son differently and I don't expect anyone other than him to be responsible for himself and I've never met a man who couldn't use a washing machine or expected me to 'mother' him.

Men are also heavily criticised for their 'socialisation' over which they have no control. Whereas women use their own socialisation as an 'excuse' because they had no control over it. Men are expected to just realise and instinctively know that their socialisation was wrong and detrimental to those around them and reject it. Whereas women are 'victims' of their socialisation and can't ever be expected to realise it as detrimental even to themselves.

Women are just as responsible for perpetuating the 'socialisation' as men. Yes, structural inequality exists and we are all raised within the patriarchy. Many people can see that this is just as detrimental to men and causes problems for both sexes, it just manifests differently. But within our own homes, we don't have to accept it.

But in terms of people being generally deceitful, self serving, manipulative, unkind etc they're human traits not male ones.

LanyardSpaghetti · 17/06/2026 07:27

It seems really common to reach this conclusion around / during perimenopause.

I have less patience since peri with those men who are crap at many aspects of being a decent adult human. Fortunately I'm insulted from some of the worst of it. In my work environment, overt misogyny is somewhat frowned upon, though, it almost goes without saying that outward behaviours often don't match private thoughts and biases. My husband does the lion's share of the housework. I'm involved in kids clubs alongside men who are volunteering their time to help young boys and girls do things they enjoy.

There are decent men out there. Maybe some of the divorced ones learn to look after themselves when they find themselves alone, and maybe subsequent marriages set off on a different footing. But, my word, I'd steer well clear of the majority of men my age if I ever found myself looking for another life partner, to the extent that I wouldn't think it worth actively trying to find one.

82andahalf · 17/06/2026 07:28

Just because all the men you know are like this, doesn’t mean the rest of the global male population is. I think that’s a strange assumption to make.

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