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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Why do you enjoy being a woman?

181 replies

OrderOnline · 27/02/2018 19:36

I am happy I was born female. I just am.Smile

OP posts:
halfwitpicker · 27/02/2018 21:13

The ability to wear a pencil skirt with a pair of hips.

Mogleflop · 27/02/2018 21:15

Because I like being alive, I suppose. I don't have a choice about what biological sex I am after all.

To be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable about making lists like these, as instead of celebrating it, or almost ends up defining womanhood in ways which can be appropriated (if I can do xyz, I can be a woman too), whereas boringly, it's just a matter of biology.

I don't "like" being a woman, I just exist as one.

bellasuewow · 27/02/2018 21:23

The trust I have automatically from people because I am not male and not a threat. I can have more relaxed and friendly conversations with strangers. My dh says he feels more accepted when he is with me and our little one out and about ( he does have a bitchy resting face though)
I can have a real laugh with people and tell a joke without being interpreted as creepy or untrustworthy. I have no issues with being around small children or anyone vulnerable that some one may think I am a pervert. I love the clothes and my body and the way it moves.

BarrackerBarmer · 27/02/2018 21:32

The only thing that objectively makes me female are the things my female body can do that men's bodies can't.

I do think it's mindblowing that I made people. And fed them with my body.

Even years on I just think wow. Can't believe I did that. It almost feels like science fiction.

I also love that as I realise my place in the world I'm finding actual kinship with other women. We are all waking up to our similar experiences of navigating our lives in this type of body, and knowing I'm not alone, feeling this solidarity is immense. Powerful.

actuallyithinkitdoes · 27/02/2018 21:44

I always, always wanted to have a baby, be pregnant, give birth and breastfeed. Always.

So when I finally got pregnant I was so excited, but had HG so badly I got admitted to hospital for weeks. I considered an abortion, I seriously considered suicide and had to call the Samaritans. My birth went so wrong, we could have lost her and my EMCS was terrifying. Due to severe birth trauma and PTSD my milk never came in and I took months to recover and didn't bond with my baby properly. I felt cheated- this to me was the best thing about being a woman.

But now I look at her and I get to think, I'm a mum. I'm her mum. And one day she will call me mum and that will be the best ever day of being a woman for me

MagnificentDelurker · 27/02/2018 21:59

I found women magical when I was little. Where I grew up women cooked which was definition of magic. Making food out of hard and inedible stuff. They made clothes out of shapeless cloth. And they always had a big project going on which was seasonal. For example, making jam out of rose petals. With all the smell and colour. Never mind that they grew a whole new person in their tummies. I could not wait till I grew up and became more like them. Men in my family worked in the office so to me they looked like children as women always looked after them and they also had flat chests. They were like me but difference was that I could grow up to become a woman and they couldn't. I am not being fair to men as those men whom I would class as "magical" as child were not in my family. Oh well, then I grew up a bit and looked around me and then I did not want to be a woman.

LassWiADelicateAir · 27/02/2018 22:07

The trust I have automatically from people because I am not male and not a threat. I can have more relaxed and friendly conversations with strangers

I mentioned similar on a thread about how your day would be different if you were a man. Mine was things like being in trains or at the opera on my own where women will speak to each other. In these situations single men don't or only engage once the conversation has got going.

I loved being pregnant but am not overwhelmed by the growing another human bit (possibly because I grew up on a stock farm and growing young things is what female animals do) I hated breastfeeding. It was the only time I didn't like being a woman.

Clothes, shoes, jewellery are just so much nicer.

According to my husband being allowed to be useless at, and completely uninterested in, sport is one advantage of being a woman.

LardLizard · 27/02/2018 22:09

Bringing children into the world and your body creating those children
And friendships

DarthArts · 27/02/2018 22:20

Very little if I'm honest.

I struggle to think of anything I do as a woman that I couldn't as a man that doesn't have negative connotations.

I know some women revel in motherhood, but tbh I can't see myself loving my DS less if I'd not gestated, BF and birthed him.

I'd be happy to have enjoyed fertility without periods.

I'd have enjoyed a career in a male dominated industry without having to constantly prove myself to be "better than" my counter parts to get the same level of success.

I wouldn't have to wear a bloody bra.

Atm all I can think of is not having to wear a tie and having to shave my face.

AskBasil · 27/02/2018 22:23

I like knowing that I've been forced to think harder than men, look harder, analyse more, because the things they take for granted (and I took for granted when I was young) have conflicted with my life experience, because I got treated differently from the way they did- because I was female - and I noticed that and they didn't.

Being an outsider makes you sharper.

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 27/02/2018 22:26

Call me crazy but, being pregnant and giving birth . Yes it's uncomfortable, messy, unglamorous, painful, scary... etc but it's also
bloody amazing. I still remember so clearly feeling my kids in my belly - I look at how big they are now and I'm just still blown away. I don't think I would want to swap that experience with their Dad.

smithsinarazz · 27/02/2018 22:39

Oh, great conversation. I've always been a bit put off by the thought process that goes "Being a woman is crap. Childbirth and sexism and uncomfortable shoes. Therefore, give me virtue credits." I'd rather celebrate what I am than belittle my state. On my list would be: not having to care about sports, being able to dress up when I want and down when I want, and not having to make every-bloody-thing into a competition.
Mind, I always used to hang around with more men than women. The sexes are better off with each other.
We've almost all mentioned "growing humans". It's been transformative for me. I never thought I'd have kids, or that I'd enjoy it if I did. But then I did. I bloody loved being pregnant, once I got over the feeling sick stage. I blossomed, burgeoned, flourished, was fascinated by the strong little body cradled within my own. And as I grew larger I was welcomed within a global feminine embrace. Never have I felt so beloved, never so powerful, never so knitted within the greater world. I always thought myself dysfunctional, physically and socially. Growing my son exorcised those fears and gave me a double vindication.

MarSeeAh · 27/02/2018 22:44

Don't know. I'm just me, and actually the older I get, the angrier I get about the misogyny which just seems to be part and parcel of life.

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 27/02/2018 22:49

I loved being pg too. Feeling my babies wriggling and kicking was amazing and I feel sad for men that they never get to experience that in the same way.

I also love my body - I think women are much nicer to look at and I like having soft skin. I know men could moisturise but they don't really. Also willies are a bit ugly and while I am fond of my dh's, men on the whole, really do need to grasp the fact that dick pics are unappealing to most women.

I also like that it was okay for me to be a sahm. No one thought it was weird, like they might have done if dh had done it.

Call me shallow but I also enjoy the make and clothes.

But mostly it is being able to grow a human - that is the most amazing thing ever.

OrderOnline · 27/02/2018 22:54

Also willies are a bit ugly and while I am fond of my dh's, men on the whole, really do need to grasp the fact that dick pics are unappealing to most women.

Yes

OP posts:
Bouledeneige · 27/02/2018 22:56

Being entirely free and independent and funny and kind, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend. And no one tells me what to do or what to feel, or where to go or when to eat, or what to wear or how to spend my money. Everything I have I earned myself.

HairyBallTheorem · 27/02/2018 22:59

Fission no, you're not the only one [needs feeling left out emoticon] [puzzled] will have to do instead. Mind you the ones I have are still pretty bloody amazing, and do seem to last longer than the male variety.

I found pregnancy pretty uncomfortable, but it was still bloody amazing to be able to grow a complete human being from scratch. Still can't quite get over that one a decade later.

Other than that, mostly I just feel like a human being. I do like the fact that my socialisation means it's just easier to talk to people/form friendships, specially female friendships. (My friendships with men are brilliant too, but very blokey, centred round doing stuff rather than emotions - so if they do feel the need to open up emotionally, I find it a really weird experience. Whereas that just feels normal with my female friends. But I'm sure this is socialisation rather than innate).

Echobelly · 28/02/2018 00:02

I look better naked than men. Doesn't matter exactly what my figure's like, I just look better naked than men. Grin

womanhuman · 28/02/2018 01:28

I don’t, I just enjoy being me. Except when I don’t enjoy being me.

runawaywithme07 · 28/02/2018 03:13

It's very superficial, but I like being able to wear dresses, make-up, heels and sparkly stuff etc. I mean obviously men can do that too, but they're likely to get a lot of abuse for it.

I like that, as a woman, I'm not the one who's traditionally expected to make the first move and ask someone out on date. I'm too shy and socially awkward to ever do that.

I like that, as a woman, I'm not seen as a threat. Men are often treated suspiciously and as potential sex attackers or paedophiles, just for being male.

I like that I have control over my fertility. If I ever accidentally got pregnant and didn't want the baby, I could have an abortion. Whereas men don't really have a say. And (whilst I'm entirely pro-choice) I feel very sad for men who want to keep the baby, but their partner chooses to abort.

I like a bit of male chivalry, on occasion. For example when I'm travelling somewhere and a random man helps me with a heavy suitcase. It just gives me a nice feeling.

I like that, as a woman, I'm not expected to be tough all the time. I can be emotional and cry (on occasion) and not be mocked for being a wimp, like a man might be.

And I like that I have a curvy female body. I think that women's bodies are a lot more attractive than men's. And I'm glad our genitals are tucked away, instead of flopping around!

OtterInDisgrace · 28/02/2018 03:16

I’m not sure I do any more, since it’s been annexed for the trans cause. I just find myself upset on a daily basis at how we are being eroded. By ‘we’ I mean biological women.

OtterInDisgrace · 28/02/2018 03:20

The post above sounds like it was written by a man pretending to be a woman.

thebewilderness · 28/02/2018 03:32

Why do I enjoy being a woman? I do not. No more do I enjoy being left handed. Both have been an uphill battle.
I love my women friends and I like floating in water. I like that animals are not afraid of me. I like that children and women are not afraid of me.

thebewilderness · 28/02/2018 03:35

I agree with you Otter.

runawaywithme07 · 28/02/2018 03:42

The post above sounds like it was written by a man pretending to be a woman.

Wow, OK... I don't expect everyone to feel the same way as me. And I know some of the things I mentioned sound a bit trivial and silly. But I think it's sad you would dismiss the feelings and opinions of another woman by accusing her of being a man in disguise. For the record, I'm 100% biologically female and these are the things I genuinely enjoy about being a woman. I think there's plenty of shitty things about being female too, if you'd like me to list those Smile

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