Why do you enjoy being a woman?

[OrderOnline]

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

It just so happens coincidentally the list of advantages MRAs carry on about. Purely a coincidence, I'm sure.

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.

This. And I think it’s bonkers to feel sorry for men as they can’t give birth, they wouldn’t want to! No need to feel sorry for them.

It’s interesting that a few have said about being pregnant as their reason. I wouldn’t count that personally as any female animal can do that, i would think the best things about being a woman are having the friendships and relationships from a woman’s perspective. That is truly unique to womankind.

I can't really think of anything that I like about being female.

I don't hate it, in the sense that I love my husband and children and wouldn't have them if I wasn't female. But pregnancy and childbirth were overwhelming misery interspersed with brief moments of 'aw, I can feel the baby move, that's so lovely'. And I can't think of anything in day to day life where being a woman is better.

This is a really interesting question and so are the answers....
When I was a child I always thought boys were lucky to be boys because they had more fun and could do more things - probably a reflection on my upbringing and the era I was born into. I never wanted to be a boy but I was envious of the fact that they seemed to do "more adventurous" stuff like climbing trees and sports which were not considered suitable for girls.
When I was in secondary education this extended to girls having to do cookery and sewing (which I hated) and boys being lucky enough to do woodwork (which I asked to do and was refused). This wouldn't happen in today's world in the UK....at least, I hope not.

Because of my childhood experience, I grew up thinking being female wasn't much fun and I didn't enjoy it.
But years later I have changed my mind....the change has come about gradually. My children are grown up and I am now divorced, so free to do what I like, progress career-wise as I wish and to take up hobbies I am intereted in. I am much happier being 'my own person', I have learned how to use a drill and other DIY tools, I travel on my own to various 'adventurous' (and sometimes dangerous) parts of the world, for instance. And I have now realised I am happy being female, quite content with it and happy 'in my own gender'. Therefore in that sense, I really enjoy being a woman, because I love and enjoy the life I have, as the person I am.

What interests me are the replies where many posters say they value having grown a child inside them, or motherhood, or giving birth. I have had children, it was fine, but I didn't (and don't) particularly value it and I'm not sure I enjoyed it that much either. And I don't define myself at all by motherhood, breastfeeding, childbirth etc., these things wouldn't have even occured to me to be part of my enjoyment of being female at all.....

I’m happy enough being a woman gorbthe most part, but I could do without the periods, and fertility has been totally wasted on me, as I have never wanted children, really, I just am what I am.

Noting in particular, I just like being a person. Pregnancy/birth/bf I didn’t see as amazing or spectacular, it’s just a function of female mammals. My relationship with my son is amazing but that’s not because I’m a woman. I’d give life a whirl as a man next time out of curiosity.

I'm a bit ambivalent really. As I've never been a man I couldn't really say how different that would be. I am lucky enough to like being me, I'm content with my personality and my body, which is I think relatively unusual. I look at my children and marvel that they grew inside of me but didn't much enjoy being pregnant, their births were a bit detached (ds) and bloody scary (dd). Breastfeeding had it's ups and downs and dh has spent more time as a SAHP than I have. I remember thinking how unfair it was that dh couldn't take over the pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding thing for one of our children as I resented it all being on me.

All in all I don't feel that my life is so very different to that of my dh really. There have been moments of discrimination or of irritating 'chivalry' but on the whole I've felt treated as a person rather than as a woman, and that's how I like it to be. I'm not radically non conforming but I don't like shopping, fancy clothes or shoes. I've had some good groups of women to socialise and some to look up to, but also enjoy hanging out with men. dh gets a bit bothered about being thought of as a threat, but there again I get to feel a bit threatened from time to time to we're about quits there I think.

Funnily I just asked dh the best thing about being a guy and he said 'penises' where I've always thought that had to be one of the worst (handy for peeing though). I'm heterosexual but women's bodies are just more aesthetically pleasing, at least when naked.

I feel that carrying my children, then breastfeeding them gave me a special early bond with my children. I can’t know, of course, what it would be like to be a father. I’m sure there are some men who feel very bonded to their children too.

Societally, I’ve always felt that women are seen as more caring than men. Despite efforts from people trying to prove women are bitchy and pull each other down, that hasn’t been my experience. I like the idea of being part of the more caring sex.

AbsolutelyCorking It's interesting that you say it's bonkers to feel sorry for men not having babies because they wouldn't want to. I think you are right - my dad has said he can't understand why any woman would do it more than once, given how much it hurts. He has a close bond with his dc, so from his pov he got all the good stuff and none of the discomfort.
From my pov though, I think he has no comprehension of how amazing it was to me to grow humans from scratch. I guess nature has made men and women largely content with our biological roles so we carry on producing humans.

Men are often treated suspiciously and as potential sex attackers or paedophiles

This is so sad but true. Like my dad feels very awkward going for a walk by himself through the local park, he loves his walks, but said he has to avoid the child's play area because he's paranoid people will think "oh there's that man again lurking around the children".

(But then... kind of also think maybe men should stop being sex offenders and paedophiles then they can stop complaining about that perception...)

As a woman I haven't really thought about it much but I guess we can walk around on pur own without people thinking we must be up to no good...

** N.A.M.A.L.T.

My husband says the same. He says he doesn't know any man who would be willing to be a parent if they had to go through pregnancy and, particularly, birth. And he truly can't fathom why anyone would see trying to do it all without pain relief as a worthy aim.

(But then... kind of also think maybe men should stop being sex offenders and paedophiles then they can stop complaining about that perception...)

I can’t get on board with this. An individual cannot be accountable for the actions of another individual just because they are members of the same sex class.

No of course not but you can't stop people casting judgement on a group because of the actions of some in that group, when the actions are so extreme and specific to that group.

I hated being a girl because my family were majorly into gender stereotyping, and being a girl was a load of drudgy shit allied with having to 'look nice'.

These days I'm fucked off because my nhs hospital trust thinks it's acceptable to leave women in considerable gynaecological pain for a very long time.

The bit in the middle was being treated like crap at work.

As I get older I realise just how much easier my life would have been if I'd been a man. Sometimes it feels as though women are going backwards.

Especially a non-working class man. It seems to me that a penis and a posh voice will take you pretty much anywhere. All confidence and entitlement and not mattering what you look like/weigh.

I don't enjoy it or not enjoy it, I just am.

TBH the idea of babies inside me freaks the shit out of me and I am so glad I won't have to do that. I could do without periods and feeling crappy too (although now on Mirena which brings slightly different issues wow I didn't realise my boobs could bloat so much)

But those things aside, I don't know if I'd like being a man much either. All that repressed emotion and "one of the lads banter" bullshit. And they have to wear ties for no useful reason too.

I DO envy anyone who has a lifelong best friend though. For various reasons I have maybe 2 friends at absolute tops, although I rarely see either of them due to distance.

I don't enjoy being a woman. I'm just me. I like that I get to put on make-up when I want and feel sorry that men can't do this any more (historically, they did) because it is so creative but apart from that, there's nothing I really "enjoy".

I especially don't enjoy that I would have been taken so much more seriously in my career if I had been a man.

Patodp that’s like saying if terrorists stopped committing murder in the name of Allah, Muslims wouldn’t experience racial abuse. No you can’t stop people casting judgment as you say, but educated, rationale people should not be casting those judgments. Your “kind of think” comment appears to endorse such judgments

Even the most well informed highly educated scientist will have unconscious bias which shows up in their work even when it shouldn't.

You're totally right and shouldn't happen and it's terrible that it does.

Anyway..... derail....

I’m really glad I got to experience pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. But now I am finished with all that i’d happily wake up as a man tomorrow. I’d prefer that to going through menopause etc!

Multiple orgasms ! Yes

Sorry, multiple orgasms Yes Yes YES

I like the fact that my gender and personality are in sync. Gender wise, I feel exactly right and it’s lovely because in most other areas of my life I feel there’s an uncomfortable mismatch e.g. enjoying intellectual discussions but not having the intellect to match, no strong identification with a particular social class because my early life doesn’t match my adult life.
Gone a bit off track there, but yes happy being female.

I never gave it much thought, except when molested on the tube/in the park or wherever, happened quite a few times. In that case, I'd love to have the strength of a man and be able to respond. Apart from that, I've always considered myself a person blessed with a healthy body that happened to be female.

As I get older, I am more aware of how some things are down to me being a woman. Before I had kids, I was asked during job interviews (always by women) if I wanted children. Now that I have kids, they grill me about childcare and if I am planning a third. I realise that being a mother will hamper my career if I don't put in 150% of the effort men put in.

I have only just realised that women are "other" in relation to men - default people are men. That was quite an epiphany, a depressing one unfortunately.

I enjoyed pregnancy and giving birth, multiple orgasms are fabulous - those are the only things I can think of that I wouldn't be able to experience as a man. I enjoy being me, the fact that I'm a woman still doesn't feel very important to me. I would definitely feel different if I'd have been unlucky enough to be born in a country with a physically violent misogynist culture.