People Explain Which Things They Wish Were Normalized For Their Gender
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Society places a lot of expectations on us based on our perceived gender, and those expectations can be a major burden. Guys who like pink or want to be nurturing fathers, women who like sports, gaming, or working out, all are often ridiculed or deemed suspicious by society. Nonbinary folks are often not acknowledged at all, and are expected to rigidly adhere to the role predetermined by their sex assigned at birth.


Reddit user Zealousideal-Way3105 asked:

"What do you wish was normalized for your gender?"

Kids Are Great

Showing enthusiasm towards random children.

Why do I have to pretend like they don't exist?

-Equilibriator

I had a daycare when my kids were growing up so they were used to giving littles attention. Later my son worked in a grocery store and realized that parents get offended if a man shows a reaction to their cute little kid. Even if that kid is waving at him, he waves back and mama bear gets angry. So dumb. He's not gonna jump in the cart with your kid. Geez

-ninazo96

Ironically, being a woman that doesn't really enjoy being around kids and doesn't want them myself, I wish it was normalized for me to not show enthusiasm towards kids.

-It_is_Katy

Anyone Can Struggle With Mental Illness

Mental illness, but that should be for everyone. Being a 6'5 250 pound dude with anxiety? Yeah I don't get taken serious in the slightest bit.

-ironman217

Unfortunately I think women aren't taken seriously either. It's just society deems women to be "weaker" and this falls in line with societal expectations/perceptions as "fragile" beings. There is hardly true support or understanding.

-galaxiesandquarks

I feel you. I'm a 6'6" 280 lb man who's dealt with depression and anxiety since my early teens. Despite having what should have been very obvious symptoms that were readily visible to my parents, teachers, and school counselor, I didn't get any help as a kid. And having that attitude projected towards me made it take me a long time to realize that it was okay for me to get myself help as an adult.

-FriendlyLib81

Tradespeople Can Be Any Gender

I really wish women were more common in the trades.

Additionally, it shouldn’t be shocking when a woman knows how to use power tools or understands how a house is put together. It’s a valuable life skill.

-OceanIsVerySalty

Agreed. My mom is the handy one of the house and she’s teaching me. I think it’s vital for all genders to learn all aspects of running a home (cooking, using tools, cleaning properly) because it’s all equally important and it’s stupid that you’re supposed to be exempt from half of it if you’re a certain gender smh

-Rerepottla

It Doesn't Matter What Time Of The Month It Is

Having a bad day because you're having a bad day, not because you have PMS

-LAESanford

Or when you aren't feeling good people's first question is if you're pregnant

-linz1129

"I said I have a sinus infection, Cathy, not a baby infection."

-EvangelineTheodora

Nobody Has To Wear Makeup

Not wearing makeup or having to look pretty all the time.

-mtn4444

I would settle with just not being asked if I'm sick if I go without.

-APotatoPancake

On the flip side I wish I could conceal my adult acne without being judged for makeup… lol

-ian2121

Pink Is For Everyone

Not for me but my son. He loves pink. He's always been drawn to it. He picked out a pair of pink glasses at the eye doctor and I immediately said yes because he loved them. I'm so afraid he is going to get bullied but he is so proud of his new glasses. He wanted his hair pink this summer and I let him do it. Why can't little boys like pink too? He also loves monster trucks and dinosaurs. We live in the American south in a small town so you can probably imagine what the people in this town are like.

-AndiArch

Being a stay at home dad. Mom does it and she's a hero. Dad does it and he's a failure. It's not cool.

-T-MinusGiraffe

Have a friend that is a SAHD. It has been a struggle for him over the years. Between the lack of support structures online (ie: good online communities for talking about different things or venting stress/concerns) and just how family and in-laws act about it.

He at least hasn't had to deal with societal issues at large for a number of reasons. One of the things that triggered the f**k out of him though was when he went in with his kid for regular checkups, the doctors/nurses would ask his wife questions about the kid even though the staff knows he is the main care taker. At one point his wife had to snap at the staff and tell them they need to ask him those questions because he knows more.

For as progressive as the West has moved in some ways on these kinds of things, it's still stuck in certain mindsets.

-vix86

I'm a woman who is into watching certain sports. Some guys don't think that's normal.

So many guys have to quiz me on my fandom. It's crazy. They don't do that to their guy friends.

-brokendowndryer

Oh boy, as a woman who's been playing video games and reading comics for over 20 years...I know all about the quizzing.

-TheLostSkellyton

Boys Like Flowers Too

Getting flowers. Ain't no one ever get flowers for men. Flowers are great.

-CaesarWrap

Told my partner I think it's bullsh*t that men don't get flowers and the next day she surprised me with a bunch of chrysanthemums. Needless to say I was over the moon.

-Astray1789

Kitties For Everybody!

Being cat dad. I mean seriously, what is weird about a guy having a cat?

-User1701d

Years ago my roommate and I were picking up a cat from a farm, and they legit asked ‘what do 2 guys want with a cat anyways’ same thing as everyone else.

-Bobajeno

There is a guy on Twitter who talks about his journey to being a cat dad. It's so damn sweet that sometimes I just search the hashing catdad and read it again.

-Megadeathchick

Arbitrary gender-based societal expectations hurt everybody. It doesn't hurt anyone for folks to have a mixture of likes and dislikes that are considered mascilune or feminine.