Redditor FregeanCoder wanted the heteronormative gents out there to share with us, so they asked:
"Straight men, how would you react if a man hit on you?"
I've flirted with many a straight guy, and 99% of the time, it's all gone over well even if they turned me down.
Be Polite
buster keaton GIFGiphy"I've told them thank you but not interested."
twinturboboosted
"Pretty much this for me as well, no need to get scared, but at the same time I did have one super creep, not a comfortable experience."
Empty_Jellyfish_1995
Happy Endings
"My response was, 'I’m flattered, but it’s not my thing.' Guy insisted on buying me that drink anyway as an apology. Thirty years later, we’re still friends. I was best man at his wedding, and now they’re both like brothers to me."
ElectricTurtlez
"Wow, an 'apology' - for flattering you!? Maybe he felt that he made you uncomfortable. Sounds like a generous and humble person."
BoringBob84
"I wish men could do that when women reject them. For some reason, if a woman rejects a straight man he thinks 'being friends' is like a punishment."
Joygernaut
Aww Shucks
"My wife and I were at a gay bar with some friends and one time while alone a young man offered to buy me a drink… it was the most flattering feeling, which I of course told him as I politely declined. He must have been having a rough patch since he was very attractive and had no business hitting on a guy like me. Or maybe it was late and he was drunk."
corona-lime-us
"You could have been his type. Never know."
twinturboboosted
"Haha. Perhaps. I’ll cling to the possibility. I’m just grateful my wife agreed to marry me before I discovered IPA’s and how to smoke meat!!!"
corona-lime-us
Keeping it
"I had a man I thought was hitting on my girlfriend and telling us both multiple times he was into threesomes tell me in a forceful way at the end of the night was gay. I said ah, that's cool man good for you! He walked away looking kind of sad and defeated. It wasn't until the next day that we realized he was hitting on me and we all had a chuckle at my obliviousness."
Gettinrekt1
No Harm
"Well normally at first I’m polite and say no thanks in some way or straight out. If it ends there it’s amusing no harm done. But just like with women if they are overly aggressive after then it’s a lot different. Ashamed of how common that type of stuff is. It has nothing to do with people's sex life. People are capable of all kinds of things. We know this but seem to act like it doesn’t happen."
_Dirty_Deedz_
OHHHHHH!!!!
Seth Meyers Pain GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphy"Probably the same way as when a woman hits on me - be oblivious to it until weeks later when it suddenly dawns on me."
Eccentric_Fixation
I always hate that A-HA moment.
Like, where was my mind at in the moment.
SEE MEEE!!!
Jim Carrey Flirting GIFGiphy"I'm gay, my oldest friend is straight. Took him to a gay bar once. He got very offended that no one tried to hit on him."
J8766557
Why not?
"I'm a straight, bearded, short but pretty muscular guy living in (very liberal) Berlin. Apparently, that's attractive for a lot of gay men so I'm getting hit on by men pretty regularly, a lot more than by women. I usually just tell them I'm not gay and then it depends on their reaction."
"Keep talking, do more drinking, keep dancing... Why not? I've been on the opposite side after a rejection by a woman and it's nice to just keep having a good time instead of an awkward exit that you'll cringe about 10 years later randomly."
Magnetobama
Back when we danced
"Not sure how it works nowadays with apps like Grindr but in the late 90s/2000s, we had a gay club in our city (no longer exists and there’s not another one unless you drive 30 min to a town over). Anyway, I was the straight friend in a group of gay guys because I loved EDM and I think by association, other gay men thought I was gay."
Always flattered, politely said no and they would turn to the next guy waiting in line for a drink and hit on them. Rinse and repeat. I think what I learned is that men regardless of sexual preference are all horny and will try again and again until they find someone down to clown."
irn
Thanks, Corey
"I was at a house party and he started hitting on me. I kind of panicked and said I was dating one of the girls at the party. Went over to her after and asked her to play along because he was hitting on me and I didn’t want to start a fuss. Ended up hooking up with her later that night and 16 years later were married with 2 kids. At our wedding speech, I thanked him even though he wasn’t there. Corey wherever you are, thanks bud."
reload88
Beautiful Hair
"Happened to me by a coworker. I very politely explained I wasn’t gay but it never changed my opinion of him. He eventually thanked me for dealing with it the way I did and I explained it wasn’t necessary to say thanks. I asked him why me though. He replied, 'You’ve got one hell of a head of beautiful hair!' And he was right."
Particular-Paper-558
Be Fair
Criminal Minds Fist Bump GIF by IONGiphy"I flirt a little but make sure he knows I'm straight and there is no opportunity for us to be anything but friends. Gay dudes are some of the best friends a straight guy can have and I don't give a f**k what anyone thinks about that. Just don't lead them on, it's not fair to them."
somedoofyouwontlike
Well it does sound like we've come a long way.
It's nice to know.
Let's flirt.
But when it comes to specific genders dealing with topics that are better left unsaid, Redditor SleepyHead017 asked:
"What do guys 'never' tell girls?"
Whoever smelt it, dealt it.
The Gas Leak
"It wasn’t silent and yes, I can smell it."
– Phrobowroe
"Ah yeye, that reminds me of the ice breaking moment with my gf. We had been dating for some months and one weekend she visited me in my one bedroom apartment. She went to the rest room, which had a paper thin door, and ripped a pretty loud one."
"A few seconds later she asks me if I heard that. Didn't know a proper answer, so I just responded 'No!.' I was also on the tipping point of ripping one, so I did and asked her 'Did you hear that?.' She didn't answer, but I could hear her giggle."
– slimcdk
Courteousness
"For my last girlfriend, I would get up in the middle of the night to 'pee,' except I would just walk into the kitchen and release all the farts I had been holding in while in bed. The one night I ran into my roommate who also had his girlfriend over, and we just stood in the kitchen farting until it was time to go back to bed."
– Bradiator34
"Just fart man. If she farts back, put a ring on it."
– Green-Jello-Farts
Death Breath
"You have Cheez It breath."
– Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Sometimes, it's best to be a mystery.
Genuine Thoughts
"i am deadly afraid you will think i am creepy. that why i am awkward."
– electric-angel
Inside My Head
"What I’m thinking about when you ask me what I’m thinking about because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you what it really was."
– bcereus8
Behind The Wheel
"I don't usually have strong opinions about 'where to go for dinner' because I'm already the only person that drives the car, and I don't want to seem like I'm controlling everything we do together."
– Mr_Shakes
Reading Between The Lines
"Just because i text 'good night' doesn't mean i go to sleep immediately. I just need some time alone."
– Sincityutopia
TMI
"We're not scratching our balls, we're either adjusting them, getting them unstuck from our leg, or plain playing with them. Itchy balls require a pinch and twist."
– UnoriginalUse
Two Modes
"We have two modes. We either notice every tiny little thing but don’t say anything or we just don’t care about most things. It entirely depends on who we are talking to."
– thatonepingu
Pure Fear
"That I'm scared out of my mind to talk to you."
– Quick_Damage4512
If the truth can hurt, why cause harm?
Alone Time
"While I'm quietly saying good night to you and the kids, inside my head William Wallace is screaming 'FREEDOM!'"
– gentlemancorpse42
Boys Club
"Where our really cool boys only treehouse is and no you can't come it's boys only."
– TedIsCoolIGuess
Bordering On Body-Shaming
"When you ask us if a dress is making you look fat or not, we are scared af. We can be your friend, son, brother, bf/fiancé/husband, father but we are scared to to tell you if it actually makes you look fat."
– More-Masterpiece-561
Guys withholding information from women could stem from the stereotype that the fairer sex needs protection from emotional distress.
But if that's the case, being non-communicative depending on the situation can be a disservice, and it undermines the tolerance level women are capable of having.
However, exercising discretion is advised, regardless of gender. Unless the recipient is willing to hear it, harsh truths are better left unspoken.
What do you think?
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
But that doesn't necessarily mean they're all out here having the time of their life. Reddit user "Kyoto_j" asked:
"Guys of reddit, whats one thing you hate about being a dude?"
So we're about to be very honest here and admit that I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Yeah, we're about to talk about penises (a lot) but there's a lot more going on than just "locker room" jokes.
We'll totally start there, though...
Problematic Peeing
peeing feels so good GIFGiphy"Split stream when I pee." - Bantabury97
"A few mornings back I finally did it, guys. The legendary triple stream is real. Rejoice." - theyfoundmeomg
"And the little dribble at the end I can't begin to count how many times I thought I was safe and then had to wash my pants" - FlowerGlock
Traumatic Erections
Awkward Ed Helms GIF by The OfficeGiphy"When I was in middle school having to deal with spontaneous erections was so embarrassing to the point of being traumatic."
"Girls have periods, and we can never compete with that level of inconvenience, but these members of ours ain't a walk in the park." - lastusernameiswearr
"I'm 34 and it still happens from time to time. Mostly when I'm tired and bored, which usually happens at meetings and courses for work, similar environments to a schoolroom. Going to the bathroom to crank one out, and chugging down some caffeine usually helps." - Hawk_Thor
Sensitive
Tobey Maguire Reaction GIFGiphy"I'm very, very emotionally sensitive and people laugh at me for it."
"Just the other day I made a post in a Facebook group reviewing a restaurant I had a great experience in, and all these strange men and women made fun of me. I wish I could blow it off but it hurt my feelings so bad, and I can't just move on and shake it off."
"I wanted to either write every mean person who wrote, and tell them how much they hurt my feelings, or hurt them myself. I still even get caught up thinking for hours sometimes about my bullies in primary school. I'm 31."
"Men can't talk to anyone." - Yusi-D-Jordan
Bad Intentions
Rainn Wilson Running GIF by CootiesGiphy"I'm always worried if people think I'm being a creep or a perv or something. A lot of messed up sh*t happens in the world and I don't blame anyone, but I hate being self-conscious about it." - Hidden_Squid14
"Yep, I would never dream of harming a kid and I keep friendly around them, but I fear that people will think ill of my intentions when I'm just being nice to the kid who decided to say hi to me" - Furydragonstormer
"When my kids were little I had the cops called on me (twice) for being at a playground with my kids during the day."
"They said the women thought I had kidnapped them or something like that. My sons look a lot like me (poor boys)." - Reloaded9mm
"Yes, this is a big one for me. I pretty much always ignore kids unless I'm forced to acknowledge their presence."
"When I was younger, there was a friend of mine who had an adorable daughter who was 3 or 4 and for some insane reason she loved me to pieces. I didn't do anything to deserve her affection, but she almost always came over to me and just smiled and hung around me."
"I wasn't very comfortable around kids, and I'm still not, but after a while I started to get used to her and actually liked playing with her and talking to her. It was entirely innocent, and not anything I sought out. But it turns out her family thought she hung around me all the time because I did something inappropriate to her, or something."
"I think they were mostly just questioning my motives for playing with her and talking to her."
"They once asked me if I gave her candy and whenever she came over to me someone would stand there awkwardly, watching me out of the corner of their eye. In a way I don't blame them. I'm a pretty big guy, and it might be hard to believe I would never hurt anything or anyone."
"But finding out that people thought I was creepy because an adorable little girl wanted to be my friend, which I honestly had no control over was a major hit to my self esteem." - Im_Just_Cake
Fatherhood Is Fabulous
Fathers Day Dad GIF by America's Funniest Home VideosGiphy"I'm a stay at home dad. I don't know how to put it simply, or what the right term is, but I have been semi-frequently harassed, berated, and otherwise made to look foolish or feel ashamed because I'm a man who loves his babies."
"Out at the park with my son? 'Poor guy has to be with his kids while the missus is at home. She must have him whipped.' "
"At the grocery store with the baby? 'Oh you're so sweet doing this for your wife.' "
"At the doctor doing checkups/shots? I'll have to deal with random people saying I either don't know what I'm talking about, that I just think my son is special, that I cant be trusted to give info on their health because I'm not their mom, and that I 'need to tell my wife...' "
"Those aren't bad, it's just obnoxious."
"The part that really sucks is that my friends make fun of me for it, or when an argument happen they throw it in my face that I don't have a job and therefore am not a real man."
"Just the status quo that a man must work to death and a woman is the only one fit to stay home grinds my gears."
"I know how to change a diaper. Yes, I'm happy. Yes, it was MY choice to stay home."
"No, I don't mind not getting to f*ck off with my friends all the time. Yes, I know how to deal with children's medical issues."
"And no, I wouldn't trade it for the world." - D3athraxys
Size Matters
twin peaks head shake GIF by Twin Peaks on ShowtimeGiphy"I'm 6'3" and I have a problem with feeling imposing even though I'm just trying to exist."
"I'm very awkward because of it, because I not only watch every word that comes out of my mouth, but I'm also very aware of how tall I am & that some people, usually women, might be more guarded towards me if they don't know me."
"The biggest issue is where I work."
"I work in retail and there's a lot of underage 17 year old kids working there. I usually don't talk with them for too long because I'm afraid I'll seem creepy to them, or to people who might be pricking up their ears to make sure I'm not trying to make a move on them or something like that."
"And I hope I don't come across like my problems are bigger than other people's. But these are definitely problems I face on a day to day basis." - Im_Just_A_Cake
The Most Unexplained Events In History | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
History is littered with unsolved mysteries. Whether those answers are buried somewhere or lost forever, it doesn't stop people from wondering or hypothesizi..."One of my best friends has talked to me about this issue. He is a big guy (6'5") with a beard. He definitely has a presence."
"Even though he is amazing with kids he avoids them because he tries so hard to avoid a sense of impropriety. It's very sad to me that he misses out on the joy kids can bring because of societal expectations and biases."
"Similarly if a woman is walking alone at night he will go out of his way to walk on the other side of the street or farther away from her so she doesn't feel threatened."
"These discussions with him gave me a lot of perspective. As a woman I have not really worried about my presence being intimidating or threatening to others, so hearing how hard he tries to make others comfortable made me kind of sad." - deej394
"Came here to post this. I'm 6'4 250lbs and tend to walk to the gym at night in the city."
"The shortest route is a side street which is basically an alley at some parts. I tend to walk somewhat quickly and I always somehow end up behind a younger woman."
"Undoubtedly I scare them as I try to walk quickly past to avoid being any more looming as a dangerous person as I might look. I always feel guilty like I'm doing something wrong when I'm just trying to walk. I didn't ask to be this big haha" - Rybobo
Pumpkin Abduction
Tired Good Night GIFGiphy"I live in Rhode Island. At our zoo we have a pumpkin festival in October. The tickets are expensive but it's fun and they have pumpkin beer."
"Anyway I bought two tickets for me and a friend to go. That day he was sick and canceled. I ended up taking my nearly two-year-old daughter."
"We had a good time. When I was going home I realized that it was nearly 8:00 pm and we hadn't eaten dinner, so we stopped into a local restaurant."
"My daughter was well behaved. We ate dinner and left. She was a little testy as we got to the car but nothing unusual in any way."
"We go home and my daughter goes to sleep."
"About a half an hour later, a cop shows up. He said someone from the restaurant called the police thinking I abducted her."
"They said she seemed 'too quiet' when we were eating. It was 8:30 when we ate and her bedtime is normally 8:00 so yeah she was probably a little sedate."
"But seriously!?"
"Anyway, we wake up our daughter and she's clearly in no danger. The cop apologized and left. To be fair to the cop, I think he thought the whole thing was ridiculous from the start but had to do his job."
"But this would have NEVER would have happened if my wife would have brought my daughter and not me! I was basically accused of being a child trafficker because my daughter was a little sleepy." - Geri-psychiatrist-RI
Compliments, Please
olivia culpo adam GIFGiphy"Never received a compliment in my life expect the time a girl told me she liked my boots in 8th grade."
"Thanks Maddie I appreciate it still" - Aviator122
"I sometimes hate how much I crave compliments." - tpaolicchi
"I'm 38 and the last time someone complimented on my looks or appearance was when I was 30 at my old job when a woman said my glasses and hat combo really suited me." - Fkyourslipper
"It's super rare, for sure."
"A woman at the bus stop once told me my sweater looked nice and I instinctually asked 'Excuse me?' thinking I misheard, 'cause there's no way a woman just complimented me...'cause that never happens."
"It was super nice, made my day. Ladies: compliment men too, please." - putinmy@ss
Support Systems?
Jimmy Fallon No GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy"There's no support for men. Try to file for food stamps as a single man, or see how the courts treat you if you get a divorce, or talk about needing therapy."
"You get the same advice every time: 'go work out, throw yourself into your work, get a hobby.' "
"One of the most destructive, most infuriating thing people can say is, 'Man Up.' "
"Well, I'm not a stoic piece of driftwood, I'm human. I have feelings and basic needs just like anyone else - and its literally deadly to hold that sh*t in."
"Yeah, our fathers and their fathers held their feelings in, but they also dropped dead in their 40s and 50s of massive heart attacks." - GhostOnToast
Creepy At A Kid's Movie
Bill Hader Popcorn GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"Per my dad who loves animation:"
"Now that my kids are grown, I have to wait a few weeks when a movie comes out so I can see it and not be the creepy solo older man at a kids movie." - M0ck_duck
"I went to see 'The Secret of Nimh' a few years ago back when the Alamo Drafthouse would show kids movies on Saturday mornings."
"I bought a soda, some popcorn and settled in."
"About 30 minutes in I realized an employee was standing directly behind me (I was in the back row.) He didn't move until the movie was over." - cbpantskiller
Responsibility
Tired Tv Land GIF by TV Land ClassicGiphy"Kind of a love/hate thing, but being responsible - for the wife, the kids, the house, cars, everything."
"At the end of the day, when something goes wrong or everyone is scared, everyone looks down the table to me and says 'What are we gonna do?' "
"Goes with the role of being the 'man of the house,' but it does wear me out." - Opposite-Algae8912
No One Told My Heart
Sad Sterling K Brown GIF by This Is UsGiphy"For me, it was when my wife and I lost 4 children during late term pregnancy in just 5 years. It was loss after loss after loss."
"Everyone always asked me how my wife was doing and told me how sorry they felt for her. Not once did anyone ask or care about how I was doing."
"I put my wife first always, but it would have been nice for someone to care about how I was doing. I felt like nobody did; even my mother said guys don't get attached till the child is born."
"I guess no one told my heart that rule." - Successful_Panic7184
Thanks, Homer
Homer Simpson Reaction GIFGiphy"Dumb Husband Syndrome."
"Thanks to Homer Simpson, Phil Dunphy, Al Bundy, etc., the entire world seems to believe that your standard husband is too stupid to accomplish even the most mundane task on his own."
"I've seen a lot of guys (myself included) just going about their business and people feel compelled to step in and correct them or tell them how to do something." - SeaTie
Now that you've read what Reddit has to say, what are your thoughts on some of the tougher aspects of being a man?
First things first... watch "Fatal Attraction." And do everything the opposite of Glenn Close; then grow from there. Learn the difference between flirting and crazy.
Ok Crazy
wo glenn close GIFGiphy"Broke into my building."
"Ayo hold up that's creepy don't you thing what If he was some obsessive lover and tried to kill you if you rejected him."
Dear Mama...
"Texted my mom saying I broke his heart."
- 221034kb
"Some guy did that to my mom too! Told her he had traveled across the country to forget about me and just needed her advice to help him get over it. He had been talking about going on that trip for way longer than that so that was almost certainty an exaggeration. Also I'd been dating someone else for over a year at that point. I'm sure it sounded very romantic in his head."
"Amazon Woman"
"I met a guy through Tinder, he lived about an hour from me, he got upset with me and blocked me on Snapchat after I had told him I found someone I was interested in dating who lived closer. Fast forward about a year or so later and I get a text from a number I didn't recognize. Turns out it's this guy again (we had exchanged numbers previously), the guy I was dating didn't work out so I decided to chat with this guy a little more. He joked about visiting me a bit but I never gave him my address."
"Fast forward a couple months of chatting and I'm off work to study for an exam and I get a knock on my door. And what do you know, this dude FOUND MY APARTMENT in a city he was not from AND he brought his lizard, not in a cage or with a leash or anything. Just hidden in his shirt when he walked into my apartment."
"We just sorta awkwardly talked for a couple hours, when he left he texted me and told me how pretty he thought I was and called me an "Amazon Woman" cause I'm so tall. I responded with "I didn't like that you randomly showed up at my apartment without asking" and then he got upset, said some more ridiculous things and I blocked his number."
- ZaymeJ
basic knowledge...
"Some guys lack basic knowledge. Walking home from the bus stop one night - about a 2km walk to my place. As I'm walking along, I see there's a guy slowly walking slight quite a ways behind me - maybe about 600m. Suddenly he starts sprinting toward me, I think it's to catch another bus or something, but no, it's just private cars on this road."
"I try speeding up but I'm tired and frankly unsure of what's happening. By the time he catches up to me, he's like 'sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.. I say, "you really need to be careful about interacting with women in the street at such an odd hour of the night."
"He says something like, 'I know, I just wanted to talk to you.' He didn't give off too much of a threatening vibe so I kept walking and he made conversation. Thank God his house was before mine, so he couldn't figure out where I lived. Took my number, texted me immediately to see if I received his number, and then thankfully I didn't have to see him again."
People Share Which Social Norms Absolutely Baffle Them | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Scared
"Carving my name into his leg and we didn't even date or anything of the sort."
Boys, boys, boys, it's like you've never met another living human. I mean, my words are gone. I don't want to know more, but I must. So let's...
Fists
Seth Meyers Lol GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphy"Well he offered to beat the crap out of my ex on our first ever meet. There wasn't a second meeting."
- Pohtate
the good guy
"Endlessly trying to convince me (oh, so romantic) why he was «a good guy», he wasn't.The thing is it became a huge red flag. See, I was the dumb one for not recognizing a good guy when he stood in front of me. I was to blame that he was so intense and so into me. It was my doing. His words. Oh, and then I was a c**t for not wanting to be with him. Red flags, from here to eternity. Yeah, a good guy. Sure."
Where to Begin?
"So many stories to choose from ha. A guy I thought I was friends with confronted me that he wants to be more, even though right at the start of our friendship I made it clear I had zero interest in him. Quite frankly I found him really unattractive. He proceeded to guilt me saying I'm shallow, disappointing blahblahblah."
US
"Said that God has a plan and that plan involves 'us'. They refused to take no for an answer and they always kept touching me even when I told them to stop, as I hate being touched due to Autism. They kept asking around for stuff about me, and said his prayers would be "rewarded."
"Couldn't seem to comprehend that I wasn't interested or that I didn't care for things that "all women love." Kept telling me how to dress and act too, saying things like "It's not what God intended. Fun fact: I'm Atheist. You can imagine they weren't too fond of that idea..."
You Don't Own Me
Good Bye Reaction GIF by MASTERPIECE | PBSGiphy"Tried to scare off or even fight any other guy that was interested in me, even though we weren't dating."
Ok, ladies, I'm sorry. That's all I got. Men, what in the name of God?! Please pay attention to this thread. It will help us all.
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