Yeah, the fact that the phrase "the fairer sex" even exists is evidence enough that we need to have a little sit-down. So look, I'm not sure who started this lie - but women are VERY capable of some grossness.
Very. You don't even want to know. Honestly, we can be horrific.
But the idea that women are somehow inherently delicate, lovely, kind, and gentle isn't the only misconception out there.
Reddit user BOBO24PLAYZ asked:
"Women of Reddit, what is a 100% myth about women?"
So first we are going to get the obvious stuff out of the way. Not all women menstruate or have vaginas, but genitals is almost always going to be the first thing asked about when a Reddit user poses a question like this.
When it comes to vulvas, vaginas, urethras, and menstruation it's seriously BAFFLING how much misinformation is floating around out there.
So let's just go on ahead and knock some stuff out right now.
A Cave System
cave GIFGiphy"That we pee and bleed from the same hole." - Scared_Gap5717
"I remember I said there were two different holes in 7th grade and I got roasted. 'It's not a cave system!' and was branded an idiot for the rest of middle school. I am in medical school now oddly enough." - toomuchredditmaj
"There are men who think we urinate and menstruate from the same hole. That is why they think we can control our periods the way we control peeing, I assume." - moffsoi
"My fav part of that myth is the implication that women are simply being stupid or intentionally difficult by choosing not to hold their periods in until the most opportune time."
"As if we have the ability but are going 'ehh, I could wait until I get home but f*ck it, imma change a tampon in a public restroom just for the thrill of it. Really feel like ruining a pair of pants today while I'm at it.' " - Much_Difference
"I don't like how the idea we can hold it implies that we're literal infants who just pee ourselves all the time for fun." - BuckyBear1917
Vagina Rings
defeat GIFGiphy"That you can tell how much sex a woman has had by looking at her genitals. No you can't." - [Reddit]
"Correct. You have to cut the vagina in half and count the rings." - ThisIsMyCouchAccount
"That's to check for age. For use you have to check the tiny odometer." - DudesworthMannington
A Freshness Seal
Giphy"That one bleeds the first time they have sex. If they didn't 'bleed' they were not really a virgin."
"FALSE! Raise your hand if you did NOT BLEED!? I raising mine! 🙋♀️" - cathef
"Thisssss. I didn't ever bleed or tear my hymen until I gave birth lol. It's just a stretchy piece of skin at the bottom of the vagina, not a freshness seal" - cbrpxe
What's The Difference?
Season 5 Whats The Difference GIF by Living SingleGiphy"That we get 'loose' when we have multiple partners."
"I think it's ridiculous that majority of the guys I've met that say this don't also think that those same women get 'loose' when they've been with one man for several years." - OK-Witness8418
"I've met girls who thought this to be true and were afraid to have sex because of it!"
"Granted, they were quite young, but that's how strong the myth is. The 'mind blown' moment when these people are asked what exactly is the difference between 50 times with one man and one time with 50 men has always been pretty amusing though." - narwhals-narwhals
Born With(out) It
Happy Adam Scott GIF by SkyGiphy"That every woman is born with a hymen. Or that if she doesn't have a hymen then she isn't a virgin."
"Hymens can break really easily, such as sitting on a bike or horse wrong, exercise, (sometimes but highly unlikely) using a tampon if inserted incorrectly. And many women are just born without a hymen." - TheShining02
It's Natural
"That pregnancy is no big deal because it's 'natural'."
"It's metal that the human body can go through that kind of stress, but it is still totally physically traumatic. It's why women have a higher rate of osteoporosis-- fetuses literally leach the calcium from their mother's bones."
"Women often herniate their uteruses after pregnancy and just have to 'deal' with not being able to pee properly or have sex pain-free because it's seen as totally normal." - facingnortheast
OK that's enough about genitalia for now. Women are way more than just that.
Spoiler alert, women are human!
Solving A Problem
"We're not a Problem to Be Solved."
"If you want to date a woman and she is resistant, you will not solve that. No matter how many rom-com movies you watch where a man spends 90 minutes of your time annoying the woman he is interested in and gets her."
"This does not happen in real life. Move on. Find someone who is more likely to reciprocate your affections."
"Source: was stalked by someone, which stopped when I told him that if he showed up, I'd push him down the front steps so grow up already." - VapoursAndSpleen
People Explain Which Conspiracy Theories They Believe Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
What I Really, Really Want
wannabe GIF by Spice GirlsGiphy"That we are a mystery. I am sick of telling people exactly what I want and hearing, 'well, yeah but what do you really want?' "
"I am not lying or playing games. You know what women want? To be treated like human being with respect like anyone else!" - ViperBunny
"Wow, so deep. I wish I could know what you really want, though." - Imomaway
Emotions
GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"Women are "more emotional"....ever see a man watch sports or get told he's wrong about something?" - Rizarice
"Men are emotional too but the sh*tty part is that the only emotion they have been taught to process or have been encouraged to process are anger and lust." - bubbly-region
"Men are so much worse at handling their emotions. I assume this is because they are taught they don't have any, and thus don't recognize their many (many!) emotional outbursts." - thediplocrap
Lesbians
monsters inc GIFGiphy"That Lesbians 'just haven't had the right penis yet.' "
"Sirs, I regret to inform you: there is no magic penis out there that will change our sexuality. I know you love the little fellas and think they're magical, but for us Lesbians? I swear to you, they are not, nor will they ever be magic."
"In the wise words of Mike Wizowski: 'Put that thing back where it came from or so help me.' " - RelentlesslyCrooked
Not Me
Oh No Lol GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphy"That we are more emotionally intelligent and intuitive than men."
"I am definitely not empathetic and don't like dealing with emotional people, I'm mostly just socially awkward and not particularly mothering or kind."
"Seems like the assumption is that women want to baby men. Not me lol" - counterboud
A Recipe For Broken Adults
Lunch Box Cooking GIF by KiddyPlanetGiphy"girls are more mature"
"No, girls are just punished much more severely than boys are for behavior that all children exhibit. Boys only seem less mature because we do not demand maturity from them at a young age like we do from girls."
"Girls are forced to suppress being human and boys are forced to suppress emotions other than anger. It's a recipe for broken adults." - BanditaIncognita
Indirect
Game Of Thrones Ugh GIFGiphy"That all women are 'indirect communicators.' "
"I'm not saying they can't be, I'm not even saying the majority don't fall under this category, but personally, indirect communication goes right over my head. It's frustrating because I don't assume people can read my mind, why should I be able to read theirs?"
"I feel like when people assume I communicate indirectly just because I'm a girl, it leads to them not listening to what I'm saying, instead they try to dissect and analyze what I'm 'really' trying to say."
"Also men are just as capable of being passive aggressive."
"I live with a man and he constantly thinks I'm trying to send subtle messages and I've had to sit him down and explain that if I'm upset about something I will tell him. He on the other hand will slam doors, stomp around the house, give me the silent treatment, say nothing is wrong only to snap at me over something small (I'm making him sound awful but he's actually a pretty great person lol.)" - Reddit
Stereotypes
Art Fun GIF by KAKTUZBOYGiphy"That we are sh*t at directions. I never get lost and my husband couldn't find his way out of a shed."
"Also that we are sh*t at math. I live in Asia and the idea that women aren't good at math doesn't really exist here, so surprise surprise the girls perform on a equal level to the boys in high school in most Asian nations."
"Stereotypes are self-reinforcing, and dangerous. Even the people who are harmed by them can come to believe them and lose confidence in themselves." - practical_ghost
Perfection
perfect natalie portman GIFGiphy"Women are perfect all the time."
"I don't like it when people hold women to a higher standard than men. We're all just people trying to do our best and I'm sick of people expecting perfection from me just because I'm a woman."
"Everyone expects me to be smiling all the time; and when I'm direct at work, I'm called a b*tch."
"Women politicians are criticized for the smallest mistakes, women in all professions are. People expect so much and sometimes I have nothing to give. I'm burnt out." - Adorable_Island_1798
Dude ... and Lady
fedora GIFGiphy"That we all think and feel the same!"
"I had a manager who refused to call me dude, because his girlfriend didn't like to be called dude. I'm not your girlfriend, bro!"
"He would not listen to me when I said it was okay. I even told him I prefer it."
"Instead, he legit called me 'lady.' It would be like 'Hey dudes. Oh! And lady.' "
"Made me feel like I was different, and not a part of the team. Just call me dude!" - QueenOfAYogaBall
Normally, I would end this on a witty note - but I don't have much more to add on top of "women are human!"
So yeah, whatever "all women..." thing you have in your head, go on ahead and forget it. All women nothing. Treat us as individuals please and thanks!
Reddit user FunChemical3182 asked:
"What is the weirdest animal fact you know?"
Like Perry
"Platypus glow blueish green under ultraviolet light."
"They also don’t have nipples, they just exude milk from glands under the skin and the baby’s lap it up."
~ WakingOwl1
"They have electrolocation in their bills that lets them detect their food under water."
~ DrPlatypus1
"And they lay eggs."
"The more I find out about them the more I understand why people first thought they were fake."
~ Reidroshdy
"After seeing all these platypus facts I am convinced these things are aliens that have been abandoned on Earth."
~ SeattleOne206
Kapow!
"Mantis Shrimp have 16 different sets of cones. Rods and cones are in your eyes. Cones see color, rods see light and motion."
"Dogs have 2 sets of cones—green and blue. Humans have 3 sets of cones—green, blue and red."
"Mantis Shrimp are seeing colors we can't comprehend and explains why they're very colorful."
"That’s not even the strangest thing about them."
"They can also punch as fast as a .22 bullet which cause a cavitation bubble which boils the water around them at temperatures of several thousand Kelvins."
~ RigzDigz
GiphyTerrible Twos
"Cats have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old which makes a lot of sense."
~ Alive_Ad823
Cats Dragging GIFGiphyLike Tinder
"When a female sloth wants a mate she'll hang onto a tree branch and just scream."
~ Remarkable_Sink2542
GiphyGood Thing They're So Small
"Dragonflies are the most successful predators on Earth."
"When lions choose prey they have like a 10% chance of catching it."
"African painted dogs—who hunt in packs—have the highest kill rate of any mammal, successfully catching 51% of their prey."
"When a dragonfly locks onto a target, it has a 99.9% success rate!"
~ PurpleInevitable2103
GiphyOn A Swivel
"Owls have really long necks, but it's hard to notice that because their feathers are so fluffy."
~ ergonaut
GiphyWhat About Cousin It?
"Sea otters are the most densely furred animal with 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch."
"Dogs have about 15,000 per square inch, humans on average are between 800 to 1,290 hairs per square inch."
~ atom1129
Giphy
Sucker Punchers
"Octopus punch other fish for no reason—so, for fun."
~ Samanthalynn8915
"There's a direct correlation between species' intelligence and dickish behavior."
~ TheDesktopNinja
Looks Are Deceiving
"Polar bear fur isn't white—it's translucent (for most frequencies of light). And they have black skin underneath."
"So polar bear fur lets all the light through to their black skin to warm them—except for a few visible frequencies to keep them camouflaged as white."
~ seedanrun
GiphyWho's Going To Attack One‽‽
"Honey badgers can turn their a**holes inside out and use the smell to deter attackers."
"Not sure what exactly has the guts to attack a honey badger, but if they have the courage to do so, the badger sure as hell isn’t gonna make it easy."
~ nonexistantauthor
GiphyBig Momma
"The Blanket Octopus exhibits the highest degree of sexual dimorphism known."
"Females: About 6 feet across."
"Males: About one inch."
~ Fabulous-Pause4154
High Times
"Dolphins will intentionally use puffer fish to get high."
~ altkaldra
"They upset blowfish so they inflate, and therefore emit poison. It gets the dolphins high. Then they pass it around, literally."
~ smack4u
"Not just the dolphins. I recently saw a video about 10 animals that like to get high. Very interesting."
~ s137leo__
"Lemurs do that with giant centipedes/millipedes too."
~ chubbyknuckles420
Fabrizio Frigeni on Unsplash
Better Than Bike Helmets
"Woodpeckers' tongues wrap around their brains to cushion them from the vibrations of slamming their face into trees all day."
~ we_made_yewww
"Their tongues also have barbs to grab bugs out of the holes."
"Their brains have additional cushioning because, you know, they spend their days smashing their face as hard as possible into trees."
~ RhynoD
Detachable Organs
"Argonauts [paper nautili] are small octopuses that are too lazy to have intercourse."
"They detach their penises and toss them into the open sea to mate with female argonauts."
"The detachable 'd*ck' is a tiny tentacle, complete with suckers and sperm, that develops in a cavity under the eye of a male argonaut [paper nautilus]."
"When it's time to mate, the tentacle explodes out of the cavity, instantly killing the male argonaut. The tentacle then swims towards a female argonaut to insert itself."
"Sexy, huh?"
~ Schwarzes__Loch
What's your favorite weird animal fact?
We've all done things, or in some cases, regularly do things that others might consider weird.
Even so, we often feel no shame or embarrassment and embrace how unusual these habits are, and take our friends teasing or laughing at us for doing so in stride.
Sometimes, however, we might not like to advertise some of our unusual habits or actions and make every effort to keep them a well-guarded secret.
As raised eyebrows are much easier to take than blatant judgment from friends and peers.
Redditor Key_Nectarine_1969 was curious to hear all the weird things people have done which they still keep under lock and key, leading them to ask:
"What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done that you could only tell people anonymously?"
The Devil [Dogs] Is In The Detail...
"All throughout middle school, there was someone who tucked unwrapped Hostess Devil Dogs into the toilet paper dispensers in the bathrooms, so that when you pulled some toilet paper out, the devil dog would fall out into your hand."
"We had to have an assembly about it."
"That person... Was me."- bejeweled_sky
Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
"Was drunk at an escape room with coworkers."
"It was an extreme one where you are handcuffed the entire time."
"I decided in my drunken state that it would be bada** to dislocated my thumb and slip off the cuffs like the movies."
"It wasn't."
"We got kicked out, my coworkers were weirded out and I had to go to the hospital."
"I quit a few weeks later."
"White collar wasn't for me."- Grotesque-penguin
The Bread Of Heaven
"Stole over 1,000 wafers from church because I really liked the communion wafers & didn’t know where else to get them."
"I felt really blessed & cursed for a long time."- hALLIEcinate
catholic the exorcist GIFGiphyRetracing Steps...
"Once I got off the subway in NYC and I was super early for an appointment."
"So I picked a random guy and just followed him on foot for like 30 minutes, pretending I was like a private detective or something."
"Always kept about a half block behind."
"He turned this way and that, and eventually went into a building I had lived in 9 years earlier."
"It was weird, and so was I."- OKsurewhynotyep
Hygeine Be Damned...
"I found a dead rat in a field when i was younger and kissed it bc I wanted to say goodbye."- qeleia
exercise push up GIFGiphyBad Decisions Have A Way Of Getting Back To You...
"We got super drunk and ate a ton of spicy food in New Orleans."
"Back at the B&B, the food started to come out the back side."
"I was sitting on the toilet sh*tting bricks of fire."
"At that moment, the booze decided to hang a u-turn."
"The trash can was out of reach and I couldn't risk standing up from the toilet for even 5 seconds."
"The closest receptacle was the bathtub."
"I managed to turn in such a way that I could keep shi*ting in the toilet while projectile vomiting into the tub."
"Both ended up clogged, and there was no plunger."
"I had to call the owner to explain that I had destroyed both their toilet and their tub simultaneously."- HoopOnPoop
Things Best Left To Professionals...
"My partner is weirdly prone to cysts."
"I had to drain a 3 inch cyst on her back (thankfully she had a dr's appt the next week), then multiple other little cysts on her legs and chest."
"I never told her to her face but that first giant cyst literally haunted me, the amount of pus and blood I saw....good heavens."- SleepyBiologist
uruguay spot GIF by sargentoPezGiphyAt Least A Lesson Was Learned...
"When I was walking to school one morning, I saw a kid (7-8 yo?) kicking a dog."
"I ran over & kicked the kid and asked him how it felt."
"He ran off and no one saw."
"Still not sorry."- sneezyailurophile
All Creatures Deserve Love
"I was extremely socially isolated as a child and tried to make friends with the coyotes who lived in the woods by our home."
'I caught one in a snare and fed and kept her."
"I wanted a friend."- letthetreeburn
That's What Friends Are For...
"My wife and her best friend pick me up from a frat party black out drunk."
"Then they helped me take a sh*t on the toilet, wiped my a** and then gave me a shower and put me to bed naked."
"Don’t remember any of it."- nc3100
Party Love GIF by Chris CiminoGiphyNot The Right Kind Of Manure...
"One time I went outside at like 2AM and put the garden hose nozzle into my butthole and sprayed some water into it, then farted it out onto the lawn."
"Basically gave myself an enema with a garden hose."
"I did this because I was bored."
"My neighbour saw me and told my dad (lived at home at the time)."- WaspsInMyGoatse
A Little Fantasy Now And Then...
"When I was younger I joined an international dating site that I figured was a scam."
"Put a black square as my picture and gave myself a fake name, and then looked through their users."
"And after about 10 minutes I had like a 100 messages."
"Most of them were messages telling me how handsome I was or how these women fell in love with me at first site."
"Now I knew it was a scam but when ever I felt down or got rejected for a while I would pop back on the site and read a few messages."
'Yeah it’s kinda cringy and probably pathetic but it made me feel better."
"I would just turn off that logical part of my brain that knew it was a scam for awhile and just pretend I was this popular and desirable guy."
"And it honestly got me through the day sometimes."- Demonking3343
dating app GIFGiphyIf anyone says they've never done anything they're ashamed, or at the very least less-than-proud of, in all likelihood, they are lying.
Or, more likely, they understandably want to pretend that it never happened.
Which might be a little easier than harboring a secret.
Who doesn't love a first date?
The anticipation. The hopes and dreams. The romance.
Even those first-date butterflies are fun.
You're hoping this could be the one.
Or maybe this will just be a lot of fun.
Then you sit down with one another and they open their mouth and BOOM... dating disaster.
Life is ruined. Or maybe you were saved.
Redditor MiloMilkOnDrugs wanted to hear about the conversations that can ruin a romantic time, so they asked:
"What's the worst thing someone can say on a first date?"
Having worked as a waiter as long as I did, I can't tell the things I've overheard without fainting.
I'll just say... sometimes it's okay to stay single.
Promises
Players Association Sport GIF by NBPAGiphy“'I need you to promise not to tell my wife.'"
FriendNegative6013
Honk Off
"My cousin (F) went on a first date where in the middle of the conversation, her date reached over and squeezed her breast and said 'Honk.'"
"She said 'What on earth do you think you're doing?'"
He said 'I've had quite a lot of success with that move.'"
"There was no second date. My cousin was the girl. I realized from a comment it was ambiguous."
blu3teeth
Circa 2005
"My mother was freshly divorced and we signed her up on a dating website (circa 2005) Helped her take pictures etc..."
"She met this guy online real smart, seems to have his sh*t together, independent, etc..."
"They set a date at a local restaurant they park side by side."
"The moment she greets him he says: WOW I love those big boobs I can't wait to taste them!"
"She 180° stepped back in her Mazda 3 and f**ked the right off this parking lot lol."
mageakeem
Safety First
"Does anyone know you're here?"
Baby-hazell
"It's a safety thing. Sometimes, people let others know where they'll be before meeting a stranger for a date. However for him to ask can be seen as a little creepy like he would be planning to do something to them and would need to know that info so he can figure out how long she'll be gone before the police are called. If that makes sense."
Hachiko75
Previously...
canadian what GIF by CBCGiphy"I was on a date once, the woman apologized before looking a bit rough because she had just had sex before coming."
REDDIT
What happened to putting your best foot forward?
My goodness, it's not that hard to at least run a brush through your hair.
Mirror Mirror
"'My ex looks way better than you.'"
Academic_Ingenuity84
"What a coincidence. My ex looks way better than you."
"Maybe they can get together and leave us ugly fools to mope about it together."
LurkerOrHydralisk
Oh Baby
"After pulling her chair out for her, you pet her head then rub her belly saying 'I’m gonna put a baby in here.'"
BuffaloInCahoots
"Ha, can you imagine, being a proper gentleman and then ending with a head pat and belly rub?"
phillmybuttons
"I once had a guy tell me on the first date he wanted to have at least six children. I heard later from his sister he married a woman who was already pregnant with someone else's kid, and he had her pregnant again within the year."
ashoka_akira
Family Dynamics
"'You remind me of my mom.' Bonus points if there is this weird attraction component to it."
Kiunan5
"My partner went on a date with a young woman shortly before we met, he said she repeatedly compared him to her father ('my dad drinks scotch', 'my dad is also bald,' etc). He said no amount of attraction could save the date after that."
Digital_Punk
"Oh God, I'm guilty of this one. It wasn't a date. but I told that to a woman I tried bedding later on. Honestly, she didn't look like my mom i was just shooting my shots at trying to keep her around."
Bobtheguardian22
Be Serious
Shouting The Goldbergs GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"I went to a nice French bistro in the Bay Area, there was a table right behind me and the friend dining. The guy literally said to the girl 'I am the alpha of this relationship.' (in a serious manner). Me and buddy sort of looked at each other while the girl literally burst out laughing, grabbed her bag, and then walked out of the restaurant."
295DVRKSS
It feels like some men have no one to bounce conversation ideas off of.
Or do they really believe what they say?