26 People Who Took Gender Norms A Litttle Too Far

While a person’s sex is a label that’s given “by a doctor at birth based on genitals and chromosomes,” gender is a construct, meaning it's based on completely made-up societal expectations.

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Gender can be extremely limiting and harmful. Socializing boys to only like blue, for example, could cause a boy who likes pink to feel like something’s wrong with him. Because of how deeply ingrained gender norms are in our society, he may even be a target of ridicule.

HuffPost / Via giphy.com

Or a little girl who's socialized to dress in what society considers “feminine” clothing could view her desire to dress differently as not normal, causing her deep emotional stress.

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com

There are obviously waaay more examples than these, with even more convoluted gender norms being forced upon additional gender identities.

The last thing we need are more limits on which genders can do what. Gender expectations don’t just cause individuals to suffer, but society as a whole!

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So let’s look at how ridiculous some of these gender norms actually are. Here are 28 people who tried their hardest to gatekeep gender and tell us all the things men and women "should" or "shouldn't" do:

Note: This post focuses only on male and female genders, but there are, of course, more gender identities out there!

1.This person who really believes women shouldn't wear pants:

Screen shot of a comment from someone saying, "pants are for men"

2.This person who thinks laughing too much isn't manly:

"now grown man should be laughing twice in one day, one good laugh is good... after that u need to get serious"

3.This person who infantilizes women and thinks that we should keep traditions from...the Middle Ages:

"shaking hands with a woman is like shaking hands with a child..."

4.This person who thinks men can't eat crab legs:

"Seafood is food for women but happy birthday"

5.This person who thinks music is gendered:

Text with someone saying, "Only girls like Taylor swift"

6.This person who equates "feminine" with "juvenile":

Someone saying, "Weed is so fucking feminine and juvenile..."

7.This person who thinks houses — HOUSES — are for women:

Someone saying, "Houses are for the females"

8.This person who wants men to suffer from the summer heat in board shorts:

Status update saying, "Dudes are really out here on 4th of July weekend wearing SHORT SHORTS. Triflin."

9.This person who thinks horses care about the gender of the person who shoes them:

Someone saying "Men are the best" at shoeing horses.

10.This person who's trying to not only gatekeep gender, but sexual orientation, too:

Tweet saying, "Real men can't be bi."

11.This person who wants to live in a world where women can't deadlift:

A man saying, "Women don't belong in the Gym."

12.This person who clearly doesn't say "please" and "thank you" to their barista:

Tweet that says, "as a man you can't say more than 3 words while ordering a starbucks drink"

13.This person who's trying to gender having pets:

Tweet saying men shouldn't own cats.

14.This person who thinks a person's gender is related to their height:

Facebook status saying, "If ur a man and ur height starts with '5' youre not a real man, period."

15.This person who wants to gatekeep different car brands:

Post saying which cars are appropriate for women.

16.This person who thinks video games aren't for women:

Text exchange where someone says, "Video games aren't made with women in mind."

17.This person who thinks men are required to have tattoos:

Tweet that says, "as a man why do you not have tattoos??????????"

18.This person who really thinks gender has something to do with what you drink:

Tweet saying, "why are you, as a grown man, getting a mocha cookie crumble frappuccino"

19.This person who thinks boys don't cook food:

Facebook status saying, "Grills sets are for boys & kitchen sets are for girls"

20.This person who's really trying to gender...sleeping:

Comment saying, "If you regularly sleep past noon GET UP!!!!!!! That is a feminine trait."

21.This person who thinks men can't use emojis:

Tweet saying, "Emojis are for children and women."

22.This person who thinks a fantasy book series, with a huge collection of novels based on an extremely popular board game, is exclusively for men:

Status saying, "Warhammer is written for men. Read a book written for women."

23.This person who thinks snacks can be "feminine":

A man saying a snack felt like a "feminine snack"

24.This bathroom that thinks men don't ever need to see what they look like:

Sign in a bathroom stating, "You don't need a mirror... you're a man."

25.This person who's just a straight-up chauvinist:

Tweet saying, "A female playing sports is just a turn off for men."

26.And finally, this person who thinks men can only cry if a family member dies, if his dog dies, or if his truck breaks down:

Facebook status saying a grown man should never cry.

Again, just a reminder: Gender is a social construct and completely made up! Gender norms are fake rules and mean absolutely nothing!

Do you have any ridiculous gender gatekeeping examples or stories? Tell us in the comments below!