18 Things About Being A Woman That Men Clearly Have No Clue About, Because Women Have Had To Explain It To Them
Recently, Reddit user u/TheGreatNyanHobo asked in the AskWomen subreddit, "What are innocuous things about being a woman that you’ve had to explain to a man?" The responses range from silly to all-too-real, but if you're a woman, chances are you'll find quite a few of these relatable:
1."Your bra size isn't only dependent on your cup size."
2."We don’t pee out of our vagina."
3."I can’t just buy something in my size and call it good. I have pants that fit me in sizes 12 through 16. I have dresses in M, L, and XL, and sizes 10 through 14. I have tops in S, M, L, and XL. There are some styles that will never fit me without tailoring no matter what the size because of my body shape."
4."As an adult, cervical fluid. The amount of men who have thought vaginas are either dry or WET from being turned on is truly alarming to me. No, I’m just OVULATING."
5."That my body isn't a set of buttons to mash in the right order to get the prize. The exact same thing may not turn me on every time, etc. I have to believe there are men out there that this is also true for, but some guys think they have figured out the pattern and refuse to vary."
6."Being constantly vigilant and having situational awareness. My partner just goes through life feeling safe and secure. The number of times I've pointed out sketchy sh*t to him that was just not on his radar has been astonishing. Even just being aware of where others are. I never run into or accidentally block people out in public because I'm aware of where everyone is in relation to me. My partner is just oblivious to his position in relation to others."
7."Periods aren’t actually monthly, as in January, February, March. They can be, but often that’s just coincidence. You can have two periods in one month, and you can have no periods in one month."
"Also, we don't bleed in a continuous stream all day. Some guys think we just sit there hemorrhaging."
8."The feeling of pulling out a dry tampon."
9."That I have to have my keys out before I get to my front door so I’m not awkwardly fumbling for them and making myself vulnerable."
10."That most of us started experiencing sexual harassment as children."
11."That they do know people who have had abortions, even if they think they haven't."
12."One time a guy asked me why sometimes women paint 'just the middle of their nail all sloppy.' I had to explain that we paint the entire fingernail, but it chips off, leaving the middle."
13."How little they know about periods. When I had been dating my boyfriend for a couple of months, I apologized for being upset and told him it was just because of my period. He then asked, 'Didn’t you have your period last month?' He thought that women menstruated for an entire month, and then didn’t for the other 11 months of the year. He thought that periods were an annual thing. I was so shocked."
14."My husband's underwear drawer: a stack of two packages of the exact same color/style underwear that he's worn for over a decade, that he just replaces as needed because it's always in stock and doesn't change. A couple different styles of black and white undershirts that he wears based on daily preference. My underwear drawer: bras of different styles and cuts, and underwear in probably a dozen different styles that matches specific outfits, doesn't pinch, smoothes, or whatever else it needs to do to make an outfit look good. And there's specific ones that go with specific clothes."
15."If I’m in a new area, I always look for other women walking or jogging out on the street, especially if they’re alone. This will indicate to me if the area is 'safe' or not."
16."The struggle of maintaining work life and the desire to not become pregnant, yet wanting a family but not wanting to sacrifice my career, and the simultaneous need to remain independent of a man."
17."That we use toilet paper every time we go to the bathroom, and therefore, will go through more than men!"
18.And finally, "My boyfriend thought that pads stick to your vagina like a Band-Aid."
Is there anything about being a woman that you've had to explain to a man? Share your story in the comments!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
