Copyright BuzzFeed
"That's Just Not True Among Any Of My Guy Friends": Men Are Revealing The Stereotypes About Them That Are 100% Not True, And There's A Lot To Unpack Here "That we get instantly turned on just by looking at a beautiful woman. Women forget that we also need mental stimulation to feel attraction." Clichés about men haven’t changed all that much over the decades, even as attitudes about gender roles have evolved. While men benefit from certain societal privileges, they can also be affected by the same systems that shape those roles. Many of the myths and assumptions about men — whether about their emotional range, nurturing abilities, or personal safety — are broad generalizations that don’t apply to everyone. I recently came across a discussion on the r/AskReddit subreddit where users were asked to debunk common myths about men. From maintaining platonic friendships with women to the realities of sexual health, here’s what people had to say. 1. "Penis size does not correlate to any other body part (hands/feet). I can almost palm a basketball, but... you know what, never mind." 2. "We walk around not thinking about anything but what's happening. Maybe some, but there are those who overthink everything constantly." 3. "That an erection is a voluntary action showing they want sex right now or were thinking of dirty things." 4. "Not being able to get an erection or losing one means negative attraction or desire." 5. "That we can’t take care of children. I’m a guy, and I helped raise and take care of several of my siblings when my mother was going through chemo." –u/jwg2695 6. "That men talk about sex and other normally inappropriate topics in the locker room. In my experience, women are the ones who talk in detail about private things, while men just ask 'did you hit it?' high-five you, and then move on with no details whatsoever." 7. "That we aren't sentimental." –u/44035 8. "They don't cry." 9. "We don't notice things about our S/O." 10. "Every orgasm is equal. If we bust, it was good." 11. "That we don't want/need affection or compliments. We actually do to a crippling degree. We've just been socialized to feel ashamed by that need and the vulnerability that inherently comes with it. So we avoid it, project that shame onto others, convince ourselves it's toughness, and continue the cycle." 12. "That we can't have long-term, close platonic women friends." 13. "That we are all dumb and emotionless." 14. "That a man doesn’t need hugging, caressing, and cuddling as much as a woman does. The sense of touching has been devalued, and the sense of smell has been debased." 15. "That we also can just walk around at night with no fear of being attacked or jumped, lmao, like what the fuck is that? I got stabbed walking alone at night." –u/Fantastic-Age-9391 16. "They can’t cook. I make some banging meals in the kitchen." 17. "That developing feelings for a platonic girlfriend means you were only friends with them because you wanted to fuck them." 18. "Laziness." 19. "That we get instantly turned on just by looking a beautiful woman." 20. "That we always pee standing up." 21. And finally, "I hate the stereotype that men only care about sex, sports, and could live happily by having their main hobby being watching paint dry on an apartment whose only furniture is a fold chair, a TV, and a mattress." "Not only does it reduce men to animalistic brutes, but kind of also acts as a justification for the brutish manner much of the male population then acts (sexual harassment, violence, domestic incompetence that is sometimes willing, etc) because 'Oh, it's just men being men,' instead of, I don't know, teaching your boys better as a parent?" –u/MiguelIstNeugierig What other stereotypes about men are 100% a myth? Let us know in the comment section, or fill out the anonymous form below.
