Gender identity is supremely variant and complicated. There are countless ways to identify yourself and express your gender, all of which are valid, and as the cultural conversation continues more and more people are recognizing that gender isn't a stagnant prescription, but a fluid construct.
While there are many non-binary, gender non-conforming and bi-gendered identities, a lot of people identify as a man or woman, and express that in relatively traditional ways. The ways men and women are treated and viewed differently often create patterns of behavior, which of course spurs the age old questions of why men and women express themselves in such polar ways.
To this very point, in a recent Reddit thread, women shared the behaviors and characteristics they find most confusing about men, which is basically a polite way of asking "why are men like this?!"
1. Sin_the_Insane doesn't understand why men tease each other so brutally.
"What is up with having friends that give you shit and attitude and it’s all good? It’s like you all like to torment each other and laugh about it! (Not all men just the ones I know)."
SPZX blames evolution:
"Ripping on each other is how our caveman brains are satisfied since we can't just beat each other up to establish group hierarchy."
2. subjectivism wants to know why men don't ask their friends more questions.
"How little they know about their friends. My husband was friends with a guy for years and didn’t know how old he was."
DarcyTheFrog says there's no need for questions:
"If we have a couple of things in common, we are basically best friends, and we see no need to ask about the small details, we just get straight into the banter. I have really close mates at uni that I still don't know their last names."
3. CautiousShower has some questions about general vision.
"How I can tell my husband where something is, and he can look right at it and say (with certainty), 'it's not there.'"
xubax had a simple retort:
"Our vision is motion based. That's why women have so many jiggly parts."
4. Ssannevries doesn't understand the crass nicknames.
"In Dutch guys call each other pik, which in English means dick. But they say it in a friendly way, because they’re mates. Why call each other dick?"
HalcyonH66 says it's not that deep:
"Guys insult eachother, banter is a normal part of interaction.
A great way I heard it described was that we all have a wall. We get closer to eachother by throwing balls at the wall (insults) but the key is that you're not trying to break walls, you throw balls that you know will bounce off (banter) and it kind of affirms where you stand with eachother/how close you are."
5. daisy-chain-of-doom covets the ability to space out.
"Apparently men can go into mental “neutral” and not think about anything. If this is true, how the fuck does that even work.
Also, hands in pants when watching TV/relaxing. Don’t get it."
JustRuss79 described the actual feeling:
"It's less "nothing" and more like a daydream you don't remember, or things that don't matter. "How much gas is in the car, when was the last time I got gas? Which gas station did I go to? Did I go inside and get a soda? Oh yeah, its the coke sitting next to me. They were out of Pepsi, I like pepsi better than coke. I wonder what it was like to have Coca Cola with coccaine in it? That reminds me, I'm supposed to meet up with that dude online for GTA. I wonder what the next console will be, maybe I should switch to playing on the computer. I hate my computer at work, it is so slow. That guy on the freeway was really slow, took forever to get to the gas station. Do I need an oil change? Did we buy groceries? I could use a sandwich, but dinner isn't far off. I'll just stay hungry for now... Oh look! Coke."
"Her: "What are you thinking about?"
Looks up at the TV, realizes I've missed 5 minutes and now have to figure things out from context.
"Nothing."
6. ReginaSerpentium wants to know how men wear skinny jeans.
"When you guys wear skinny jeans...where tf does your dick go? Like, not sexually but as a concerned person. Does that get tucked or something? Wouldn't that hurt when you take off your jeans at the end of the day?"
Xechwill broke it down:
"Depends on the guy. Most guys just have it kinda scrunched up on one side, but it’s difficult to tell since skinny jeans have a surprising amount of crotch space.
Flaccid penises are really flexible; they can get into all sort of crazy positions without any harm. Just scrunching it up while putting on your pants is enough for most guys."
"The real issue is the testes. Can’t have pressure on those or else it hurts. Skinny jeans leave room for testes, which in turn leaves plenty of room for the penis."
7. fingergunmcgee04 wants to know why men don't like chapstick.
"What's the deal with guys not wanting to use lotion or chapstick? Every guy I've dated thus far has denied my offer for lotion or chapstick when they complain about having chapped lips and dry skin."
So, TheSpatulaOfLove shared his feelings.
"I absolutely hate the greasy feeling of that stuff."
8. kalive7 is in awe at men's handshake abilities.
"Those handshakes you do. How do you coordinate it?? it baffles me"
ThatBadassonline says it comes at a price.
"A lifetime of practice."
9. ImTheSmallestPeach is curious why men are weird about gifts.
"Why are guys so apprehensive about receiving gifts? Buddy I found a cool pair of socks that looks like a shark is eating your foot, and I paid next to nothing for it. Why do you have to act like you now have to pay for my college tuition? Can I not just gift guys things for fun?"
BorgDrone shared his personal apprehension about gifts.
"Depends entirely on the gift.
Those socks would be great. Just knowing that you thought of me and wanted to buy me a gift in itself is very flattering."
"What is not cool is buying me a gift where that would block me from buying it for myself. Say, I was looking for a new stereo. It would take me weeks, if not months, to pick out the exact model I want. If you then gift me a stereo, knowing I was looking for a new one, it's very unlikely that you bought me the exact model I wanted. Worse, now I can no longer go out and buy the one I wanted because I already got the one you gave me and it would look ungrateful to replace it with a slightly different one."
10. goaheadblameitonme doesn't understand her partner's shower habits.
"He uses my expensive shampoo to wash his whole body when there is a bar of soap RIGHT THERE."
dredreyup said the reasoning is pretty simple.
"Because if it's soapy and smells nice, it's good as soap"
11. lovesmecats needs some logistical peeing details.
"Even when though men can take a leak without sitting on the toilet, how can they aim with a flaccid penis? Or is it flaccid?"
the_misc_dude dished on the details.
"A flaccid penis is flexible and it bends. You just bend it to where you want to aim. A hard penis on the other hand is stiff and if you bend it you cut off the stream. Yes, a flaccid penis is generally shorter than a hard penis but not so short that it causes an issue... Unless you’re OP."
12. ImUndiscoveredGyrl needs some answers on why men bail.
"A guy asked my friend for her number. He never called. Something similar happened to me. Why even bother getting someone's phone number?"
"Edit: In my case, we texted and agreed to meet up on a certain day and grab drinks. Fast forward, on said day (a Friday) he all of a sudden texts me, saying that he has to work now because his colleague called in sick (he works in a bar). He tells me he's going to message me on Monday so we could set something up again but he never did. I'm assuming he got nervous or met someone else?"
imizaac claims it's self preservation.
"It's easier to take the victory of getting a number than the failure of rejection."
13. keystah wants to know why men are so hot and cold with affection.
"Whether or not they’re into a woman. Swear to god one day they can display evidence of attraction then the next it’s like a switch went off and they want nothing to do with you. I’ve realized over the years sometimes it’s just a bad day for them and not about me at all. However I still can’t read them lol"
FireWolfFred said a lot of it is crossed signals.
"Can't speak for everyone, being a shy, socially awkward male, but I find showing interest in women difficult. I basically start second guessing everything. Is she being nice to me because she just doesn't want to be rude? She talks but only when I initiate conversation so am I just pestering her, etc. I don't consider myself handsome, nor do I think my outward personality is particularly engaging, so I guess that attractive women aren't interested in me."
"I mean, I have a younger sister and now that she is older I see the amount of men who message her 'as friends' who she doesn't exactly like but isn't rude to. I guess I never want to be in that position so the second a reply is disinterested or too short or whatever, that seed of doubt starts and you back off, hoping that the woman offers a sign that you should continue. So yeah, society is confusing, haha."
14. freinlk needs to know how men fight and make up.
"That guys can go from fighting and beating each other up to suddenly being back to friends, are you guys really friends? is it just taking frustration out on each other? what is it and how?"
Lightning_Pickle the catharsis of physical fighting helps maintain a friendship.
"2 things. 1 is yes, usually its just pent up frustration/anger and once its dealt with things go back to normal. 2 is its very, very easy for guys to become and remain friends. If we share just one common interest we'll get along just fine."
15. Utrechtonmymind want to know what the big deal about getting directions is.
"How they absolutely refuse to ask for help. Back when we had no smartphones we were trying to find my friend’s street and this guy I was with preferred to walk aimlessly for 30 minutes before I had enough and dared to ask someone for directions"
Ruadhan2300 claims it goes back to a problem solving mind set.
"Pretty much the first rule of the Standard Male Mindset is that we're native problem-solvers. Present a challenge and it becomes a project.
A man is not lost, he just hasn't solved the puzzle of how to get to his destination yet."
"If you come to us with a sob-story looking for a sympathetic ear, please make sure you tell us that early on. Otherwise you'll hear "have you tried X?" "Maybe Y would help with that" when you really just want "damn that sucks, let me give you a footrub"