Pupils have begun returning to school as lockdown restrictions were eased across England.
Outdoor markets and car showrooms have also started reopening, while the first horse racing event in months was being staged and pigeons took to the skies for a race over Yorkshire.
If they're lucky, these men turn out to be gentlemen, and what transpires turns into a meet-cute straight out of a romantic comedy.
More often than not, however, these men come off as anything but charming.
Even if their behavior can be easily avoided.
Redditor fiterphanter was curious to hear what women considered to be the biggest mistakes men make when attempting to flirt, leading them to ask:
"Women, what is the biggest mistake single men make when showing interest?"
"Don't go overboard on the talking about sex... be able to talk about other things."- aurora_ethereallight
"Making sexist comments."
"A lot of guys think variations of the comment 'Most women are so dumb but you're so smart!' is a compliment."
"It's not."
"Especially if you're complimenting me for knowing something basic."
"It suggests you don't engage many women in conversation."- mauvebirdie
"Making sexual innuendos to test boundaries when I don’t know you."- Medusa17251
Step Off Go Away GIF by Holly Logan Giphy
"Talking constant smack about their ex."
"Comparing us to their ex."
"Like if it comes up in conversation, say what you need to say and move on."
"Don’t punish us for what your ex did, bro."
"Heal up."
"Bragging about how many other women are interested in you how 'lucky' I am to have been at the top of the list."-Salt_Specialist_3206
"Making it about looks, in a way that makes it obvious they’re not really looking past that."
"You can usually tell because they’re not complimenting your personality, taking interest in your hobbies, etc."
"It’s just 'you’re so pretty' , 'your body is so hot', it can actually feel quite sad."- highuptop
"I remember when I first met my wife we had an amazing date that lasted way longer than expected."
"A couple hours later, she texted me asking if she’d scared me off."
"I was super interested but didn’t want to seem too interested and she straightened me up real quick!"
"Don’t try to play it cool by not communicating."- SgtGo
Modern Family GIF by ABC Network Giphy
"Sexual jokes directed at me too early on."- ClickProfessional769
"Showing extreme jealousy over a girl you aren't even dating."
"My best friend had a small bday party, and there were mostly people I knew, and some I didn't."
"A guy came up and told me I was very pretty and he liked my outfit."
"I said thank you and continued to see my friend."
"I started playing pool with her brother, and I looked up to see that same guy fuming and staring daggers at me."
"Bro, I don't know you?"
"Why tf are you grilling me like that."
"It came off seriously unhinged because he did it the whole party every time I socialized with any of the guys."- Glittering-Relief402
"Not asking any questions and actually keeping the conversation going."
"Ridiculously basic but shocking how many men don’t understand this, including the ones that show strong interest."- ChemistryMean3876
Kate Mckinnon Reaction GIF by Saturday Night Live Giphy
"Not understanding no."
"I said it once, me having to repeat myself won't change my mind."
"In fact, I will just get more and more pissed off."- curlyquinn02
"Not understanding the constraints that women face around safety."
"I was listening to a man talk about how frustrated he was that he wanted to pick up a first date in his car and she wanted to meet him at the restaurant."
"It's because she doesn't want to be trapped with you if you end up wanting to hurt her."
"She wants to have an escape."
"Some guys literally try to murder their dates."
"Dating can be very scary/dark for women."- koolaid-girl-40
"Not accepting or pushing 'No's'."
"Like trying to talk around it or trying to change minds."- LittleMiauMiau
No Way Family GIF Giphy
"Making it sexual."
"I can’t emphasize this enough."
"If you make it sexual before we meet, I’m immediately disappointed."
"Most of my experience post-divorce is dating online, and I cringe every time a guy has ‘I love to cuddle’ on his profile."
"Or we start talking and within a paragraph, he’s asking to give me a massage."
"Just talk to women like we’re people, not sexual objects."
"Adding onto this that I am very sexual and in no way avoid sex."
"But if I don’t know you, I don’t want to talk sex with you."
"Period."- darksideofthesuburbs
"Acting like being nice is a personality, then getting mad when you don’t fall for them immediately."- That_Purple288
The number of men who think they know exactly what women like is immeasurable.
The number of men who actually succeed at flirting is much, much smaller...
Now, it seems that many of you may have skipped or fallen asleep during health and anatomy classes.
Well, it's time to wake up!
Some of the information you believe and spread needs clarification.
Women are exhausted from hearing things about their bodies from men that are just utterly ridiculous.
In the age of Google, how can people be this far off the path?
Redditor SnooPuppers7004 wanted to hear from the ladies out there about what nonsense men have said to them:
"Women of Reddit, what's the dumbest thing a man has genuinely said or believed about women?"
"Mom's friend was talking about being in labor for 36 hours. Their other friend, a grown man in his 40s, told her to stop lying because "a doctor would never prescribe that much labor."
"He was dead serious."
- idio_tequa
Alison Brie What GIF Giphy
"My ex-husband legitimately thought that, whenever a woman has sex with a new partner, it makes her period start in order to 'wash the old partner out of her system.' He reached this stunning leap of logic after a lady he knew said she was going to a bar to celebrate her divorce and hoped she found a man to 'wash her ex out of her system.' He decided that this meant I was cheating on him when I got my period, it stopped early, we had sex, and then it started again 🙄."
- mamasteph42
"Had a very spiritual ex who believed that most women were werewolves. Literal werewolves. Like that, we would shapeshift during a full moon and run around killing cattle. I thought he was kidding until we were dating for a few months and he very seriously told me he was beginning to trust me, and more so, trust that I was not, in fact, a werewolf. He was reassured by the fact that I didn't have periods (I had an IUD) and he said that a woman's period aligned with the moon, and had to do with her shape-shifting werewolf cycle."
"He also thought that the fact I had an IUD meant that I was infertile for the rest of my life, and was genuinely concerned about how he would continue his bloodline if he stayed with me. I tried to explain these things to him, but he just got suspicious that I was covering up possible lycanthropy. He had issues."
- Catladylex
"I had a boyfriend who told me about some ex of his that could do some kind of yoga pose, 'that made the shift happen in her uterus so it would all come out at once.' I told him there was no 'shift' and she was probably just doing a move that relieved cramps, but he insisted she "could get it all over with in half an hour" and I should look it up and try it.
- EnvironmentFront7945
"I knew a 19-year-old guy who genuinely thought women laid eggs like chickens. He must have only half listened when learning about ovulation."
- Unquietdodo
Country Living Hype GIF by Black Women Love Dogs Giphy
"Your tampon must turn you on."
"Your very large breasts bouncing must feel good."
"Vaginas change shape or depth depending on how many people have been exploring the cavern."
"Vaginas should smell like rose water."
"Body hair is not natural on women, and that’s just a natural fact of the world since the beginning of civilized society, and should not be challenged."
"Women want to know their height before anything else."
"Telling women you have anything beyond 5.5” and it’s built like a Coke can is super hot; we love being mutilated."
- blehblehd
"There was a video where a little girl got hit in full force between her legs. She was clearly in a world of pain and required a hospital visit."
"Men said she faked her injuries and pain because women don't have testicles down there. Gee, I didn't know muscles, skin, female genitals, and bones can't get hurt. Why aren't all soldiers women since women's lack of testicles obviously makes them immune to all damage?"
"I asked them, How can your hand get hurt? Do you have testicles between your fingers?"
- PerspectiveAbject442
"That women get a crust/scab if we have our periods. This took place in a biology lesson in high school. We could write our questions about anything we wanted and put them in a box anonymously, and the teacher would answer them. It was kinda of a fun lesson, and it made the whole class open up about stuff."
"So we kinda started talking about body-related stuff with each other, and it pretty much ended up in a conversation between a group of boys asking the girls all kinds of questions, and that's when this one came out. I didn't know what I was hearing at first, but idk it kinda made sense for him to think that, I just never thought about it before."
- Future-Snow3549
"Women are never rejected when they ask men out. Also never single, and never lonely. That's impossible."
"I should add that a man on Reddit said this to me and argued the point ad nauseam. When I countered that I was, in fact, a woman, and single, and sometimes lonely, he got VERY riled up and informed me that if I wasn't so stuck up in my high standards all I had to do was walk out my front door and to the end of the block, and I was guaranteed to have a boyfriend at the end of the street."
"Like he had this idea that women exist and men just fall all around them like raindrops for the taking, at all times."
- StrangersWithAndi
"On first dates, my favorite question to ask is what’s the most physical pain you’ve ever been in. I always say getting both IUDs placed was horrible, and a dude said it couldn’t be true because no girl ever told him it hurt before."
"This also isn’t an invitation to reply to this comment and say it didn’t hurt for you. That's so dope that if it didn’t! I am definitely going under next time I get one."
- blackaubreyplaza
Kermit The Frog No GIF by Muppet Wiki Giphy
"So in a debate (why was this even a debate) about whether or not menstrual products (tampons, pads) should be tax-free, some moron said if menstrual products are to be tax-free, then so should tools and lawn mowers."
- Wildflower1180
"During a conversation about the price of menstrual products, my ex said that if pads/tampons were ever free, then they'd have to make condoms free too, so that 'men can get something for nothing as well.'"
"Sir, condoms are free at family planning, and please don't plan a family."
- TopAd7154
"Sister's misogynistic (but father of three) ex-boss thought breastfeeding could be 'held,' like a period. Said that mastitis was a 'made-up disease' so my sister did not have to work. Also made jokes about the 'husband stitch.' My sister took this guy to HR, and then to court."
- top-legolas
"My sister said that a janitor at her workplace didn't put toilet paper in the women's restroom. She asked him why, and with a straight face, said that women didn't need to use toilet paper when they urinate. He thought that women only had to shake it off. You can just imagine the talking to that she gave him."
- PsychologicalWear846
"The '666' rule. There may be a small minority of women who will only date men who are at least 6' tall, make six figures, and have a six-pack of abs, but the vast majority of us are not so focused on those things that we will let a great man slip through our fingers."
- Unlikely-Effort1318
the perfect guy GIF Giphy
Did you guys get all of that?
Listen to women when they discuss their bodies.
If you're curious about a woman, then... ask a WOMAN, before you speak.
As a man, I am embarrassed and appalled by some of the things I've read.
It's 2025, gentlemen.
DO. BETTER.
But I can deal with that.
It's good to know that there are good guys out there.
Because we often hear too many stories about the bad guys.
I myself have seen some really fantastic dads at every game and important event.
Redditor havereddit wanted to hear about the world's best dads, so they asked:
"What's the most bada** thing your Dad has ever done?"
"Cheated on my mom as a wild alcoholic and then turned his life around, salvaged their relationship, held down a job, and was a constant in our life for the rest of our lives."
- Any-Percentage-6448
Well Done Applause GIF by MOODMAN Giphy
"My parents got divorced when I was 5. I have two younger siblings - they were 4 and 2 at the time. Being in the 70s, my mom was automatically awarded full custody. She promptly met another man and moved us to a different state."
"She called my dad one day and told him to come get us, or she was putting us in foster care. She had gotten heavily into drugs and no longer wanted to be a mother."
"My dad sold everything he could to get us back home. Paid for a lawyer and got full custody, etc. I can’t imagine how hard it was to raise 3 small children, but he did it when he could have walked away. My childhood wasn’t easy, but he will always be a bada** in my eyes."
- Ok_Razzmatazz_9323
"After getting my mom pregnant with me in college, he married her right away, and supported us by taking a full-time job in a steel foundry while finishing college full-time. After being three feet away from dying in a foundry accident, he finished his degree, got a full-time job, and supported my mom, my two sisters, and me throughout our childhood and beyond. He worked extra weekend construction jobs to put me and my sisters through college with no debt."
"My mother was able to be a stay-at-home mom throughout our childhood because of him. Now he supports and cares for his senile mother and acts as support for his brothers and sister. He's pretty much the rock of the family and an absolute hero."
- cseymour24
"Turned down 2 promotions because he knew it would take time away from the kids. Instead, made extra quick cash by volunteering to go on test flights when new planes arrived at the hangar. This was the very early-mid 1960s. The stories he told about those flights would make your hair curl, but having been in the war, it was nothing to him, and those flights paid good cash and helped support us, 9 kids 1 income."
- strtjstice
"My dad died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was unconscious for days, and right at the end. He woke up and started talking like nothing had even happened. They call that the calm before the storm. My nephew and I sat there with him and had a 45-minute conversation all about life and death and how he wanted to be buried beside his brother."
"His exact words were 'everybody has to die otherwise there would be nowhere to park and all the good jobs will be taken,' he said, 'I lived the best life I could, I was honest and I have no regrets and I’ll have my chin up when they come and take me to where ever I’m going.' His last words were 'Ok, boys, let’s rest for now, we’ll talk later,' and he just never woke up again."
"Ironically, when he died, I was sitting beside his bed, listening to headphones really loud because he had the death rattle. When the time came, and I jumped up and was beside him when he took his last breath, the song Hero from Foo Fighters was playing on my headphones. I couldn’t listen to that song for years, but now whenever it randomly comes on, I just let it play because it’s my pop. It’s been nine years, and I still cry for that old man."
- Inevitable-Brief-115
"One time, my older brother threw a heavy dining room chair at my dad’s head. My dad stuck up one hand and blocked it. It broke his hand. He didn’t flinch."
"He’s probably done more bada** things in his life, but that one sticks out because I saw it."
Looking On Fire GIF Giphy
"He had to leave Berlin when the bombings took place. Then, eventually, he came back and had to deal with Russian soldiers in occupied Berlin. Brought his PTSD to America and had low-paying jobs until he became a doctor. 😂. I still don't know how the hell he did it."
- Krautthatshouts
"On a laundry list of things: Radiator broke and leaked overnight in my old 2000 Subaru Outback nearly 10 years ago. Woke up that morning and saw the fluid under my car; it must have happened as I just parked my car the night before."
"Called my Dad that morning (thankfully lived nearby) and he picked me up, went to AutoZone or wherever for a replacement.'
"Went back to my place to replace the radiator and hoses where my car was parked (on the street) within a couple of hours and still made it to work later that day, thankfully had an afternoon shift."
"All he had was his toolbox in his car trunk. Impressive how he did it so quickly and mostly by himself (just helped hold something or grab a tool). Growing up, I was just there to hold the flashlight while he said every curse word in the dictionary while he worked on his cars."
- IT_Specialist404
"Living in the bush for weeks at a time, scrub clearing in remote New Zealand in the late 1960s. Hit a piece of number 8 wire cutting down a tree, the chainsaw kicked back and sliced his thigh open below his groin to the knee. He stitched up his leg with fishing line and a fishing hook. Cut off the straggly bits with tin snips. Rode his horse 3-4 miles back to his car, drove his car to the hospital."
"Had the most intense scar, like a train track, down his leg, and scars forever stitched holes as he used nylon fishing line."
- Spazmonkey1949
"Story time!"
"He was riding his motorcycle on a long, mostly empty desert highway, and a car kept cutting him off with absolutely no use of their turn signal."
"At a red light, my father pulled up next to them, reached through their window, and said, 'I guess you don't need this.' Snapped off their turn signal actuator and drove off."
- headhunterofhell2
"Kicked down my door at 2 am when a tornado was rolling through our neighborhood. Threw me in a downstairs closet, then proceeded to run outside and pull out the elderly neighbor out of what was left of her house. I was 9."
- TheFeelyFeels
"When he was dying of cancer, one night he was up late in the living room trying to rest on a recliner. He heard/saw two young men trying to break into cars on our street and went out to confront them. One went toward him, so he grabbed him and held him on the hood of our car while the other acted tough. Dad said to try him, but he chickened out and ran away, soon followed by the other guy. I don't know how my dad had the strength to fend off two guys much younger and not die, but he did. And saved our cars."
- appleajh
"It was a new corrections officer working crazy shifts, and we had just moved. My little sisters really wanted Christmas lights that year, and in their letter to Santa, they asked him to magic some lights onto the house. I remember waking up at like 3-4 am and looking outside to see my Dad on a ladder stringing some lights up. It was kind of one of those moments where you cement it as 'He'll always be THAT Dad to me. Up on that ladder, hanging lights at 3 am.'"
- MaDrAv
"I grew up rural in a forest, and one night I when I was maybe 8, I woke up to flashing lights bouncing around my bedroom. My mom came in and said the neighbor's house had caught fire, and my dad had to break down his door and wake him up. The crazy thing that made it bada** to me is that it was never brought up once."
"He just never thought to talk about it or brag about saving our neighbor's life. He lived the rest of his life, never really even seeming to think about what he did. I only remembered it the week he died."
- Quankers
"Worked every day that he could. Did the best job he could. Earned the most he could. Stayed loyal to my mother, his entire life. Thought I was awesome. I was happy to see you every time I came over."
- marooned2000
Happy Family Mom GIF Giphy
There are a lot of really great dads out there.
That is comforting to know.
Life is hard, and a great parent can make a lot of life easier to handle.
And a lot of superhuman-type guys are out there.
They make the Avengers look like toddlers on a playground.
Who else has a bada** dad story to share?
