For all the strides made toward gender equality so far, we've got plenty of work to do. Pay is still uneven, male privilege is as alive as ever, and socially constructed expectations force us to act in certain ways to cater to it all.
And those are just the big things. What about the more mundane illustrations of gender-based expectations?
These day-to-day battles, on their own, aren't the end of the world. But they are indicative of a the much larger problem.
And as small as they are, they're annoying as hell.
Tekstar12348 asked, "What gender double standard really annoys you?"
Cars and Dudes
"I grew up overseas, in a country that doesn't really encourage personal vehicles. We have a lot of public transport. As a result, my mechanical knowledge is extremely poor. My white girlfriend, who grew up in the sticks, and who's dad is a mechanic, has tinkered with cars all her life."
"Every time we walk to an auto parts store to get stuff, the employees never talk to her. Even if they ask me a question and she replies, they continue acting as if she doesn't exist and keep talking to me. It's unreal. It's as if they don't see her."
"She's gone to job interviews for mechanical jobs where the interviewer asks her very basic and belittling questions because they don't believe she can understand mechanical stuff."
"Meanwhile up until last year when I met her I didn't know what a ratchet was..."
Forced to Second-Guess Cuteness
"As a guy, I feel like if I am around kids, or smile because I see a youngster having fun in the park or something I'm labelled as a potential threat, but really I just love to see kids being kids and I'm thinking back on the days when I was that age." -- heavydirtysteve
Dysfunctional Pants
"Pockets. I want em." -- SnowWhiteCampCat
"But then the purse selling buisness has to shut down." -- zender23
"I'm a woman and this is a problem for me too. Yes, pockets exist, but they're so shallow that nothing fits. I have small hands but they barely fit into some of these pockets. You can barely fit your car keys in one of them, let alone your phone."
"Heck with 'fashion,' I want deep pockets in my pants dang it." -- Thy_Name_Is_Anxiety
Know the Uniform, Gents
"I can dress in typical men's clothes all day every day, never wear makeup, cut my hair short and never get my gender or sexual orientation questioned but my husband gets comments to his gender identity and orientation for wearing a pink shirt to his suit?"
"F*** right off with that."
-- horilen
Taking Their Places
"Maybe this is more prevalent among people of my culture (Mexicans) but I remember when I was little we were done eating dinner at my aunt's house and all the women and girls got to cleaning while the men sat in living room watching TV."
"When I asked my mom about it she and my aunt just laughed, giving me an 'Oh you dumb little girl' look. Pisses me off to think about it to this day."
For the Sake of the Children, This One has to Go
"When my wife is taking care of our kids she is 'parenting' but when I, their father, takes care of them I am 'babysitting.' "
"I hate when her lady friends say, 'Oh you are such a good dad, babysitting your kids.' "
"Bi***, I am parenting my kids."
-- Anxious_Try
A Lot of Extra Work
"The expectation and pressure to wear makeup in a professional setting." -- Snapysnapsnapper
"And heels! They're part of dress code sometimes, which is bonkers. That stuff gives you back problems if you're not careful. I love heels on occasion but as part of a dress code? Ridiculous." -- Dirmanavich
Pent Up Men
"This may be very culture dependent, but the way women are allowed to express their feelings freely, to cry."
"However men should be tough and suck it up. I think this is very toxic to the mental health of men." -- MrMeszaros
"Men who are not shy of sharing their emotions and are understanding of women's emotion are weak" -- adnanoid
Perpetuating the Household Roles
"Why do yogurt commercials never feature men? I like yogurt too goddammit" -- hairweed
"Men are usually portrayed as dumb, forgetful buffoons in commercials too. I find that to be super annoying too." -- FanaticDamen
"yeah it just hurts everybody, 'haha he cant do simple stuff, so mom does everything! she likes lavender and so will you!' " -- -Hannah-Glasse
Salesperson Presumptions
"Going into a store that is considered "male" (PC store, video game store, car shops, etc). and the sales person only talking to my male partner despite me being the person looking for a product and being the buyer."
-- Goblin_Kat
Bodies to Celebrate
"How my daughter can do gymnastics and she's called athletic, but as soon as her twin brother does gymnastics, he's just weird" -- im-so-funny-im-not
"Hear, hear! Gymnasts are capable of bodily feats most people aren't. They're all awesome equally." -- I_Ace_English
"lol male gymnasts are second only to bodybuilders when it comes to how ridiculously shredded they are. You're right though." -- The_Blue_Rooster
The Privilege to Not Think About It
"When I was a teenager, I was not allowed out of the house to walk to the local shopping center to hang with my friends (all male). My mom told me it was because I'm a girl and I'm way more likely to be attacked on my way and if I was a boy it'd be different."
"In general since I was 12 up to now, when walking alone in public I was very frequently harassed and I'm not sure if the same thing happens to men."
Playing the Role
"Threatening your daughter's boyfriend."
"This is a double standard, but it's also just a Hollywood trope that some dads think they're supposed to do and it's incredibly creepy."
"When I was in high school at least a couple dads would say things like 'just remember I know how to shoot' and 'if you break her heart I'll break you' etc."
"Sometimes it's just dads thinking they're cute when they do this but I've received at least one legitimate threat by a dad thinking he was doing his dad duty."
"Keep in mind that as a teenager I was very small and not at all in the "bad boys" clique, but if you are actually worried about your daughter's boyfriend harming her, then don't let her date them. Don't just blanket threaten a bunch of minors."
-- king063
More Impressive for Doing the Same Work
"I am a female teacher. I only know one man who is a kindergarten teacher, and people constantly make comments to him about how 'women must love it that he is so good with kids' and he will be a great dad. As if he is only in the job to impress women?"
"Nobody says this sh** to me."
-- cistacea
Human Contact is GOOD
"I wish it were socially acceptable for guys to hug/hold hands like girls do" -- Infinite-LED-Life1
"You need a hug, bro?" -- fungeoneer
"I hug the f*** outta my bros. I tell them I love them all the time. Hate that toxic stoicism sh**." -- umbralwalk
Let it Grow
" 'shaving is for hygene!!!' comments on women's body hair from men who are often literaty covered in fur." -- zzzojka
"I used to have this job where you'd basically live in the bush for 4 months. Gender ratios were about 60-40. Considering it was a bush job, it was a really good ratio in my opinion. Being so far from 'civilized' society most people eventually let loose and was ok with the lower hygiene standards."
"I always felt weird going back to society and seeing so many hairless people."
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