20 Men Share Problematic Stereotypes About “Manhood” That Need To End

Harshita Singh

Just as there are stereotypes that surround women, there are plenty of, very harmful stigmas and stereotypes men grow up being deeply affected by.  

Which is why this Reddit thread where men have come forward to talk about the norms and stereotypes that they think need to be done away with, is so great. 

Through this thread, we can take a look at and try to achieve a better understanding of the societal expectations that men grow up with, that are actually, absolute boloney! Read on.

1. “That a compassionate man is not a weak man.”

– ThePiedPipher

2. “Kindness, compassion, and empathy come from strength.”

– 5nineAnd3quarters

3. “So many of these. A shy man. A mild tempered man. One of the most toxic ideologies is the idea that a man is inadequate unless he’s extroverted, loud, and aggressive.”

– Affectionate_Ear_778

4. “Same for an affectionate man and the stigma that male to male affection is gay. Normalize real hugs between male friends!”

– BlazerFS231

5. “Normalize male affection, normalize men telling other men that they love them, normalize male vulnerability. Being able to talk to my friends about our feelings has only deepened our relationships and enriched my life.”

– _jerkalert_

6. “Men can have body image issues too. And they’re allowed to be things other than height, muscle mass and balding.”

– Valentine_Villarreal

7. “And the (issues) ones that are associated more often with women, such as eating disorders.”

– moofpi

8. “That men don’t have emotions and thus don’t need emotional support.”

– Cnnlgns

9. “That domestic violence has a gender.”

– aonboy1

10. “That mental illness is a weakness. Men hide their illnesses because of the stigma. We get anxiety and depression too.”

– 2amante10

11. “A ‘good friend’ of 4 years ghosted me after she saw me cry for 5 minutes. Lmao. A lot of women think men shouldn’t cry.”

– aspiringforbetter

12. “Men have to initiate everything with girls for their entire lives. Those who don’t initiate are not ‘real’ men.”

– StreetFightee

13. “That all we care about is sex.”

– silverstreak70

14. “‘You’re a loser if you can’t get a girl. Being a virgin is creepy and you’re a failure.’ It is possible to be a perfectly good man and never be desired by women. We should stop defining ourselves by how attracted women are to us.”

– throwawayyyyyyyforme

15. “That our main roles in society should basically be money-generating bodyguards who lack a sense of self-preservation.”

– festival-papi

16. “Working at a job that keeps you away from home. Leave the house before 7 am, get home after 7 pm.”

– JerryConn

17. “The idea that men are apparently held back from being emotional and they need to cry in order to be emotional. That’s a serious problem because you’re trying to force a definition of how men ought to express themselves without taking a moment to really understand that men tend to express themselves differently.”

– savalisk

18. “Our only value in society is to be providers and protectors. There is an intense fear of failure due to this societal expectation that gets reinforced when you see how little certain people care about you once you’re no longer useful.”

– DairyKing28

19. “That women are by default a better parent than men and that most fathers don’t know what they’re doing.”

– tmvrk

20. “That your only value as a guy is in the workplace and that real men are willing to neglect everything for their job. My motto is work to live not live to work.”

– Eldergod74

We’re so glad that these men have voiced their opinions and feelings here. 

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