What truly breaks my heart is women’s fight for equality. I mean, it is probably the oldest battle in time, yet patriarchy still seems to win, as we see it everywhere around us. The worst part is that this social evil has actually been normalized in our society.
A lot of women are angry about it, as they opened up on Reddit when a user asked them to share such things. Trust me, they didn’t hold back from exposing these “norms,” which are oh-so-problematic! Ladies out there, you might even relate to most of these, so just scroll down to check them out!
More info: Reddit
#1
Getting body shamed for the “crime” of landing with a big chest.
I didn’t choose to get what I got, but all the dads in my (Mormon) church were noticing, and all their wives *saw* them noticing and blamed me for it. It didn’t matter how modestly I dressed – I could have worn a potato sack on top and I still would have gotten the same treatment.
It got so bad that a rumor started circulating around my church that I was deliberately stuffing my bra in order to distract the men. That’s when my foster mom decided to *walk in on me* during a shower to confirm that what I have is legitimate. I was humiliated. I always locked the bathroom door after that whenever I was inside.
After that the conversations at church turned towards getting me a reduction surgery. Which the doctor refused to do, she determined it wasn’t medically necessary.
I’m so glad I got away from that family, and that church.
Image source: Basic-Remote-1053, lu55
#2
Being told to smile. Now realizing how weird it would be for a man to tell another man to smile. It doesn’t happen.
Image source: Yathatbeme, wayhomestudio
#3
I used to think every woman just quietly accepted being groped at clubs like it was part of the “nightlife tax”… until I saw a girl grab a guy’s wrist mid-grope and yell, “Try that again, and I’ll break your fingers.” Queen behavior.
Image source: opalnestt, freepik
#4
Being yelled at a lot. Years of therapy and boundary setting is helping me. Also f**k my mom.
Image source: silverhalotoucan, dikushin
#5
The constant pressure to manage the emotions of men around us. If a creepy guy hits on you or touches you? You can’t react too strongly because you have no idea if he’ll flip out and hurt you. You have to craft your rejections so carefully so that you don’t injure their ego.
The other month, some guy grabbed my hand while I was waiting for the metro and asked me if I wanted a new friend. I said no thanks and tried to take my hand back, and he got angry and started yelling that I was a b***h. I wanted to yell back, but then had this stab of fear that he was going to push me on the tracks or pull out a weapon, so I just desescalated by apologizing to him.
And it’s always incredible that when I tell male friends this happened, they get all offended and say that a real man would have defended me. But there were like six men around me on that platform and not one of them even looked over.
Image source: XOSnowWhite, freepik
#6
Most women have been SA’d at some point in life and just carry on like nothing happened.
Image source: Nepskrellet, freepik
#7
Period pain. Every adult woman would tell me that period pain was normal. Mine were so severe I would cry, throw up, and one time even pass out. Turns out it was endometriosis.
So much pain is NEVER normal
EDIT: I didn’t think this many people would relate, all these stories are absolutely infuriating. I hope you all are better now. If you are in pain and a doctor tells you you are overreacting, go see someone else. A good doctor will work with you to understand where the pain comes from. It is REALLY important to get checked out if you feel pain, as stuff like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome can get worse without treatment. As for me, I got the correct treatment after 12 years of begging and bad cramps. You can get a pill that stops your period. It has side effects, like a lot of pills like that, but lord did it help me. I still have period cramps here and there, but it’s nothing like before. I feel like I can actually live my life. I truly wish good luck to you lads.
Image source: Super_Mimetique, katemangostar
#8
Everything is in your head – disrespectful treatment from partners or family, ignored health concerns from healthcare professionals, issues at work. You are a woman and you are overreacting.
….and then I realized that my feelings matter.
Image source: wtvwillbewilderme, EyeEm
#9
That it was normal to feel like you constantly have to double-check if you’re “too much” until I realized everyone deserves to just be themselves without walking on eggshells.
Image source: Sweet_peach001, Frolopiaton Palm
#10
Sexual pressure. I thought every boyfriend believed they were owed s*x and that it was normal for them to use emotional manipulation to get it.
Image source: Fez_and_no_Pants, freepik
#11
Being the “default person” when it comes to a lot of things. I make lunch and dinner each day? Meh, that’s just normal. He makes dinner once? Expects a parade in his honour! “Where’s my shirt?” as if I somehow obviously know the whereabouts of his things (which I usually DO know, because of course I also did the laundry). “Make a dentist appointment for me next month” Who makes my appointments? Oh yeah, it’s also me.
And on top of this I work more hours than he does. When he has his weekly “long shift” (which is 12 hours, the same as my REGULAR shift) he can’t even put his socks in the laundry basket because he’s “too tired”. But of course I’M not tired, right? These things are just gonna get done behind the scenes, the dishes fairy is going to come unload the dishwasher while he snores.
Image source: BabaTheBlackSheep, YuliiaKa
#12
Body dysmorphia and hating your appearance. I thought “feeling s**y” was a sign of narcissism.
My mom wasn’t the best role model in that regard. I’d spent my formative years hearing the awful s**t my mom said about herself in front of the mirror, even tough she was gorgeous. Always on a diet, her butt always ‘huge’, her belly never flat enough (after me, her 2nd child, just so we can add a pinch of guilt on my part. After my older brother she lost all the baby weight ). I was an ice skater, so the expectations of the sport and the attitude of the other girls (I was called ‘fat-a*s’ at age 10) didn’t help either. Also it was the 90’s-00’s beauty standards I grew up with. I remember the tabloids of Britney when she gained weight after giving birth. I was in the trenches of tumblr when ‘thinspiration’ was everywhere.
Then came high school and all the toxicity you can imagine. Fat shaming, restrictive diets, insane weight goals, always criticising ourselves or someone else. I think teenage girls are the most cruel and despicable creatures on Earth. No wonder I developed an eating disorder by age 16.
Now, 2 years into recovery I see that’s anything but normal. It’s not “part of being a woman”. I’m nearing 30, my “best before” days are behind me. With a metabolism that fast, and a lifestyle as active as mine, I could’ve been slim (but not skinny) effortlessly. Instead I spent my 20’s starving, exercising until throwing up, hating myself, envious of others, bringing other women down so I can feel better about myself.
I finally understand that self confidence isn’t narcissism. That women who say they’re ‘feeling s**y’ or ‘like their body’ aren’t lying so the rest of us can feel even worse about ourselves. I know that I’m sick, that I have a mental illness, and I’m not ‘like every other women’.
Edited for grammar mistakes, English isn’t my native language.
Image source: tiny_beast29, romanzaiets
#13
Mansplaining, or being spoken to in subtlely insulting ways by men. Not anymore; I have become a rampaging b***h about stuff like that.
Image source: Holiday_Decision4095, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#14
Have you seen how they get a biopsy from inside the cervix?
No pain medication is offered, just use a hole punch to take some flesh and tell you there’s nothing to react to .
Image source: mini_z, ArtPhoto_studio
#15
Never being trusted that the answer we give is the correct one.
This applies mostly to fields commonly considered masculine, like trades, but can be experienced everywhere in every topic. Grinds my gears that people can’t possibly believe a woman has the right answer, so they will ask a man who, yeah, provides the same answer. They believe him, why not me?
Image source: ObligatoryAnxiety, freepik
#16
Constantly worrying about your your outfits. Is it too revealing? Too boring? Do I look like a prude? Too atractive or unattractive to be taken seriously?
For some girls, worrying about this starts as early as pre-school.
Image source: elalhgob, freepik
#17
All sorts of medical procedure pain.
Image source: Advanced-Angle8177, EyeEm
#18
People (women too and obviously (some)men) thinking we’re not equal. Thinking because we’re not men, we should do more, should earn less, have less rights and so on.
This is idiotic and not even remotely abnormal in 2025 but pure and deliberate cruelness without remorse.
Image source: my_username_is_okay, freepik
#19
Being with a partner who you love but doesn’t fully love you back. I when my partner and I found each other it made all of the previous relationships seems horrid and toxic. .
Image source: TheUnderCrab, drobotdean
#20
Silent treatment from their mother.
I thought this type of behavior was normal for most of my life. Its crazy how some women’s mothers actually talk to them about their feelings or tell them why they are upset at their daughter.
Image source: silverlotusblossom, peoplecreations
#21
Feeling pain during a c section. I was screaming “I still feel it” and my anesthesiologist said, “We don’t wanna give her anything too strong, she might not remember the birth.”
Meanwhile, I did not want my baby anywhere near me after he came out because I was so enraged and in agony and felt completely helpless.
Actually, I’m so traumatized by that birth, I absolutely will NEVER have another kid.
Edit: I don’t wanna scare anyone from having kids. This was with my 2nd child. My first child was an emergency c-section, and the adrenaline made the epidural painless (I don’t remember feeling it at all, not even the numbing part). I did have the same ‘Hotspot’ where the epidural didn’t reach and when I start panicking about the pain, they gave me Ketamine and I was gooooood. They continued to do their thing, I still remember seeing my girl and doing cheek to cheek with her. It was traumatic, too, but not nearly as much as my 2nd one…
The 2nd time around was a scheduled cesarean so I thought it had to go better, right? And I informed my doctors and anesthesists of what happened the first time. So when it happened again, and this time was not given any stronger pain meds, it was terrifying and the pain felt way worse from before. Adrenaline was still sky high because all the memories of the 1st one were there.
I remember they showed me my boy and I immediately turned away from him because fluid dripped on my face (from him, he was a meconium baby) and I just wasn’t mentally ready to bond after that one. Having another kid is completely off the table for us now. Not even a question about it.
Image source: likeyouknowmeh, EyeEm
#22
Thought that being s******l during the premenstrual period was normal. Turns out, most people don’t suffer from mood swings that extreme. Didn’t find out until my mid-thirties.
Image source: HovercraftFullofBees, garakta_studio
#23
Wearing heels that hurt like hell seriously thought everyone just powered through the pain like it was some unspoken rule… turns out a lot of women just don’t wear them if they’re uncomfortable.
Image source: plussizebb09, javi_indy
#24
Having to phrase every statement as a question so you didn’t get berated if it turned out to be wrong— or even if it was right, but the other party just assumed it was wrong.
Image source: Appalachian-Dyke, kues1
#25
Domestic violence.
Image source: short_swords, freepik
#26
Putting up with a spouse who not only wouldn’t respect seemingly normal boundaries, but trying to make me feel like I was the one who was wrong for trying to have simple boundaries to begin with. Part of why we’re divorcing now.
Image source: PuzzleheadedCost8866, prostock-studio
#27
Bad doctors. I didn’t know there were good doctors until I moved away and realized wait, doctors actually listen to you?
Image source: Ceiling-Fan2, syda_productions
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