Everybody’s problems are different, and they all deserve to be heard, so feminist writer Carina North, who blogs about trauma and recovery, has recently asked women on Threads to list what they believe to be the worst parts of womanhood.
In just a few days, she has received hundreds of honest accounts on rigid social structures, tense interpersonal relationships, and challenging body changes.
As AI slop floods the media, this discussion stood out as an increasingly rare example of genuine reflection and meaningful dialogue. To spare you the hassle of scrolling through everything yourself, we’ve gathered some of the top insights and invite you to join the conversation.
More info: Instagram | Substack | Threads
#1
Being alone and peaceful is far greater than settling or forcing myself to make something work with someone that isn’t my person.
Image source: suzypink8214, Daiga Ellaby/unsplash
#2
My mum had to get a man to speak to businesses over the phone to get respect when she was dealing with them. She was a single parent and worked so hard but was never heard.
Image source: donna.cha
#3
That other women can be misogynistic.
Image source: jan.i.s.0ptera, CoWomen/unsplash
#4
That doctors will disregard our concerns and pain tolerance, even if they are a female.
Image source: flamezindabad, Getty Images/unsplash
#5
That my own parents are upset that I don’t want kids. I am 24 and they keep saying “you’ll change your mind” no I won’t. It’s so annoying. Like I am grown and can make my own decisions about MY OWN body.
Image source: whitegirlspice, Getty Images/unsplash
#6
I think the scariest one for me is that there very well could be a great, upstanding man who pursues me in earnest and genuinely wants everything I want, but I’ll be so afraid waiting for the other shoe to drop that I’ll ruin it somehow. But I’m working at conquering that fear, and not being the conquered.
Image source: littleballofgiggles, Good Faces/unsplash
#7
That I likely will not outlive patriarchy.
Image source: drkatebalestrieri, Getty Images/unsplash
#8
That it doesn’t matter what I do or accomplish, only how attractive people find me.
Image source: c.adelinejames, Getty Images/unsplash
#9
That nobody cares about our health as much as we do. Including doctors. Every symptom I have is an uphill battle to not be labelled as ‘anxious’. Sometimes I feel like we’re still in the 1800s and I’ll be sent to an asylum before my symptoms are taken seriously :,). Not listening to health care professionals has saved my life and that terrifies me.
Image source: alkalinequinn, Getty Images/unsplash
#10
That my body is weaker than a man’s and that therefore I will never feel safe. That 40 years of periods and 500+ cycles is somehow not enough.
Image source: klarinette75, Jonathan Borba/unsplash
#11
That because I didnt have children, im somehow inferior.
Image source: mannic.rogers, Michael T/unsplash
#12
No matter how much we succeed, most men will think they’re superior by default
Image source: maeganerd
#13
Misogyny, internalized misogyny and medical misogyny. To say some.
Image source: cherry_lane79
#14
That for a lot of men, once you reach a certain age as a woman, you’re invisible. I sit with many elderly women in hospice, they have stories for days. But only I seem to hear them. I work with women in their late 50s and early 60s, and the lives they have lived are truly, AMAZING. Is this our fate? To only exist to men, during the maiden/ mother phase of life? Half the population ignores women 45+💔
Image source: janellealisefreeman
#15
You can say something very relevant, honest and well thought, but nobody will truly listen until a man repeats it.
Image source: lawishur, Getty Images/unsplash
#16
Very little community for us. Men want to sleep with us, other women want to sabotage us.. very few genuine people who don’t have ulterior motives.
Image source: bookaddict3_7, Esra Korkmaz/unsplash
#17
One of the hardest ugly truths I’ve had to accept as a woman is having to back up statements with research or a source. I have several instances where I state a fact and a dude will be like, “wait, that can’t be right?” And then I will literally pull the book out that it was from and cite my source and sometimes they’ll be like “ah ok” and other times they’ll want more sources.
Image source: meghankcrozier
#18
That most other women underestimate their capabilities. I can’t even recall how many times I have had women in my neighborhood asked me where I take my car in for service and when I tell them that I do it myself they’re completely flabbergasted. I always invite them over to watch and learn how to do with themselves and see how easy it is. Only the really easy stuff: oil changes, brakes, belts, hoses, spark plugs… If I can learn to bake a cake they can learn to change their own oil.
Image source: mjorgenson23, Curated Lifestyle/unsplash
#19
For me it’s the sacrifice I give as a mom a wife a daughter a sister etc. the sacrifice is never seen it feels like
Image source: vi_princessofatl, BĀBI/unsplash
#20
Lots of men will never see us as people. Men can pursue and even marry us and tick the boxes of treating us ok (like you do a pet or appliance) – it doesn’t mean he sees you as a person or is interested in you as a person. Those men are also creating products and making laws and leading institutions while ignoring the needs of half the population – not noticing when we’re not in the room, and happier when we’re not as it’s uncomfortable when not-people speak up.
Image source: how.i.rebuilt.myself
#21
That not being married with children by a certain age makes you worthless. Oh and that once your 40 or over you’ve “passed your prime. “
Image source: w.illusion
#22
The term wife means different things to men and women.
Image source: michelleconnollyglynn, Drew Coffman/unsplash
#23
I will never get proper care from the industrialized healthcare system.
Image source: 400yoswampwitch, Getty Images/unsplash
#24
The saddest topic 😔
I can only agree with… literally every single lady here.
My own truth: no matter how educated and experienced you are, your supervisor (if it’s a man) will always prioritise another man’s opinion and decision.
Image source: neva.evangelina
#25
I will always be judged based on my body and looks, and it’s the first thing men attack when they realise how strong my character is.
Image source: beharleyhappy
#26
Gynos will always say and convince others (including women) that we don’t feel pain down there.
Image source: cecyk_01
#27
That it always will be my fault. because I should have tidied up after them, I should have checked they’re OK, I should have known what everyone liked, I shouldn’t have spoken out.
Image source: wendal0, Getty Images/unsplash
#28
OH another one— instead of listening to the literal billions of women who TELL them what women want, they will always throw that away and take a man’s advice on what women want.
cuz of course, we’re lying and they know better.
Image source: sanela.estrella
#29
Sales men literally will not look or listen to you if you’re there with your male partner.
Image source: rozbeans_
#30
That I can accomplish many things, help many people and still get dismissed because I’m over 50.
Image source: kathleencrisp
#31
The fact that I must look a certain way and be feminine to be found attractive by a man. Welp I guess I am not trying anymore and just being unapologetically a gremlin (myself).
Image source: netrunner_xx
#32
That after years of working, raising kids and managing most of the household chaos… I am becoming invisible…
Image source: itsmelaurao
#33
That women’s jobs and women don’t make the same money as men’s jobs and men.
Image source: shandelle_f
#34
Men don’t LIKE women.
They like what they signify—a wife, house, kids—signifies success.
But I don’t think most men genuinely LIKE women.
Image source: lulubelle7676, Getty Images/unsplash
#35
That other women will never stop reminding me to be scared
And use it to stop me
And tell me it’s for my own good
As if I don’t get enough fear naturally
That’s not my place and we agree
So stop telling me so and insisting
Not to be insensitive
Just honest
That’s how I deal
Image source: luci.vanscoy
#36
PCOS has made me into this “man” that everyone wants to swear I am. No, it is a hormonal disorder 🙃
Image source: theblkrosebud
#37
That no matter how we look, we will get harrased. Men used to always make gross comments about my body and the only reason they stopped is that I gained weight. So now they are making different gross comments about my body. Yay… 😑
Image source: noquelle9
#38
anything I achieve in life will be downplayed or overshadowed by being pretty.
i’m so tired of the comments after conversations being:
“wow you’re *ACTUALLY* really intelligent/funny/nice/wise/etc”— almost is if they’re asking a question & scratching their heads about how there’s an actual brain & person with a life inside of my body.
Image source: sanela.estrella, Getty Images/unsplash
#39
That no matter how much in life you accomplish for yourself, you’ll always only be measured by if you’re “married” and if you’re a “mother”
Image source: krysta.monet
#40
While 60 countries have had female leaders already, the US still refuses to vote for a female President. Twice now, qualified women were willing to serve their country and instead…well, you know the rest.
Image source: roamingromi
#41
That I was born into a culture that uses the solar calendar and orients time linearly, utterly divorced from nature, literally putting me at fundamental odds with my own biology.
And it’s just accepted, the justice of it not questioned.
Image source: bossamy1, kevin turcios/unsplash
#42
We will be betrayed by everyone we love at some point in our live and there is nothing we can do to prevent it from happening. It doesn’t matter what we did or did not before. We can only move on from that point.
Image source: evgeniaagapitos
#43
That a man, will always and I mean always want something from you. Whether family friend or lover
Image source: beautycodecincy
#44
That as a BLACK WOMAN, most white women are not only NOT SAFE, but actively harmful to me.
Image source: luvvie
#45
Men hate women. Men think they are superior to and better than women.
Image source: dissentingcatlady
#46
That even when we act defensive or avoid men cause of fear they will call us ridiculous
Image source: karelgloz
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