# Are women more likely to be dissatisfied in relationships? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989 "2013-10-11T15:55:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989/21 "2013-10-11T21:44:06Z")
Woman here. I’ve been the instigator of every breakup I’ve been involved in. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989/22 "2013-10-11T21:47:26Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > Anecdotes, of course, based on my own experiences and observances. I think women and men seem to be equally likely to be unhappy or unsatisfied in a bad relationship, but more often than not it is the woman who actually picks up and ends it. Men seem to be more likely to let things go unless they have a more solid reason to leave - often another relationship. In my own prior LTRs we were both equally dissatisfied but while he was more likely to seek a solution that did not involve leaving, like having sex on the side or just not coming home, I was always the one who finally had to pick up my stuff and leave. This is consistent with most relationships I have seen end. He only left if it was to be with a new, already vetted girlfriend. This (and even sven’s passive leaving) is my observation, too. Men in a lot of cases seem to be more likely just to wait it/tough it out unless they have another relationship to jump into. Women are more likely just to decide that the relationship is bad enough that they don’t need a better relationship to jump into. It’s a difference of “This is not what I want” (absolute) vs. “This is not what I want given this better option” (relative). ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989/23 "2013-10-11T22:13:33Z")
> [@Mrmanface](#): > > Yes absolutely. Women are naturally more selfish. They’re taught from a young age that their happiness is the only thing that matters by feminist brain washing. The truth is that in family and relationships what matters most is making the other person happy. Modern, particularly modern American women forget this. > > My mother is very selfish, being a woman I suspect that is something she has no control over, but she is always making sure that everyone else in the family is happy because that is what she was raised to do. > > Women are very easy to control and lot of gender topics are about how feminism has made women miserable. **Mrmanface** , your style of posts, since you’ve been here, seems to be one that posts things to seem to try to hijack topics or get reactions. That way of posting won’t last long here, so if it’s intentional, knock it off. If it’s not, know all that I’m saying here for the first time. You’ve already gotten a few notes on your posts before. They will turn to warnings if you don’t dial it back a few notches. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989/24 "2013-10-12T00:31:37Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > How does this fit with the fact that gay men are better at staying married? Are both partners just passively refusing to split up, and thus the unhappy relationship soldiers on out of laziness? I don’t think it’s related. I think that difference reflects other factors. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989/25 "2013-10-12T02:12:08Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I’m guessing this is a throwback to the old culture of men being the providers/breadwinners of the family. Leaving means leaving the wife and kids destitute (even though that’s mostly not true anymore). The children tend to initially go with the woman during a split-up, anyway. Or because it is just assumed that if a man leaves its simply because he wanted sex and food from someone different. Mainly sex. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-women-more-likely-to-be-dissatisfied-in-relationships/670989.md?page=1)