Women have got it made. They have friendships that transcend any relationships men can have with one another. What I wouldn’t give to have a “girlfriend,” in the sense that women use the word. Men are so emotionally isolated from everyone else. Being a man royally sucks in a lot of ways. I like to think I’m an exception. I’m not “afraid to share my emotions,” but I just don’t have the benefit of the relationships that women have. The downside that I see for women is that they have to deal with men in romantic relationships, and I can only imagine what kind of hell that must be. Lesbians, of course, are immune to this, too, making me envy them horribly. Maybe I’m just a misandrist, but what are the redeeming qualities of being a man? Women, are you jealous of any aspects of maleness? Give me a reason to be happy about my sex!
We can pee standing up. That’s kinda cool. And the not-having-periods-or-giving-birth thing is a plus.
Being a guy means you don’t have to fool with makeup – unless you really want to.
No, the worst parts of being a woman are:
PMS, even if it’s not of a severe nature it still is a pain in the ass er abdomen. Cramps, those painful menstrual cramps that make you want die, and believe me many of us have been in that arena. You wanna puke because the pain hurts so much.
Fear of being pregnant, whether the fear is validated or not. If you aren’t ready for it you don’t want to even think about it.
“Girlfriends” can be nothing more than back-stabbers. Trust me, women can be the worst of humans but they go about it in such a sneaky way.
Not all women want share your feelings, many of them want to only share theirs. OH and only their feelings matter, your problems are far less important than the fact that they have a zit on their nose.
Men are far more my style. Most men I know open up to me in a more honest way than most women will. They offer a good lay and well, men don’t get pissy over the stupidest crap…something I have been known to do myself.
Hmmm…y’know for centuries, let’s say at least from Plato to Montainge, men were the ones who were supposed to attain the highest emotional relationship, male/male freindship.
Montiange on the subject:
“…the normal capacity of women is, in fact, unequal to the demands of that communion and intercourse on which the sacred bond is fed; their souls do not seem firm enough to bear the strain of so hard and lasting a tie.”
Not to say I’m giving and credence to his stupid opinion (although he is very wonderful on many other topics). I’m just saying- nowadays the idea is women have deep relationships and men are shallow and isolated. Previously, men had the most profound relationships, and women were shallow and would stab another woman in the back over a man.
Just something to think about.
I have always since a young age been able to easily relate to either sex. My friendships with women and men are strong, loyal and long lasting. I believe the friendships that men enjoy, while seeming to be slightly shallow, in reality are not. Men are conditioned socially not to talk about their “feelings”. But I don’t think this diminishes the importance of their friendships. It’s been my observation that men will indeed come through for each other, even emotionally, when the need arises.
I have always placed great value on my friendships. And thankfully I have cultivated and maintained a variety. Attempt to cultivate a relationship with someone different. A woman or a person of a very different background. I’ve always enjoyed the company and counsel of many different types of people. But then I have enough routine in my everday life. Perhaps you simply need to expand your circle of friends.
Needs2know
Oh and I almost forgot…Techchick…I have heard this complaint from other women before…I don’t buy it. Yes, it’s true that I have on several occasions run into women who were envious of me for some ridiculous reason. Usually in the work environment. Which makes it even more difficult because you “have to” learn to get along with them everyday. My tactic, be myself, behave as I always do with everyone else. I’m friendly and helpful to them despite the vibes. Eventually they come around. Many women have this silly little habit of feeling threatened by other women. Why I do not know, but it doesn’t usually take long for them to realize that I do not feel the same way about them. Often this is the behavior of immature, insecure young women. As I’ve gotten older I find this kind of behavior in my peers less and less. Sometimes you will encounter another female that is pathologically insecure, this is sad. But to label most other females as shallow, envious, back-stabbers is simply not true. Most women will warm up to you if they do not percieve any of these traits in you.
Needs2know
To add to techchick’s list:
If men don’t shave, they can always say they’re working on a beard. If women don’t shave, we’re unhygenic.
We have more underwear to deal with. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you’re running low on laundry, having to worry about double the amount of underwear is a problem.
Our shoes are uncomfortable.
Eating disorders are reaching epidemic proportions in our gender.
We have to deal with the words “dearie, girlie, honey,” and the ever popular “missy” from strangers.
The lines to our bathrooms are 5 times the length of yours.
Does $0.73 on the dollar mean anything to you? That how much I make compared to my coworker, on average. For the same job.
If I want to have kids, I have to choose to either be a mom or have a career, or kill myself attempting both. Gloria Steinem said “Men and women won’t be equal until a man has to choose between a family and a career.”
You can walk through a park at night fearing only being mugged.
Don’t worry, your penis still gets you into places of honor and prestige those of us with matching X chromosomes will never see.
Two words, Tzel: bikini wax.
Compared to that, guys have it made in the shade.
The world is your toilet if you’re a guy.
We have it much easier than women. It’s a sad fact, but its a fact none the less.
My wife works harder than I do around the house. Not because I’m not willing to help, but because Mrs. Nipples is the nurturing type. If one of our children needs a band-aid, they go to the Mrs., not me.
I guess it boils down to this: the world expects more from females.
Let’s not forget that if a guy sleeps with a lot of women, he is a “player” and is often envied and respected by his friends. If a woman sleeps with a lot of guys, she is a “slut”. And of course, nobody likes a slut 
Also, I don’t think anyone has mentioned menopause…
OTOH, women never have to fret about not being able to “get it up” and, on average, live longer than men.
Well, this thread didn’t go the way of the original post…
More interesting this way.
I’ve always wondered why ladies rooms were not either bigger or more numerous. There’s always a line.
Worrying about getting pregnant? How about when it actually happens? Neither option is any fun.
After we wait 5 hours to get into a public bathroom, we have to TOUCH everything (door handles, seat protectors, etc.), not to mention hovering over a pee covered seat.
Pot belly on you - fine. Pot belly on me - definitely not fine.
Have you ever been caterwauled by a construction crew?
I’m 5’2" and slight. Safety is a huge issue. I’m always on my guard in this city, always looking behind me.
Breast cancer. Cervical cancer. Uterine cancer. Ovarian cancer. (I know you have some that are just for you too.)
Older unmarried man: bachelor. Older unmarried woman: spinster.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t trade. Not in a million years.
I would not trade in the opposite direction either. Neither would most people, I’m sure. But can you give some of your reasons? It’s hard to understand your sentiment without any sort of explanation.
When you say men are brought up to not show emotions, that is, of course, true in America, but I take exception to the idea that men don’t develop strong, emotional and enduring bonds with one another.
In college I started a Fraternity and many of my friends are still very dear to me. I was in the Marine Corps and a few of the guys I went through training with as well as some I was stationed with are still some of my best friends. In fact, I annually travel across the country to visit one or another of them and most of us communicate via phone or email weekly if not more often. When one of them died last November at the age of 26, the turn-out of people and the emotional expressions of sadness I witnessed, even from myself, was/were a terrific thing to see, though unfortunate in nature.
I’m in my late 20’s, and I have as many female friends as male, many of whom I’ve been intimate with in the past (the female ones, smart ass) but maintain a strong bond with today. I don’t think it’s an issue of treating female friends differently than male friends, it’s an issue of treating them as friends, period.
It gets irritating at times though, when I hear the words “You’re going to make someone a wonderful husband!” Any “sensitive” man has probably heard this from female friends of his. Sure, I suppose it’s a compliment, but it seems a backhanded one in that it comes across as “I’m sure someone will be happy with you, just not me,” which can be good or bad, depending on your particular feelings for the friend.
Anyway.
Reasons for not wanting to be a man? Is this really hard to understand? People who would seriously rather be a member of the opposite sex are on a difficult and lonely path. That’s a kind of psychic pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Men have it bad. Women have it bad. And we both have it good too. I’m a woman. I enjoy my life. I don’t want it to change. Why am I explaining this?
You would change your mind real fast if you had to deliver a baby. That in itself would kill most men.
I’m pretty sure it would kill me.
** Kidney stone **
You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s true. Men don’t get all the special attention for passing a stone that women get for having a baby. I mean that in a ‘passing-larger-than-canal/tube-sized-object’ way. One of the guys that works for me had a golf ball size one removed and others, smaller, ones destroyed ultra-sonically, but he still had to pass the remnants. Women get drugs and they, by their nature, dilate to accommodate the birthing process. Men, well, men get scarred from the process of passing calcification through their urethra. Ouch, makes me hurt just thinking about it.
To be sure, I would agree that childbirth is no picnic, but I think you get my point.
One time I read a story about a man who went across the United States with no money, living off the kindness of strangers, and it was a very rewarding experience for him, by what his story told. I was all for this story, wanting to do this myself, but then I thought of how much harder it is to do such a thing as hitch-hiking and wandering about by myself as a female. Heck, I couldn’t even walk around Ren Faires by myself. Guys are lucky that they don’t have to worry about being attacked as much as women would (not to say that men don’t get attacked, they do, but women are more vulnerable I would think).