# The opposite sex **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268 "2010-01-09T10:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/61 "2010-01-10T07:40:01Z")
Women’s clothing. Women have so many options when it comes to clothing and accessories. Men’s clothing is rather boring. And no, cross-dressing doesn’t interest me; I’m talking about women’s clothing on a female body. That, and giving birth. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/62 "2010-01-10T07:43:06Z")
> [@bubba\_jr](#): > > I’d love an excuse to get naked in the woods. I have, on a mountain top, up in Chitina Alaska…and there was more that occurred as well.. 😃 But that was when I was a spring chicken, nowadays I prefer not to frighten possible passers-by. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/63 "2010-01-10T07:44:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > That, and giving birth. Oooh honey NO, no you don’t want that. The only thing good about that is the end result. Though I have to admit, the being with child part is pretty rewarding at times. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/64 "2010-01-10T09:22:39Z")
> [@bubba\_jr](#): > > I’d love to have sex and then get a promotion. :rolleyes: Me too! Most of my superiors have been straight women, though, so in my personal experience you guys have it better on that one. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/65 "2010-01-10T10:42:32Z")
Not menstruating would be the only factor that would be a real advantage to me. > [@ianzin](#): > > That having been said, I’ve read and been told many times that women live in a much richer sensory world: they can discriminate between more colours, generally have more sensitive hearing, a finer sense of taste, have a richer palette of emotional reactions and so on. I’m fascinated by this sort of thing, so if it’s true it would be interesting to experience the difference, at least for a short time. It would be fascinating to live in a different gender for a short time. (FWIW, Jennyrosity wrote a play about this, that’s been performed a few times. The play, not the actual change. :D) But long-term? Nah. I’m too attached to the way I am. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/66 "2010-01-10T14:31:07Z")
Better orgasms. Also, the option to wear a sleeveless top and short skirt on hot days. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/67 "2010-01-10T14:32:09Z")
I envy the presumption that you know how to care for children and that you can be trusted with them. Men ALWAYS have to prove themselves in that arena. With women, it’s just a given. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/68 "2010-01-10T18:17:02Z")
If a guy wants to go swimming at any time of the year, he can just throw on some trunks and go! Most women need to check the status of their grooming and do what needs to be done to be swimsuit ready. Also, guys can get dressed up to go out in a heartbeat. Suit, shirt, tie, shoes…done. We’ve got: dress or blouse and skirt? Which shoes? Which makeup? Which accessories? Which perfume? Gah! ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/69 "2010-01-10T18:35:07Z")
I always enjoyed peeing outdoors. Now that I know women envy it, I’m going to do it as often as possible. 😃 As a man, there are so many things I do not envy about a woman. PMS, self esteem issues, the fact that you can NEVER really have a best friend, etc. However, if I were a woman I’d be able to see and enjoy romantic movies without criticism or forcing my SO (who doesn’t like them anyway) with me so I don’t look out of place in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/70 "2010-01-10T18:37:20Z")
I’m a man and I hate peeing outdoors. Only ever done it when desperate. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/71 "2010-01-10T18:51:10Z")
> [@Surbey](#): > > the fact that you can NEVER really have a best friend, etc. Really? ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/72 "2010-01-10T20:56:12Z")
I’d love to be able to pee standing up. Wouldn’t have to worry about the mosquitoes and I could keep my eyes on the monkeys! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/73 "2010-01-10T22:38:13Z")
> [@stuthehistoryguy](#): > > I envy the presumption that you know how to care for children and that you can be trusted with them. Men ALWAYS have to prove themselves in that arena. With women, it’s just a given. For some of us this has a rather nasty flip-side, in that we are assumed to be wonderful at taking care of children when in fact we have no idea what we are doing and no interest in doing it. There is no panic like being handed a newborn baby and told to ‘‘keep an eye on her while I’m in the kitchen’’ when you’re a 12-year-old girl who is terrified of small children. [QUOTE=Big T] Furthermore, there’s a humor disconnect. A lot of comedy is about taking a stereotype and treating it as true. Knowing when such comedy is appropriate is hard for a lot of people. I saw it more as a failed attempt at humor, than anything intentionally offensive. [/QUOTE] Fair enough. Sometimes when I’m getting a negative vibe from the Dope it’s hard to suss out individual perspectives and intentions and easy to overgeneralize about motive. That said… I just don’t live in that world of stereotypes people keep alluding to. There’s pretty clearly a ‘‘wrong’’ and pretty clearly a ‘‘right,’’ and when I’m wrong I say so, and when he’s wrong he says so, and when we both fucked up we both admit it. We watch the same TV, listen to the same music and converse with our friends about the same things. This yawning chasm that many seem to perceive just doesn’t exist for me. I can’t even say, as a woman, I’ve ever been subjected to that much sexism, either. Never been patronized at a car dealership or had my hard work ignored in favor of a man. I know institutional sexism exists – we have the research to back it up – it’s just that personally, there’s a disconnect. I’ve never imagined I was limited in any way by my gender. I’ve never felt anything but equal. Which means I’ve never felt anything but equal responsibility in a relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/74 "2010-01-10T22:48:56Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > Something that might be a little silly: > > Life would be easier if I could carry a purse. Well, I suppose that I could, but the social conventions are such that it would make me the object of a lot of ridicule. How did the purse become the exclusive domain of the female of the species anyway? In much of the rest of the world, the man bag is very stylish. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/75 "2010-01-10T23:15:11Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Really? Yes. I know this is anecdotal evidence but I have NEVER seen a woman/woman best friendship work. Men are always competing against themselves. Women are always competing against each other. It is possible but I’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/76 "2010-01-10T23:16:59Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > It would be fascinating to live in a different gender for a short time. (FWIW, Jennyrosity wrote a play about this, that’s been performed a few times. The play, not the actual change. :D) But long-term? Nah. I’m too attached to the way I am. Thanks for the plug Sam! Surbey, you think women can never really have a best friend? Seriously? I have a large circle of male friends, who I adore, but there is no-one I’m tighter with than my best girl friend. When the whole world goes to pot, when everyone else has turned their back on me, when I am utterly lost and alone, she will be there, no matter what. And vice versa. Having given the matter some thought, there is nothing I envy about the opposite sex. I don’t mind periods that much, and the ability to pee standing up would be in no way compensate for having such ridiculous-looking and easily harmed genitals. ---
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/77 "2010-01-10T23:43:35Z")
I envy the massive advantage women have in legal child custody issues. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/78 "2010-01-10T23:44:21Z")
> [@Surbey](#): > > Yes. I know this is anecdotal evidence but I have NEVER seen a woman/woman best friendship work. Men are always competing against themselves. Women are always competing against each other. It is possible but I’ve never seen it. I actually was thinking of writing the opposite – that I feel bad for people my father’s age whose friendships are all based around work and don’t really seem to have anyone they can talk to, aside from their wives (which doesn’t really help if they’re having marital problems). ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/79 "2010-01-11T00:54:25Z")
> [@bubba\_jr](#): > > I’d love to have sex and then get a promotion. Huh? ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268/80 "2010-01-11T02:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by bubba jr View Post > I’d love to have sex and then get a promotion. > [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Huh? Talking to stereotypes(I also said women don’t fart), I’ve seen it work a few times, usually blows up rather quick for both parties involved, male and female superiors, and they all end up unemployed. (laughing to myself over specific situations I’ve seen) One other thing women have, “daddy’s little girl” syndrome, I’d love for somebody to come over, fix my leaky faucet, mow my lawn and take away my trash, and THEN leave beer. Then again I shouldn’t complain, thats my GF, and I don’t have to pull the weeds or fix the faucet and I get to drink the leftover beer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-sex/524268.md?page=5)