More and more frequently, we’re starting to acknowledge and open up about the discrimination that comes with being a woman.
We’re working to eradicate the gender pay gap, while the #MeToo movement is highlighting sexual harassment suffered by many women in their places of work.
For so many reasons, the trials and tribulations of being a female are being more and more documented, so writer Caitlin Moran decided to ask the question that’s on pretty much no one’s lips.
‘Men. Men of Twitter,’ she wrote. ‘What are the down-sides of being a man? We discuss the downsides of being a woman very frequently – but what’s going on with you lovely guys?’
The replies were raw, honest and actually a little bit heartbreaking, and they may even shock some men to hear.
One Twitter user named toxic masculinity as the worst thing about being a man:
The fact that I am deemed ‘less than’ other men for what I like, in who I love, in what I find enjoyment in; the fact I’m not allowed to cry because that shows I’m ‘weak’; that men aren’t ‘supposed’ to be emotional because that’s what makes them ‘strong’.
Another man echoed those thoughts by pointing out men are expected to maintain a ‘stoic presentation’ when suffering from depression, anxiety and stress.
A third commented how ‘young boys are often told they can’t show feelings if they want to be a man’, adding ‘we then live a life of fear, trying to be something we aren’t.. machines. Such inner tension causes our collective heart to break, & in a long ass rage of confusion, we take it out on everyone else.’
Other men pointed out women aren’t the only ones who suffer from body image issues.
One man explained:
I’ve struggled with my weight for quite some time, because of this constant talk that men are expected to have a certain body shape to be considered acceptable (six pack, eg.)
‘There’s a stereotype where men can be wastes of space and women cannot,’ another man commented. ‘How many young women do you see getting called losers, deadbeats, under-achievers? A man who’s unemployed living at home at 25 is viewed far more negatively than a woman in the exact same situation.’
Others referenced the archaic ideology that a man must make the first move when it comes to romantic relationships.
Although Caitlin didn’t divulge why she was gathering the information, it essentially proved it’s not just women who suffer from toxic masculinity and the old-fashioned and outdated societal expectations put upon us depending on our gender.
Good job, Caitlin.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.