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Who’s able to “babysit” their own kids -

Men are the only ones who have ever been able to “babysit” their own kids, since for women childcare has always been expected. This hurts both parents, because it alienates the father from the close paternal role and dumps praise on him for the bare minimum.

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The pink tax -

The "pink tax" refers to how products marketed specifically toward women tend to be more expensive than those marketed toward men, like razors and deodorant in "feminine" colors. And that’s not even getting us started on the state sales tax on menstrual products, like tampons and feminine pads.

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A creep or a crush? -

If a so-called unattractive man approaches a woman and tries to get her number, he is often deemed creepy. But if an attractive man approaches a woman in the very same way, it’s thought to be cute.

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Men are confident, women are "bossy" -

Being assertive is a likeable trait in a man, but an off-putting trait in a woman, which causes women to face "social penalties" and continues to fuel the disproportionate number of men in leadership positions.

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What’s your number? -

Women who have had more sexual partners are more likely to be stigmatized and called derogatory names, as well as depicted as unwanted, while men with higher numbers of sexual partners are praised as champions and are often depicted with more women clambering after them.

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Holding hands -

It’s generally way more socially acceptable for women to hold hands with their friends, give each other long hugs, kiss each other’s cheeks, and show more platonic affection, whereas straight men are seen as gay if they do the same.

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Female [insert profession] -

Either we get rid of the gendered prefix so we stop assuming certain professions are naturally for a certain gender, or we start adding "male" to them as well, like "male doctor" or "male police officer."

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Public cleavage -

If a woman's breasts are exposed in a sexualized way on a huge billboard, everyone walks by without issue. If a woman is feeding her baby in front of that billboard, however, people will stare and make comments and even complain. Mothers shouldn’t have to "cover up" or be "respectful" because breastfeeding is natural, not sexual.

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Women are still expected to change their last name -

Beginning about 1,000 years ago, the legal doctrine of coverture meant that married women would give up their surname because upon marriage a woman became her husband's possession. Now, however, women are regarded as complete individuals in marriages, yet they often still give up their last name.

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Who can tie their tubes -

Vasectomies are performed without requiring permission from one's partner and given easily, while women who request tubal ligations have been required to write essays defending their desire for the procedure and in cases have had to receive their husband's permission to undergo sterilization, according to a Vice News report from 2019.

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The breadwinner -

Men are still expected to be the breadwinner and provide for their family, which is an immense amount of pressure and disregards women’s ability to advance farther in their career than men.

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Dress codes -

Women being expected to wear heels as part of a dress code is physically, visually, and financially ludicrous.

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Mom shaming -

The fact that there’s "mom shaming" but no "dad shaming" is pretty clear, though there shouldn’t be any shaming at all. It has gotten so bad and so disproportionately aimed at women that "maternal anxiety" has been on the rise, reports Insider.

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To bi or not to bi -

When a woman says she is bisexual, people believe she is into both men and women. When a man says he is bisexual, people assume he’s actually just gay.

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Generalization -

If there’s a comedy starring all men and it flops, it’s viewed as a bad comedy. If there’s a comedy starring all women and it flops, all women are viewed as unfunny.

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Spinster vs. bachelor -

Women who are older and remain single are deemed lonely, selfish, or unwanted, but men get to be bachelors and silver foxes until the day they die.

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Stay-at-home parents -

Women are assumed to be the stay-at-home parent, but some women want to work and indeed make more money than their partners. Men are judged, however, and deemed less manly for not being the breadwinner and for taking on the household role.

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Who is allowed to age? -

Of course there are men who are self-conscious about aging, but the fact remains that they are more widely encouraged to go gray and own their wrinkles, while women are sold Botox, hair dye, and anti-aging creams as soon as they hit 30.

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Crying -

Because crying has been associated with women (for better or worse), it’s seen as unremarkable, though usually still as a weakness. But it’s much worse for men, as they resist this natural and healthy release of emotion for fear of being seen as less manly.

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Promiscuity -

Have you ever heard a man described as promiscuous? It’s likely you haven’t and you won’t, because that term has been typically reserved for women.

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Screentime -

Men who play video games for three hours every night are seen as childish and losers, whereas women who watch Netflix for three hours every night are seen as normal.

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Free nips -

Men are allowed to be topless at the beach regardless of how large their gynaecomastia (also known as "man boobs") are, whereas it’s still not socially acceptable everywhere for women, who may even have flatter, more masculine-looking chests, to be topless.

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Sexual harassment -

Fortunately the public’s discourse on sexual harassment has been very informative, but there is still a double standard when men want to address their own harassment by a woman—men are ridiculed, told they should have enjoyed it, or laughed at as if it’s amusing.

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Fathers threatening their daughters’ boyfriends -

There typically aren’t parents threatening girlfriends, and if you take a step back this weirdly common practice is actually just threatening minors.

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Yogurt commercials -

Yogurt has so many benefits and, yet, have you ever seen a man in a yogurt commercial? For some bizarre reason, this food has been deemed feminine.

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Male nurses -

The fact of clarifying someone is a "male nurse" is the first problem, as it’s seen as something reserved for women. But it’s also often viewed as the profession men will take if they couldn’t become a doctor.

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Virginity -

The concept of virginity itself is loaded with problematic implications, but two of them include that girls are seen as morally good if they "keep" theirs for longer, whereas boys are seen as losers if it takes them longer to "lose" it.

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Dad bods -

While women are expected to snap into shape after carrying a baby for nine months, men are praised for the so-called "dad bod," which celebrates the unsculpted figure.

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Body hair -

We all have body hair, and yet women are the ones expected to remove it and judged if they don’t. It has a strange history that starts in the 19th century and involves shoddy scientists and "gendered social control," and today it's equally bad for men who wish to remove their hair, as it has become an implication of queerness.

Sources: (Insider) (DeMilked) (BuzzFeed)

See also: Why did we start removing our body hair?

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