Every day men cruise through life, with worries and stressors that burden their existence. Every day women too cruise through life, with the same worries and stressors as men. However, life itself is twice as hard on women than it is on men and it is infuriating when some refuse to acknowledge that.
Reminder: Here are 9 common things men take for granted in their ordinary lives that women don’t have the luxury of enjoying:
1. Going shirtless
Yeah, yeah I know there will be at least one red-blooded dude-bro screaming “What’s stopping them? I’d love to see a woman topless!” If you this is your argument, good sir please exit because you’re thinking with your penis, not with your head. Basic autonomy over your own body is a right no woman has.
2. Food
Men see food as a tool to curb their hunger. Women see food and a calculator sets off inside their heads. How many calories, how many macros, how many hours to slave at the gym to redeem themselves. Not to mention, the guilt that comes after indulging in a scrumptious meal. Most men go their entire lives without experiencing that.
3. Walking home alone at night
Men can go hang out with their friends at the ass crack of dawn, but if a woman were to do the same she might never return home.
4. Sex
Heterosexual, premarital sex for men is justified. After all “Men will be men.” But the stakes aren’t the same for their partners. The same scenario for women loosely translates to:
“Blasphemy! She’s a whore.”
5. Body hair
Walk through any bylane in the country, you’ll spot a hairy uncle scratching his tangly chest follicles as he sips on his chai. But got forbid a woman has a tiny hair strand protruding from her underarm: she’s quickly branded gross and disgusting. Cherry on top? Women’s razors are twice as expensive.
6. Appearence
Men have the option to groom themselves, or not. The key word here is option. It’s a choice whether they want to indulge in the act. For women, grooming is a mandate. Everything in their lives, from a romantic connection to a promotion at work, is correlated to appearance.
7. Taking a piss
Men can indulge in a leak anytime, anywhere. But for women, adequate sanitation continues to be scarce. Above all many women across India lack basic hygiene resources to satisfy their menstrual cycle and in extreme cases, it results in death.
8. Solo travel
Men can just hop on a car and drive off into the sunset. Women don’t have that luxury. We have to fight to find the safest bus, safest ride, safest home. Else, we’ll be raped. By men.
9. Human respect
Most men don’t know the feeling of being directly overlooked. Most men don’t know how humiliating sexism is. Most know what it’s like to be judged or passed on because of your long hair or bold makeup or the fact that one day you’ll bear children. Most men don’t know 🙂
So men, the next time you whine about women not having it as hard as you. Think again. And then again.