Some things women do are a mystery to men. It’s funny how men consider them unusual, yet many women are oblivious that men are even noticing them. Let’s dive into what confuses men about women.
1. Losing Hair
It’s true, it’s easy to spot women’s hair on the floor, in bunches in the shower and more. So one man asked: How can you lose so much hair but still have a lot?
“Based on the amount of hair I have seen in the bathroom, and that I somehow still keep finding in my clothes, how do you still have so much hair on your head?
One woman responded: “Genuinely pleasantly surprised every day that I don’t wake up bald based on the state of my hairbrush at the end of the week if left to exist.”
2. Clothing Sizes
One man asks, why are women clothing sizes all over the place? Welcome to the struggle!
“One store a size 4 could be a 9 at a different store.”
Some female readers responded:
“This is a topic most of us rant about at LEAST twice a month, if not every time we go clothes shopping. My best friend says women’s sizing depends on your horoscope and your immediate proximity to a chicken.”
“We don’t get it either, and we don’t like it. The fashion industry refuses to standardize sizes, make bras for well endowed women at a reasonable price, or put useable pockets on our clothing. ”
3. Talking When You Can’t Be Heard
One man asked, why women start a conversation, then continue the conversation after walking into another room where you can’t be heard?
“Or out of nowhere starting up part of the way into a conversation where the first part obviously took place internally.
…we need to be informed of how the conversation was going in the previous venue, and whether the in-your-head version of ourselves started any fires we need to put out.”
Several female readers chimed in that it isn’t just something that women do: “I have a male coworker that does it. I’ve never associated it with one gender, it just is how some people process things. I find it amusing how we could just be sitting there in silence and he comes out with a comment that clearly is the result of something he has been muling over for half an hour.”
“This is not a woman only issue. My husband does this constantly!”
4. Refusing Food and Then Eating Theirs
One man complained that every time he asks his girlfriend if she wants anything from the drive-thru, she says no but then eats some of his food when he gets home.
“I’m going to mcdonalds, want anything? no. *proceeds to eat all of my fries, bruh.”
“I’ll just have some of yours”
“No I want all of mine, that’s the point. I’ll just get 2 and finish yours.”
Another male reader came in with a solution to his problem:
“I’ve learned not to ask open ended questions like that. “I’m getting two burgers and a large fry. You want medium fries or large? Extra pickles and onion on your burger?” this really cut down on her eating my food.”
Always order 2x your order for these situations I learned that real quick with in the 1st time of “do you want anything?”
5. Bringing Up Old Fights
A man pointed out that women can go back in time and bring up past arguments as if they had just happened.
“How a woman can instantly tap into the rage (with 0 energy loss) they experienced from an argument we had 2 years ago, and I don’t even remember it happening.”
“How they remember crazy minute details from 27 months ago of something I did the moment an argument starts.”
“My wife’s ability to remember every single slight that I’ve said. From 10 years ago. Like she’s keeping score.”
A few ladies came in with a simple explanation: “Lots of times it because it was never fully resolved.”
6. Leaving Hair Ties and Bobby Pins Everywhere
A male reader asked: “Are you planting hair ties and bobby pins everywhere to mark your territory?”
“This actually came up in a previous relationship when my girlfriend (at the time) found a “foreign” bobby pin in one of the bathroom drawers, and freaked out about it until I casually explained that she is in fact not the first girlfriend I ever had and that I don’t go through and scrub every square inch of my apartment after a breakup.”
Well maybe women will lose less hair if their hair is tied back!
7. Making Decisions
A few men complained that they can’t get a straight answer from their women on even something simple like where to eat dinner. One woman tried to explain their perspective:
“As a girl, I absolutely hate having to choose. I will never turn down a place when my husband picks. If I actually want something I will tell him. It should be simple. I get stuck making dinner at home most days and make those decisions- don’t make me also figure out food out of the house too.”
Another male reader shared a tip”
“The trick to this is you ask her guess where I am taking you to dinner? If she answers a place with excitement, then you say “Yes how did you know? If she says a place and you can hear disappointment or contempt in her voice then say “No I know you better then that, and tell her to guess again until she gives a answer with excitement. Then you kind of trick her into choosing without the hassle and she might see it as more romantic.”
8. Sharing Intimate Details With Friends
One man complained”
“Women are one hundred thousand times worse for kissing and telling, and doing it much more graphically, too. A man would at most be like, we hooked up! It was awesome!”
No female readers came in to defend their actions other than to point out that men hardly talk to each other.
9. Showing Interest
One man wondered why women seem to give mixed signals.
“The signals they give to men to show they like them or are interested, they are confusing and most of the time can not be noticed or even interpreted as signals.”
“I watched one of my female friends “hit on” a guy a few nights ago then come back to the table mad that he wasn’t responding to her advancements. I watched the whole thing go down. Her technique was to walk past him without looking at him while he was turned around talking to someone.”
A female reader actually agreed that it is a problem that some women have:
“I have heard complaints from various women in my life over time that a man isn’t “picking up what they’re putting down”. And my advice every single time is “You have to TELL people exactly what you want from them, every single time.” I don’t know why thats so hard for us as a species, but it saves a lot of time and frustration for everyone. Lets all agree to do this!”
10. Soft Skin
Women wouldn’t exactly call this one a problem!
“I will never understand how women are so soft, smooth and wonderful to touch. It feels like men have scales for skin in comparison. We just wanna hug the squishy and never let go.”
A female reader helped explain why women have softer skin:
“Women’s skin contains more elastin and collagen than men’s does and is also attached to our muscles in a different pattern that allows it to stretch more efficiently!”
11. Saying They Are Fine When They Aren’t
A male can’t understand “when you ask them if everything is ok, and they say its fine when its not.”
Several men came in to say that same. One female tried to explain:
“Usually if I say that it’s because I’m mad about something and I know that I’m wrong or shouldn’t be mad about it, but the upset feeling is still there. And I need to just be by myself for a second to sit there and cool off.”
12. Why Women Would Want to Get Pregnant
A few men asked why would women want to get pregnant and have a baby when its hardship from start to end.
“I watched my wife push out two kids with no drugs, and y’all have my undying respect. No way I’d do that dude. Courage is defined as a woman who intentionally get pregnant, knowing what that actually entails and all the terrifying risks associated with it. Hats off y’all.”
A few women came in to say that its fortunate they forget the whole experience enough to do it again!
“This is true, as soon as you hold that tiny baby all thoughts of pain just vanish. If it didn’t happen that way there is absolutely no way I would have had five of the little monsters!”
13. Cleaning the House Like Crazy for Guests
Men can’t understand why some women goes ballistic cleaning up the house when they find out company is coming.
“We are having company? SCRUB THE BASEBOARDS! VACUUM THE CEILING! CLEAN OUT THE LINT TRAP IN THE DRYER! WE CANT LET ANYONE KNOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE HERE!”
“I get doing a pick up and making things look neat, but it’s always a hour before company comes over and I’m having to deep clean the whole house.”
A woman responded: “As a woman in most cultures it reflects directly on us what condition the house is in. I feel SO embarrassed and angry when my husband unexpectedly brings people over without letting me tidy up.”
14. The Scent of a Woman
Why women always smell good seems to be a mystery for some like the soft skin.
“Why they smell so damn good.”
No further explanation required!
15. Playing Mind Games
Another comment by men about sending mixed signals:
“Once had a girlfriend who would intentionally wait longer to respond to some people’s texts than others. Like a whole mental tier list of who was important enough to get immediate responses and who had to wait.”
I don’t understand women when we are in a talking phase. If I show interest, they ghost/rarely respond/seem uninterested. If I respond slow and act like I don’t care they blow up my phone and always wanna meet up.”
One woman explained that she waits for respond to texts for the following reason:
“I do the ‘waiting list’ thing, but for completely different reasons. If I’m not monitoring my tone, I tend to come off as pushy and aggressive to a lot of people.
To avoid misunderstandings with people I don’t know well, I wait to respond to messages until I’m fully alert/attentive and can consciously soften my tone. With good friends, I’ll respond immediately, since they know me and will assume that I’m not trying to be mean if I come off too bluntly.”
16. Turning Up the Heat and Cooling Off at the Same Time
One man wonders why some women need heat and cool air at the same time.
“Why do you want to turn up the heat in the passenger side of the car and then move the vent away from you?”
One woman responded “because when it’s blowing directly on the same spot, it starts to get too hot and uncomfortable. I want to be warm, not cooked.”
A few women came in to explain that difficulties with fluctuating hormones can cause the temperature issues.
17. Venting About the Same Problem Over and Over
A man complained about the following:
“I’ve said this before elsewhere – that’s fine to vent, it’s necessary. I need it too sometimes.But if it’s venting about the SAME problem again and again, down the line a solution is much better, because eventually it gets so tiring coming home after a long day and listening to the same rant again, when I just want to have some time for my hobbies.”
“I see this thing so often about men not knowing how to just listen, but it’s never discussed that expecting men to always listen at all times is actually putting quite a lot of pressure and strain on them.”
One woman defended needing to talk things out:
I won’t speak for all women but yea, generally, it makes women feel better just to TALK IT OUT. I understand it’s difficult for guys to not be able to “solve the problem” but if you just make the effort to sit there, attentively, and just listen, it makes all the difference
One male reader suggested that men do the following”
“There is value in venting. It helps me clear my head. However, if this is an issue for you, I suggest that you establish a system. Ask her outright: support, advice, or both? Then – and I know this might sound radical – just do what she wants.”
18. The Silent Treatment
Women explain why they remain silent after an argument:
“My sister kinda explained this to me. When she’s being silent, she is trying to regulate her emotions so she doesn’t blow up at people. She does explain things later on when she’s calmed down enough.”
“I used to give the silent treatment and it had a lot to do with the fact that when I did speak to people I would be told that I was too sensitive or that I was taking everything too seriously. So I just didn’t speak when I was upset because id rather be mad than be irate.”
This male reader talked it out with his wife and have a better understanding as to when she needs time to herself.
“It makes sense and we kinda worked out a thing where if she’s needing a silent moment she’ll let me know.”
19. Competing With Other Women
A male reader complained about “The need to compete with other women. Happened the first time I had a live in GF. When my guy friends came around she didn’t care. But if a woman was coming around the place she dressed up, wanted to make fancy appetizers and drinks. Really go all out.”
A female reader wrote the following comment to help explain:
“I usually put in way more effort into meeting a woman than a man because I want her to be comfortable and being nice to her doesn’t put me in a potentially awkward situation of getting hit on. At least in my experience it rarely is competition. In older generations, the mindset of “women are in charge of the home” is still big, so there they might want to prove themselves to the other women, like showing they are “good enough”
20. Multi tasking
A man wrote that he can’t understand how women are able to multitask so well.
“As a man, one thing I’ll never understand about women is their ability to multitask like a pro. My brain just can’t seem to handle more than one thing at a time.”
Thanks for noticing! One woman responded:
“Mostly it’s because we have to. We are socialized from a young age to bear more of the mental load of running a household than men are.
I much prefer to be in a space where I can just focus on one thing at a time. But then the chores don’t get done and nobody is taking care of the kids.”
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Feature Image credit: copyright Dean Drobot via Canva
Responses were curated from Reddit