Yahoo Lifestyle "So Many Exes Told Me This": 28 Perfectly Normal Things Women Have Been Told They Should Never, Ever Do
From cutting your hair short to choosing a traditionally "masculine" career, there are so many seemingly random things women and girls have been told not to do because "it's not ladylike." Recently on Reddit, women shared just a few real-life examples, and it's genuinely so infuriating. Here are some of the top comments:
1."Play. When I was a kid and went to visit my grandparents for the first time, I was surrounded by my male cousins and brother. I remember my grandma shooing everyone to go outside and play. I started to run out, and she grabbed me. She said, 'You are going to help me clean up and start dinner.' When I told her I wanted to go play, too, she told me, 'Girls don't play. We take care of the home.' It screwed me up so bad as a kid. I got to watch my male cousins and brother outside playing while I was scrubbing dishes and cleaning the bathrooms."
2."Do not speak unless I'm spoken to. Courtesy of my father. (Whom I haven't spoken to in nearly two years now.) I still struggle to speak up, even as an adult."
3."Become a firefighter. Fuck’em. I graduated #1 in the academy."
4."Lift heavy. I’m 5’10” and 170 pounds. I worked hard for my body, and I’m very happy with the results. The amount of times I’ve heard random, ain’t shit guys comment about my physique not attracting any potential love interests is bizarre. Newsflash fuck face, I’m married. I didn’t ask your opinion or care to hear it mediocre little man. I’m not even that big. I’m proportionate, just defined and toned."
5."Play sports. Growing up, my parents didn't let my sisters and I do after-school sports at school because 'the uniforms are immodest' and 'it encourages competition with boys.' My brother got to do several sports. We were allowed to play sports at home and during PE and recess. It makes no sense to me and to this day still pisses me off."
"My ten-year-old daughter gets told regularly in the schoolyard that girls can’t play soccer. This is 2025. It makes me want to punt those little pukes right over the fence."
6."My husband said, 'You don’t need friends, you are married now.' He’s gone now."
"A friend’s husband told her that married women don’t spend the weekend away from their husbands. So he goes on guys' trips. She does none."
7."I was homeschooled, and we used a Christian curriculum. My health textbook said women shouldn’t work outside the home because the female body wasn’t 'suited to rigors,' and women who do work have been known to grow beards because the stress turns them into men."
8."Drive a manual car. Changing gears apparently isn’t ladylike. 10 years on, and I’m still loving my manual."
9."My high school geometry teacher told me a few weeks into the year that no girl should ever raise her hand in a classroom to answer a question until every boy in the class had had plenty of time to think about the question and raise his hand if he had an answer — if no boy had an answer after two or three minutes, then it was okay for a girl to raise her hand."
"My hand shot into the air every time that man asked a question the rest of the year, and I did my best to make sure it seemed like the longest school year of his life."
10."Cut my hair short."
"So many exes told me this, too."
11."Way back in the olden days, I was out for a nice morning run. A man driving by stopped, rolled down his window, and told me I should stop running because it would 'ruin my hips.'"
12."In high school, I dressed like a tomboy. I've always liked guy clothes. My dad told me, 'Girls should be pretty and soft' as he dropped me at school. The next day, I wore 'girl clothes' to school and a ponytail, and the way I was treated 150% differently blew my mind. It was gross, actually."
13."I apparently shouldn't use a backpack because I'm a woman. I should use a purse according to the unemployed single 45+ year old man living in the hotel I worked at."
14."Drink beer directly from a glass bottle?!?!"
15."I was told working as a chef was a 'man’s job.' Like, do you want me in the kitchen or not???"
"Yes, this!! And it applies to so many careers too. Something that's stereotypically considered a feminine activity is suddenly for men once there's money involved."
16."Be funny. All of my childhood and teen years, it was 'common knowledge' that girls aren't funny and they couldn’t be if they tried. So bizarre."
17."Whistle. I work in geriatrics, and the number of older people (men and women) who tell me that only men should whistle is ridiculous."
18."Rake leaves. A neighbor man stopped to ask where my husband was because he should be the one raking. He was out back raking leaves, for the record, but it really pissed me off."
19."I’ve never fuelled my car. My dad or brother always does it for me. My mom never does it, either. I’ve never complained, and I know how to do it, but I’ve been taught it’s not a woman’s job. It bothers me because I actually love driving, and I'm super interested in cars, but they take over everything."
20."Be messy. I don't know why, but some people think all women are organized."
21."Drive long distances alone. It’s just far too dangerous for a woman to drive two hours by herself. They see me rollin'…."
22."My aunt told me I shouldn’t paint my nails darker colors because it intimidates men."
23."Smoke. Of all the reasons one shouldn’t smoke..."
24."I was around 11 when I was told I couldn't go to a WWF (now WWE) with my brother because I was a girl. My brother and I watched a lot of WWF together, so I didn't understand what was happening. I remember being very sad and confused."
25."Choose a child-free life! People can't get it into their heads that I DON'T WANT KIDS."
26."Burping, women don’t burp… Well, we do, and sometimes it comes at the wrong time and can’t be 'kept in.'"
27."Playing video games. I grew up to be a games designer."
28.And finally, "My old boss said I shouldn't ask for a raise because women who negotiate appear aggressive."
Can you relate? Tell us about a time you were told not to do something because of your gender in the comments.
