25 women share struggles they face in daily life that men will never fully understand

The dynamics of being a woman differ greatly from those of being a man. Emotional, physical, and mental experiences operate on different levels and function distinctly. Due to this contrasting existence, many aspects of women’s lives are things men can never fully understand. From going gaga over an infant to experiencing postpartum depression or the simple joy of a new outfit, these are uniquely female experiences. When it comes to women’s struggles, men often find it hard to grasp the gravity of the situation from a woman's perspective.

Women often treasure and feel certain moments deeply, while the same scenarios may seem casual and generic to men. What may be problematic or difficult for a woman might be insignificant to a man due to the contrasting ways women and men approach situations. Chris Perry (@chrisgqperry) shared a post on Threads asking women to share struggles that men would never understand. With over 1,000 replies, women shared a long and impressive list. Here are the top 25 struggles women face that men find challenging to perceive.

1. Physical dynamics 

"How complicated and high maintenance our reproductive systems are, even if we never intend to use them. Periods, excruciating cramps and mood swings from the time we're 11. A highly finicky microbiome that can easily be imbalanced by being dirty or sweaty when they have sex with us, not washing their hands, having good oral hygiene and cheating. It's not just STIs they can give us but other people's bacteria that can cause yeast, BV, and UTI, all of which impair our immune system, which makes us less." -@osageoasis

2. Psychological needs come before physical needs

"Men are shallow. Many guys look for sexual accommodation without a psychological connection. Guys have demonstrated an inability to mentally satisfy me, so I cannot accommodate sexual desires. Sex would bore me without a connection that is 'meaningful to me.' I do not care that you like what you see. Looks mean nothing to me nor does the size of your ego when I'm mentally turned off. It's not hard to understand, but when you're shallow, it is." -@prettynpink9

3. Torturous standards and pressures

"The way we are expected to do everything to placate men. Be pretty, but not so pretty that you look unapproachable. Wear makeup, but not so it looks like you're wearing makeup. Don't earn more than men because that's emasculating, but don't ask men for money because that's gold-digging. Be smart, but not smarter than men. If you don't go to the gym, you're lazy, but if you do, you're just attention-seeking. It goes on." -@melaniejane384

4. Everyday experiences can be a struggle at every step 

"Life, really. Growing up with choices limited, being groomed constantly, put down, leered at, groped, puberty, periods, period pain, PMS, gynae problems, medical dismissal, chronic illness, gaslighting, mansplaining, sexual abuse, sexual assault, 'the biological clock,' body shaming, pregnancy, pregnancy complications, childbirth, childbirth complications, post-natal depression, breast-feeding, doing it all again two years later, miscarriages, autoimmune illness, career damage, inequality." -@hookawolly

5. Periods and menstruation

"My partner once asked me how it feels to have a period. I told him to imagine his inside being twisted around up and down for hours and days as you are bleeding out uncontrollably. But I was still well enough to work and go about the days." -@mochigochi. "If a man had to stand there and act normal while a giant clot was leaving his body, it would be headline news." -@itsveryterri. "That period pain changes our mood always." -@ambassador_mongie

6. Disparity 

"That you do not get the same opportunities and exposure as men but also have to be significantly better than them to be acknowledged. Make it make sense." -@sentrixworld. "Finding a job when you are 20-35 years old. If you don't have kids, they assume that you will start a family soon. They don't want to pay for your maternity leave. Even if you tell them, you don't want kids. If you have small kids, then they think you will be at home all the time because kids are ill very often. In both scenarios, you are not hired. They'd rather choose a man." -@jmiklova2

7. Constant fear and need for safety

"An example from this week: A guy slowed his car and said he saw me walk by his apartment every day and did I need a ride (it was raining). What men can't fully understand is that it doesn't matter if he is the nicest man in the world. I would feel threatened and unsafe if a strange man offered me a ride in his car. Never happening, not no, but hell no! Because I walk through life hyper-vigilant to men with ulterior motives and I have no way of knowing if a stranger is safe." -@riley_p._blankenship

8. Men pose a threat by default 

"Please understand that if a man approaches a strange woman, she is going to assume you're a threat first- no matter how good a person you are- and especially if you offer rides, drinks, etc. or think you're just flirting for fun." -@riley_p._blankenship. "That men pose a danger to us. Not all men, true, but would you eat M&M's if you knew 5% were poison?" -@teresina_white_artist. "Everything. Men love to say women live on easy streets when literally every day is a struggle of physical issues and being a woman in society is a trapeze act." -@fire.by.50

9. The consequences of a wrong partner

"Leaving after 28 years with nothing! He took everything knowing me and my daughter are disabled by a genetic disease! It kills organs- heart, lungs, liver, and brain. I'm in renal failure! He said I can stay, but he's gonna have women here! So I should find my own way! Our daughter has serious heart conditions! That's my hardest thing." -@freespiritkreations. "Picking the wrong man. Men genuinely believe that their fellow brothers aren't out here pretending and faking their whole personalities. Imagine trying to explain that a man treated you like a queen in the beginning just to be told, 'You still should've been able to see he wasn't sh*t.'" -@iamchyla

10. The pain of dealing with narcissistic men

"Just see how he treats people who are not his romantic or sexual interest. Most people don't pretend with every single person they interact with. Usually, they do it only if they want to get something from you."-@harry_powell "The fact that because we are attractive to men, they think they can get us to do/say/be anything for them. And they will treat us well until they get what they want and then it's like we never existed." -@aspenmasch

11. Dealing with sexism one experience after another

"Breaking into male-dominated fields. It isn't about just getting the job. Once you're in, even if you aren't discriminated against by your employer, your coworkers treat you like a novelty. Even when they're trying to be complimentary, they'll say stuff like, 'Why is the woman doing all the hard work while the men sit around?' Because it's their job. It isn't unusual to do your job when you're at work. Having it pointed out like it's something special because you're a woman is uncomfortable." -@themagus84

12. Sensitive nature

"Your mind never really goes quiet. Worrying about everything from money to what's for dinner every night, to being afraid of that man walking over there, to whether I should say this or it will anger someone, etc." -@marlet_vdw. "I think sensitivity, most women are very sensitive and emotional, and most men won't comprehend. That all they want sometimes is just to be heard."-@luisamedina. "Being a woman. If you weren’t born a female, you will never understand, no matter what!" -@uniquelylamya

13. Being the all-rounder and still depreciated

"Being in a relationship and doing the bulk of the physical work and all the mental work. Getting groceries when they're almost out, getting everyone to appointments, practices and recitals on time. Shopping for clothes or shoes when the kids need something. Men weaponize their incompetence so they can get out of a particular task." -@erikaincalifornia. "Having our strengths constantly underestimated because of our gender." -@turftosurf

14. It's not all cute and flowery for women 

"That we don't have it easy. It's the greatest misconception that the luckiest thing that could ever happen is to be born female. It is no bed of roses - we just are so brave we make it look much easier than it is. Please stop thinking we wake up, get through the day with men doing everything for us then go back to bed. That's a billionaire's girlfriend. Not us." -@inongemalumo

15. Things get awkward very easily 

"Just recently experienced this at work, but having others want to 'hug' you to make contact with your upper body parts like our breasts. Never mind the weird hand placements during their hugging us. We gotta set that physical boundary with people to keep us from being used as pleasure props. Even a simple high-five could be inappropriate." -@lizaswallace. "And then there's the jealous or insecure coworkers. They don't like being outperformed or even just equally matched, by a woman. They start treating you differently and making you feel unwelcome." -@themagus84

16. The complexity of birthing and pregnancy 

"Carrying a fetus and hopefully birth a child if one is fortunate enough to do so. But this choice is primarily a decision between a female (and partner) and her physician, not males in positions to enact laws and females who choose not to support their female counterparts unless they step up to care for the child themselves." -@cdnlooney. "How our reproductive organs work and what goes into carrying an embryo in our womb for nine months to grow the embryo into a human being." @gsrin

17. Always being titled irrelevant 

"Everything we say is always questioned. People always wonder how true it is or how they are going to prove us wrong. If a man says the same thing after us, it is not questioned. Women have always had to be louder, more assertive, and almost aggressive, if not overtly aggressive, to be heard and believed. The Man v Bear is a perfect example. Women: we choose the bear. Men: That doesn't make sense. Nobody would choose a bear!" -@femnsync46

18. Ignorance when it comes to female health and issues

"How most medical studies are done on men/boys' symptoms may not look the same in a woman/girl. How women's health is vastly understudied. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), which affects 1 in 10 women, and there is still no cure. If a man was growing cysts in his b**ls, you bet there'd be a cure already. Don't get me started on birth control. It always should have been for the man to take." -@courtnya

19. Prioritizing men's needs always

"Women are asked personal questions about if they have children or are married. If we're not, there is an expectation to explain why. Men are not expected at all. Women are still fighting for the right to make healthcare decisions for themselves. Men can with no issue. Women are paid 16% less than men." -@kathy_p_az. "If a man who cannot go through simple flu without moping and moaning were made to endure periods, pregnancy and childbirth, there will be an international law passed that gives men a week off from work every month, contraceptives available for free and so on." -@gsrin

20. Unjust use of feminism 

"Men want to lead but want no accountability. Men are shallow when it comes to looks but judge women's shallowness when it comes to money. I believe in 50-50, but it could never happen cause they can't birth and nurture children, don't want to work harder to provide and make excuses when women just do what they have to do. They put what they do above and undermine traditional women's jobs at home and unfairly love double standards only when it benefits them." - @qsviewz

21. Having safety tampered with 

"The constant feeling of being physically unsafe. Safety is a concern every time you take a walk, go to the grocery store, or go out. Having to send live locations to friends when going on a first date, just in case. Men will never understand the degree to which a woman's safety is at risk just by being a woman." -@lara_trustmeimanarcher. "Not going somewhere you really want to because you couldn't find anyone to come with. It's not safe alone." -@gabriellebleue

22. Being ridiculed 

"Having to prove your competence at work, sometimes for months or even years before people begin to take you seriously." -@ksmithcliff. "I see so many men saying women don't want these jobs, but we do. We just don't want to feel hated or like a joke every single day, so we find other jobs where that won't happen. Change the culture around women working these jobs and see how many will take them." -@themagus84

23. Not being taken seriously 

"We can't say no without giving a 'reasonable' answer. No is a full sentence. Also, 'I don't want to.' Same. Don't need reasoning. We don't need to explain ourselves so men feel good about themselves. For example, I won't say, 'Sorry, I don't want to be with you because you're so great and something is wrong with me.' I'll say, 'I don't want to.' That's it." -@pa.n.ka. "The way people dismiss us by default." -@raquelaroyyo

24. The misconception of menstrual cycles

"Women battle hormonal shifts for the entire month, not just a week. Hormone shifts don't just happen in the week of her period. There are four phases of a cycle, four weeks of hormone and energy peaks and lows and four weeks of different physical symptoms. And no two women's symptoms are the same. Men's hormones run on a consistent 24-hour cycle that never changes. So no, you're not in sync/in tune, that's normal. You can't change it. If you want to understand her more, learn about your partner's cycle." -@chelsea_lawell

25. A world designed for men

"That this world is made for men. Things like safety features in your car assume that you are a certain height/body type, chairs and cabinets are too high, and tools don't fit our hands or are too heavy/impractical. The washing machine is too deep for me to reach the bottom, even though I'm an average-height woman. Dresses with pockets are a big deal because dresses are made to look pretty, not be practical." -@jennakermans