Long-time lurker here with a new account. My normal reddit account is tied to my real identity, my consulting business, and so on. I decided to finally post with something I've been thinking about.

I was explaining to a friend why I don't think I can ever be in a another "committed" relationship -- at least not with a "normal" western woman -- and I was having trouble putting into words the small frustrations of being a man in a society that expects men to kowtow to women.

Here's a little trope for you. A guy is sitting on the couch and he hears his girlfriend or wife call from the other room. He comes to her, despite the fact that they're both presumably sitting down, both presumably occupied, both presumably of equal importance. She wants to remind him of something, ask him of something, or maybe just get an opinion on a dress. But either way, you'll see this in pretty much any relationship, he comes to her when called.

Women are trained to do that. Men are trained to obey. Is there a fight in the relationship? The guy sleeps on the couch, regardless of who paid for the couch or who gets up early for work. Did a guy buy the "wrong" detergent at the grocery store? Well, men are slow and need explaining to.

So I took a prefix used in feminist theory (which, BTW, I took in college) and re-purposed it. Micro-aggression, meet micro-condescension and micro-demand. The micro-condescension is any little reminder of your worth or the validity of your opinion not mattering. A micro-demand, on the other hand, is the presumption that of course you should do something for her; you're the man. She's in the bedroom and you're in the living room? You better come when called.

Thoughts?