This is how I started respecting men.

Careful_Pen_5740 · 2026-05-04T18:54:49+00:00

I believe it’s crucial to understand that even though we have biological and cultural factors that make us different, men and women are more alike than we think, both in good ways and in bad.

The moment one gender is blamed for every evil that has ever existed and that the other gender suffers from, we enter into a speech of hate, whether subtle or not. And this accusation draws precisely on those complexes, resentments, jealousies, and bad experiences to dehumanize “the other” and generalize unfairly, often falling into victim-blaming rhetoric (it’s so comfortable to be or play the victim: it puts you morally above even God!).

So congratulations on acknowledging your biases (I don’t know if it was with the help of a professional therapist) and allowing yourself to live free from hatred and victimhood. And this is something I also say to many in this subreddit, whom I see falling into the same pitfalls as misandric feminists.

KyleVolt · 2026-05-04T18:25:03+00:00

Even as a man we have to accept that other men are going to be smarter or stronger than us. It is best to accept and not compare ourselves too much to others. We should look inward and try competing with ourselves instead.

The_Overview_Effect · 2026-05-04T17:13:58+00:00

In my opinion, men and women have very different kinds of practical intelligence that a lot of statistics really just doesn't capture really well.

I'm constantly humbled by many women in memory, poetic ability, emotional awareness, etc. Most women I know can't build a wooden flatbed, so thankfully I can pat myself on the back every so often.

My point is, I think lack of envy is a really good spot to start looking for these differences, I wouldn't say one gender is smarter than the other.

mikiencolor · 2026-05-04T19:11:57+00:00

We are not smarter. We have more concentration at the extremes of low and high intelligence, but most of us are average intelligence like women.

We are usually much stronger physically, but that's not meaningful. Physical strength is not a moral virtue, it's just a circumstance of how our bodies are. It doesn't make you better or worse than anybody just because you're stronger or less strong than them. It doesn't make you better or worse than anybody that you can bear children and they cannot.

We're all just human beings. Nobody asked to be in this world. Some people are very evil with what they have, and some people do the very best they can with what they have. Nobody should be judged just because of what sex they are. People should be judged as individuals.

JazzlikeStorm2070 · 2026-05-04T17:12:33+00:00

This wasn’t written by a woman

Mysterious-Lab-7408 · 2026-05-04T21:33:13+00:00

“I just knew that men were smarter and stronger”
“Felt humiliated around men…because of it”
“Stopped envying men and… accepted everything as it is”
Grown ass man behind the screen lmao

Usenamenotfound404 · 2026-05-05T03:15:43+00:00

Men aren't smarter than you, you're just blessed to be around smarter men. Learn from any smart person around you.

Statistically, men are both dumber and smarter than women, women generally tend to be in the middle and men have a more flat IQ bell curve

Pitiful_Awareness_48 · 2026-05-04T17:20:47+00:00

I appreciate your support! It takes a big person to change their opinion. Men are awesome, some aren’t but the vast majority are great, probably just like women. I just haven’t had the luxury to really encounter many amazing ones

Former-Dragonfly2226 · 2026-05-04T18:21:56+00:00

Welcome!
Men aren’t smarter in general, but as you say, both sexes are equal!
Please forgive any sceptical comments, as someone else said there are women who come here to bait.

SidewaysGiraffe · 2026-05-04T21:31:09+00:00

I have to disagree- there are many reasons to hate many people, but those are individual people, not entire demographic characteristics.

Likewise, it's not only foolish (men ARE more strongly represented at the extremes of the intelligence spectrum, that applies to both ends), but potentially dangerous to assume "men" or "women" do X- you'd do better, always, to judge people by their actions than their capabilities.

homuraaakemii · 2026-05-04T17:37:19+00:00

People hate this post for no reason uhh

mushy_friend · 2026-05-04T19:50:53+00:00

I like your conclusion and I think it's an important one. Men and women have their own strengths and specialities - we can learn from one another and we should embrace and appreciate these differences, that's why we have partnerships and marriage.

For a personal question, why did you feel humiliated being around men?

Any-Cantaloupe-1262 · 2026-05-05T21:10:56+00:00

I personally think it varies. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman or a man, some men are smarter than most men or women, and some women are smarter than most women or men. Some men are weaker than most women, and some women are stronger than most men. Personally, I believe each individual is different. If you think you’re weak, you can go to the gym and become strong, not just strong, but potentially stronger than most men, depending on your genetics. Most men don’t go to the gym because not everyone has the discipline. It’s not rare to see a strong woman.

infinitofluxo · 2026-05-06T05:23:53+00:00

We are complementary, each sex carry a tendency for certain advantages and capabilities in comparison to the other. We should appreciate each other because we need each other.

saiditonredit · 2026-05-04T21:25:21+00:00

It's the correct approach because it's not something that men did or inflicted upon you, not anyone today and not intentionally, there is a biological reality but I'm not sure most men would even go as far as to say they're smarter, just think differently perhaps.

The strengths and weakness are clearly designed or evolved to complement each other as opposed to compete with each other. The issues started when women didn't come to the same conclusions as is showcased here and are in constant man bad, oppressive and victim mode that most men are not really a proponent of and men are literally policed by other men anyway.

These inferiority complexes and wanting to be, compete and emulate men in some regards and have men force emulate women and seeking socially proscribed equity, which is just the matriarchy which is vastly different than a proposed patriarchy, as opposed to equality in light of our societal and biology reality, and think that it can only exist if everything is exactly the same. Everyone has already conceded that the roles do not need be as rigid or defined and that's good but still in the midst of a flaming gender war because of divisive and maybe politically driven revenge plots.

Another example, I reconciled the fact that I would never make it to the NBA as a child almost entirely due to genetic predisposition, I don't hate basketball or the players, I have an even deeper appreciation for it all as a result.

Men have always had this appreciation towards women as a whole, it's just some who ruined it for others, while I see this heavily eroded for women of men and going strong and now men are starting to do the same, just hope despite what it looks like that it becomes more of a bridge than a barrier, because it's not good right now.

Worldly-Persimmon-70 · 2026-05-04T18:05:43+00:00

Hi, I'm also a non-native English speaker and a homosexual male. First of all, thanks for the post and to see that you took your time to actually understand the situation -- in many other places, especially in radical feminist subreddits, you'll see otherwise. Then, I do agree that men are better than women in many aspects, but that doesn't mean denying women's contribution to the world; biologically, women have to bear children and breastfeed them; on the other hand, men are stronger and faster, and they perform better in extreme situations such as war (which mostly happen on men though).

When you say "started respecting men", I get what you mean and the implication that you finally let go of your envy with men's strength etc. But "respect" is a strong word, particularly with the verb "started" -- as if men are not deserved by default to be respected, but somehow you've grown out of this and you've decided to give a chance to respect men . So we don't really need to be respected by you (or honestly, I don't want to be respected by you), but I deeply respect that you've grown out of your envy. As you may have realized, I'm not really replying directly to the post itself, but actually to the people who downvoted it. Many of them probably suspected that this is yet another feminist trap, where the post seemingly degrade women on purpose to attract men's upvotes and uses this as evidence to denounce men's "patriarchy & male privileges & toxic masculinity". I myself was suspicious about that as well -- well I have not seen real cases doing this, but I've personally encountered women using such tactics to portray themselves as "the victims that had been gaslighted by manipulative men", just to lock them in some abusive relationships, or stripping them off whatever they have . So please understand and forgive these guys. There's nothing wrong with you, and I feel sorry for what you've experienced from your female peers, both growing up and at present.

I just want to say, I'm proud of you for letting your mind go past the easy ways to find ease.

Title	This is how I started respecting men.
Author	homuraaakemii
Upvotes	35
Comments	39
Date	May 4, 2026 5:08 PM UTC (3 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1t3nx5s/this_is_how_i_started_respecting_men/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/this-is-how-i-started-respecting-men.1579582 https://theredarchive.com/post/1579582

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