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Men or Women, who has a harder life?

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  • 10-06-2017 10:12pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭


    Talking with a girl earlier and she brought it up, stating that men definitely have a harder life.

    She meant it in an "across the board" kind of way. Specifically we were on the topic of loneliness when it came up.

    Thought it was interesting because I hadn't given it much thought before. But I was thinking about her comment afterwards.

    Funnily enough, its probably the male thing to do, to just not pay attention to the "group" so to speak. Whereas women tend to think as a pack. Not trying to sh*t stir at all, just a general observation.

    If a bloke is on top of his game, employment, money, prospects etc, then the world is their oyster. Harder, I imagine, for a woman to be in such a position.

    The flipside is that if a man is down on his luck he can seriously be thrown in the gutter, I suppose that's reflected in much higher suicide rates. Men are very much on their own, good times or bad. Women, in my experience, are never far from companionship in bad times, have a tendency to band together.

    Maybe a quicker way to sum up, men have a higher ceiling above them, but a much further drop should they falter in any way. Is that balance?

    Overall, very reflective of the animal kingdom.

    One last thing too, another conversation not so long ago. A man is far more likely to be attacked, and far less likely to report attacks than women? Women are far less prone to attack, but it can be much more serious in a different way, such as rape (and not report it?). Just think of the amount of fights you see on an average night out and the sex-divide. Have seen it loads of times myself, where a group of men attack one bloke on their own. Jesus its bad when you think about it, really like animals.

    I wont keep going. Without taking digs at one another, who would you say has the harder life, men or women?!

    EDIT: I'll add this here to avoid some confusion. I'm not asking for peoples idealistic view of the world. Its the here and now, matter-of-fact run of life. And it has frighteningly little to do with individualism, or background, or education, or how big your ears are. Life will put you in situations BECAUSE you are a woman or man, individual reactions come AFTER the fact.

    Men or Women 156 votes

    Yes, men have it harder
    0% 0 votes
    Yes, women have it harder
    100% 156 votes


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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    You simply can't generalise. It depends on the man or the woman.


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    You simply can't generalise. It depends on the man or the woman.

    I couldn't disagree any more! Just to pick one single thing, male suicide rates.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 23,865 ✭✭✭✭January


    Women.

    On periods and childbirth alone, let's not get into the inequalities in the workplace etc.

    Women have it harder.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    The average Irish woman of today can expect to live longer, be better educated, be better paid(before children), have more societal safety nets, more medical research aimed at her, be less likely to be physically assaulted or murdered, less likely to be homeless, far less likely to die in accidents in work(or outside) and far less likely to die by her own hand. These are statistical facts for the average. Individuals differ widely, but take from all that what you will.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 49 Trump_Wall


    Women have it harder.

    They're emotional creatures who find offence/hurt at every corner. They look for drama where none exists. They're paranoid about their sexual partners and find it almost impossible to move on. They're attention seekers who try their best to look as good as possible (most of whom fail to do so) for others.

    When they grow old, they become nasty and obsessed about their health.

    What a life that must be.

    Men have it easy. Full stop.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭GritBiscuit


    pangbang wrote: »
    I couldn't disagree any more! Just to pick one single thing, male suicide rates.

    Is that indicative of men having it harder? I don't know. It could just as easily show poorer coping skills...


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    January wrote: »
    Women.

    On periods and childbirth alone, let's not get into the inequalities in the workplace etc.

    Women have it harder.

    I'll see your opionion and match it with mine. I vote that men have the harder life. The risk of getting thumped around by other blokes at any time of the day, broad daylight, busy streets, wherever. And I'll throw in the isolation that generally accompanies a man throughout their entire life too.

    To me those two trump the idea that I mightn't be getting paid a certain amount in a cheque or that I have to be careful being alone at night.

    All generally speaking!


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    January wrote: »
    Women.

    On periods and childbirth alone,
    So ranged against all the other things, that's all you have?
    let's not get into the inequalities in the workplace etc.
    Let's not, because under any sort of basic examination it's a crock.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 23,695 ✭✭✭✭One eyed Jack


    pangbang wrote: »
    I couldn't disagree any more! Just to pick one single thing, male suicide rates.


    Just picking one thing though, is doing the exact opposite of what you outlined in the opening post in that it isn't looking at circumstances overall.

    That's also not to mention that rates of self-harm are much higher among women than men, and in recent years the rate of suicide among women has increased year on year at a far greater rate than men in the same age categories.

    You really can't generalise when it comes to suggesting one gender has anything harder than the other overall, not to mention that it's just chasing to the bottom for the victimhood trophy IMO.

    People should be encouraged to see the value in resilience rather than victimhood.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Just for fun and by your leave I added two letters to your post
    Is that indicative of women having it harder? I don't know. It could just as easily show poorer coping skills...
    How well do you think that opinion would go down in the mainstream media? Hint: It wouldn't.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 540 ✭✭✭OttoPilot


    pangbang wrote: »
    I couldn't disagree any more! Just to pick one single thing, male suicide rates.

    Don't women attempt suicide more often, and men just succeed more?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,912 ✭✭✭ArchXStanton


    Women I would say...this is probably not going to win me any fans,but emotionally a lot of them are children who throw strops and pout...that must be tiring after a while to be so ruled by their emotions


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    Surprisingly, giving birth hasn't been mentioned :D


    I win.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Trump_Wall wrote: »
    They're paranoid about their sexual partners and find it almost impossible to move on.
    Actually I have found those two to be far more a male trait. IME average women reset the "love mechanism" far more quickly and more healthily and move on faster than the average man.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    Just picking one thing though, is doing the exact opposite of what you outlined in the opening post in that it isn't looking at circumstances overall.

    That's also not to mention that rates of self-harm are much higher among women than men, and in recent years the rate of suicide among women has increased year on year at a far greater rate than men in the same age categories.

    You really can't generalise when it comes to suggesting one gender has anything harder than the other overall, not to mention that it's just chasing to the bottom for the victimhood trophy IMO.

    People should be encouraged to see the value in resilience rather than victimhood.

    Well I literally said I was just picking one thing in that response, I mentioned plenty more above it.

    I still completely disagree that you cant generalise. And its not about trophies either, nobodys gonna get a trophy anywhere.

    This is veering off the topic a bit too much, but you could look at male lions and female lions and make very distinct generalisations, no? Why would people be any different?


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,699 ✭✭✭buried


    Life is hard for everybody. Everyone you know or love is going to die. Every mortal is subservient to nature's will. Best not to divide people into groups and try claim who has it more tough, or who is the better victim just get on with it. What's the point of that pathetic f**king noise? Get on with it. It's hard enough as it is.

    "You have disgraced yourselves again" - W. B. Yeats



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,394 ✭✭✭Pac1Man


    I have to shave twice a week.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    cbyrd wrote: »
    Surprisingly, giving birth hasn't been mentioned :D


    I win.
    Not the observation prize... :D [see below]
    January wrote: »
    Women.

    On periods and childbirth alone, let's not get into the inequalities in the workplace etc.

    Women have it harder.
    OttoPilot wrote: »
    Don't women attempt suicide more often, and men just succeed more?
    Begod, men are even superior at killing themselves. [irony]
    I'm not sure who has it harder overall, each have specific issues in comparison to the other.
    My point was the statistics can be pulled in whatever way suits any particular agenda. :cool:
    Some can be, but the hard facts remain that;
    The average Irish woman of today can expect to live longer, be better educated, be better paid(before children), have more societal safety nets, more medical research aimed at her, be less likely to be physically assaulted or murdered, less likely to be homeless, far less likely to die in accidents in work(or outside) and far less likely to die by her own hand.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,641 ✭✭✭Day Lewin


    I'm opting for the middle road: depends so much on the individual.
    I don't think that men and women are "the same" - in the general, conversational way that we are doing here: but as to who has it harder, they generally don't have the same identical life path, so who can say?

    Votes: either, or both.


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Actually I have found those two to be far more a male trait. IME average women reset the "love mechanism" far more quickly and more healthily and move on faster than the average man.

    I'd agree there.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,704 ✭✭✭Wanderer2010


    Its impossible to answer that question as there are too many variables but one interesting thing I have noticed on the whole depression and suicide scourge in this country is that its mostly men who choose to end their life despite suffering from the same depression/loneliness/despair and low self esteem etc as women. I don't know why, but women in mental despair don't seem to commit suicide a fraction as much as men.
    Sadly I know of a man who ended his life recently because he was under financial pressure and had depression which only doubled his woes. He had a bad run of luck for a few weeks then sadly hanged himself. I also know of a woman who is an alcoholic and her abusive husband tried to take all her money, she lost her job etc and is in a miserable situation.....and yet, I cant ever see her taking her life. Just a gut feeling, cant explain it.
    Are women stronger than men when it comes to major life issues? Are they too scared to go through it? Who knows, its just another weird series of unanswered questions in our tough harsh world.


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,956 ✭✭✭✭Omackeral


    Pac1Man wrote: »
    I have to shave twice a week.

    In some cases, that doesn't narrow it down as to which sex you're referring to.


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    Pac1Man wrote: »
    I have to shave twice a week.

    What are you, 13? :P

    Or else you're a woman, in which case that can take many forms....


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    buried wrote: »
    Life is hard for everybody. Everyone you know or love is going to die. Every mortal is subservient to nature's will. Best not to divide people into groups and try claim who has it more tough, or who is the better victim just get on with it. What's the point of that pathetic f**king noise? Get on with it. It's hard enough as it is.
    I agree 100% B. I only rev up when I see the all too mainstream "feminist" rhetoric of spurious but holy givens springing up, as it will, as night follows day(just like the red pill muppets, but with better PR and coverage). And my very marrow screams out to say;

    BS.jpg

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭pangbang


    Its impossible to answer that question as there are too many variables but one interesting thing I have noticed on the whole depression and suicide scourge in this country is that its mostly men who choose to end their life despite suffering from the same depression/loneliness/despair and low self esteem etc as women. I don't know why, but women in mental despair don't seem to commit suicide a fraction as much as men.
    Sadly I know of a man who ended his life recently because he was under financial pressure and had depression which only doubled his woes. He had a bad run of luck for a few weeks then sadly hanged himself. I also know of a woman who is an alcoholic and her abusive husband tried to take all her money, she lost her job etc and is in a miserable situation.....and yet, I cant ever see her taking her life. Just a gut feeling, cant explain it.
    Are women stronger than men when it comes to major life issues? Are they too scared to go through it? Who knows, its just another weird series of unanswered questions in our tough harsh world.

    To the bolded, could that not be a seriously big difference, that men and women DONT suffer to the same extent?


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,523 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    There's no one answer to this, everyone's life is different and everyone is equipped different to cope with life.

    It's a typical juvenile AH question expecting an A or B answer to a hugely complex topic.

    People have tough lives, some tougher than others, best we can do is hope we're capable of dealing with whatever life throws at us because not everyone can.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16,707 ✭✭✭✭Tigger


    January wrote: »
    Women.

    On periods and childbirth alone, let's not get into the inequalities in the workplace etc.

    Women have it harder.

    Periods are one thing but i have a son and I didn't have to birth him
    It looked really hard


  • Registered Users Posts: 859 ✭✭✭Icemancometh


    My Dad could beat up your Dad


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,786 ✭✭✭wakka12


    I think men have it harder. But as others have said , it depends on the individual. I recognise that there are most certainly pros and cons to being both genders, many of which I can never see being resolved, ever. Theres plenty of bad things about being a woman that men can never begin to experience and vice versa for men.

    I dont want to be transgender. I like being a man. But if hypothetically I was given the choice at the beginning of my life to be either a man or a woman, now knowing the things I know, Id 100% choose to be a woman.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 32,956 ✭✭✭✭Omackeral


    My Dad could beat up your Dad

    Wouldn't be hard, my dad's dead.


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