Mind the Gender Gap: 24 Expenses That Men Bear Alone in a World of Unequal Spending
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When you go on a first date, some believe the bill should be split 50/50, others believe the person who asked for the date should pay, while others think the man should pick up the whole tab.
Men are often expected to pay for a lot of things when it comes to relationships. Recently on Reddit, someone posed the question, “What do men pay for that women don’t? (both figuratively and literally).” The answers to this question did not disappoint!
1. Specific Personal Hygiene Products
One Redditor replied, “Beard oil.” While another added, “Aftershave.”
A third user commented, “Rogain, is that the correct spelling? The hair loss products and I’m aware that women suffer from hair loss as well but not on the same level as men. Also, no, there are others but it’s not common.”
2. Admissions
A user commented, “Entering clubs.”
A second Redditor replied, “I’ve never gotten free entry into a paid club as a woman. I have been let to the front of the line, though, but yeah, never free entry lol.”
3. Drinks At A Bar
One Redditor commented, “Drinks at the bar. Surprised this wasn’t the first answer.”
To which another said, “Drinks, I am never offered a free drink from a woman.”
4. Medical Procedures
A Redditor said, “Vasectomy.”
Another user replied, “Prostate exams.”
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5. Child Support
One man commented, “In more cases than not, child support.”
To which someone replied, “Also alimony.”
Another Redditor comment said, “Men can owe child support and suffer significant consequences if they don’t pay it… but a woman can allow a man to raise a child that is unknowingly not his with no legal consequences at all.”
6. Dates
One Redditor simply commented, “First dates.”
Another replied, “Second dates.”
A third user added, “Funny thing; when I was single in my early 30s; When I dated a woman my age, she didn’t even think of paying for the date. When I was on a date with a much younger woman, early ’20s, they always insisted on paying.”
7. Unnecessary Items
A most liked comment read, “Tools we’ll rarely use. Toys with gasoline engines. Enhancing already adequate items for more performance.’
A second Redditor said, “Stuff we’ll never use just for bragging rights….”
A third Redditor added, “There’s a flipside, though. Sometimes you’ll buy a tool to do a job, then next thing you know, you’re using it so often, you don’t know how you lived without it.”
8. Personal Pleasures
One of my most popular answers was “Sex.”
Another answer was “Their OnlyFans account.”
A third Redditor said, “Dating apps.”
9. Insurance
One Redditor commented, “My sons have no tickets whatsoever and pay four times what a girl their age pays for liability insurance.”
A second comment read, “Car insurance is based on statistics. They don’t wait for people to crash or not crash as individuals.”
10. Physical Work
A user said, “Physical work. The majority of workers in physically demanding jobs are men. These are the types of jobs that will destroy your body over time. I work in construction. The vast majority of foremen, and supervisors I see on sites are older guys who all have some form of visible impairment from a worn-out body and can’t do the grunt work anymore.”
Another replied, “Men do almost all the hard, dirty, and dangerous work that provides all the food, shelter, energy, transportation, clothing, and everything else that women depend on to survive. It costs men much of our lives, and we suffer about 95% of work-related injuries and deaths to pay for all those needed materials.”
11. Presents
One man replied, “Presents she wants for anniversaries and holidays. Then she picks 1 or 2 bottom dollar items from my Amazon wishlist.”
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12. Other Men’s Actions
A Redditor commented, “Figuratively, the actions of other men. And I don’t mean just being confronted with the baggage of an ex but also having to answer for minority groups of men like the violent and those in power.”
A second Redditor added, “I’m no expert and all, but if men “have to pay for it” by dealing with an ex’ baggage, then the ex having baggage means women also “have to pay for it.”’
13. Extra Food
A scientific but funny response was, “Men need 25% more calories, so I guess the extra food we need.”
Another Redditor replied, “Groceries. Men generally eat. So. Much. More.”
14. A Messy Society
One Redditor replied, “The societal ramifications of the abhorrent actions of men that were born decades before me and have nothing to do with me, unfortunately, creating a world where fear of men, while understandable, creates a toxic environment where we feel unwanted and rejected by society. It’s for good reasons, but I had nothing to do with the construction of such society, and yet I pay for it dearly.”
Another man added, “Social bargains that take physical and safety tolls in order to demonstrate that they are worthy of love and affirmation.”
15. Being Good Dads
A man commented, “They pay for being good dads. I have five kids and love them all dearly. However, people treat me like I’m weird or some kind of pe****ile just because I have a lot of kids.”
A second Redditor added, “I hate this crap. I haven’t experienced any weird looks when I’m with my son yet (but he’s still a baby), but I get this with my nieces and nephews who range in age from 1 to 18, like can we normalize good fathers and uncles?”
16. Sex
A Redditor said, “There are always exceptions to every generalization, but in general, men will pay for sex women don’t.”
Another Redditor added, “Every man pays for sex in one way or another.”
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17. Showing Emotions
One Redditor commented, “crying and showing emotions. It’s totally fine and encouraged for women to be open about their feelings. Society puts labels on men who are more open and aren’t afraid to show their emotions. For a woman to be brave, she shows emotion. For a man to be brave, he holds back tears unnaturally.”
18. Forgetting Things
A man replied, “Forgetting stuff, I forget something, and “I don’t pay enough attention.” She forgets something “she has a lot on her plate.”
A second man added, “Dude, all the time. I am told I don’t listen, but when I try and tell her something, and she doesn’t remember or listen, it’s because she was “busy.”
19. Condoms
One Redditor said, “Condoms? Idk, lmao.”
A second Redditor commented, “Condoms, we have to wear them so we buy them.”
20. Their Lives
One comment read, “Men pay with their lives when they go to war. Soldiers die for nothing in the end when it comes to it. Nobody benefits, only the military industrial complex and the government.”
A second Redditor added, “Nothing like paying in blood for a country that doesn’t give a sh** about you.”
21. A Place on a Lifeboat
One funny comment read, “A claim on the life rafts on a sinking cruise ship. “Women and children first!”
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22. Driving Offences
A Redditor commented, “Minor driving related tickets. Speeding, rolling through stop signs, etc. At least it seems that way in my social group.”
Another Redditor said, “We paid the price as young male drivers because we belong to a demographic that drives both recklessly and wreckfully.”
23. Love & Attention
A man replied, “Love, attention & affection. If a man isn’t providing something for a woman, then a man doesn’t get those things.”
24. Marriage
One Redditor commented, “Marriage. We never stop paying..”
A second user added, “marriage, we pay for the ring, the wedding, the holidays, etc.”
Redditors gave some pretty specific answers to this question, and many agreed with them. What do you think? Do men have it harder than women? Do they pay more figuratively and literally?
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