What are some everyday things that you feel are designed “for men”?

48 comments
  1. Probably not “everyday things” for most people but construction tools. Fucking work gloves in multipacks only for large and xl hands. Houses with super high shelves.

  2. Financial programs. Men are taught to gain wealth and spend it for their benefit. Women are told to budget and save.

  3. The book [Invisible Women](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41104077-invisible-women) has a lot of examples where women’s needs and experiences were not even considered when developing things. Lots of things are designed for an average default man’s strength and size without taking into account that the average woman is smaller and less strong or how our bodies differ from their default (male-based) assumptions. Personal protective gear is one big one. In many cases, the required/approved PPE available for some types of work simply isn’t available in a version that properly fits employees who are women. Tools are another big one. Tools are often made for a larger grip size and stronger upper body which makes them more difficult for many women to use.

  4. Cell phones. Most of the screens are so big that even on the “mini” versions I can hardly move my thumb from one corner to the other while holding it with one hand. The “regular” ones also won’t fit in most of my pants pockets.

  5. Office desks and chairs. I’m petite and if I sit at the appropriate height in my office chair so that my arms are 90° on the desk, my feet dangle in the air. If I lower my chair until my feet touch flat on the ground, then my wrists have to reach up to type or use a mouse on the top of the desk. And then they go cold after a time from lack of blood flow.

  6. Seat belts, lumbar support in vehicles. ALL of every kind of Seat in an 18 wheeler.

  7. I work in health care! One thing that is obvious is gowns. Both pts gowns and PPE.

    Pt gowns are way to big for the average women, especially an average frail older women! I constantly have to fix them so they either don’t chock the pt since I have to tie the fabric and not the string or they are slipping off because we only tied the string.

  8. Most medications. The height of almost everything, like shelves, chairs, etc. Safety equipment, work clothing like boots, and tools.

    There’s a reason the $5 more expensive pink version of things like hammers and gloves exist and have a market; the “generic” version often doesn’t exist for smaller than a men’s medium (sometimes a men’s large, because I guess fuck small and average sized men too). So much hate is directed towards the pink version for existing and women for choosing the pink version, but no hate is directed towards the “generic” version for acting like women don’t exist. “Just buy the men’s version.” As I am not a hulking brute, that isn’t possible nor safe. If the size 7 steel toed boots and size small gloves are covered in pink glitter, I *have* to use the pink glitter version and look like OSHA Barbie. I cannot put on a men’s size 11 shoe and a size large glove just to prove that I’m immune to gendered marketing.

  9. The average work week.

    During each phase of our cycle we are better at accomplishing different things. Women also need more sleep than men overall because of our hormones.

  10. Depending on who you are, this could be an everyday thing.

    After working in manufacturing, I’d say most industrial equipment and PPE. Almost all the equipment was designed for the average man’s height and strength. I normally had to find something to stand on so that I could see if the equipment was operating properly.

  11. Pockets
    Why are the pockets in women’s clothing so small or even have the fake pocket. With men’s clothing the pockets are huge!!! Why

  12. “Unisex” bicycles look suspiciously like men’s bikes to me. No way I’m going to be able to get on one unless I’m wearing trousers.

  13. Bathrooms (mostly in hotels, gyms and dorms). There’s literally no place to put our things, the shower head is too high up, I have to jump to get into the tub, the mirrors and sinks are awkwardly positioned, and let’s not even talk about how there’s nowhere to support your leg when shaving.

  14. Literally everything. Even our bras and underwear are made with men’s approval in mind

  15. This isn’t an item but our sleep schedules are designed for men. Remember being told all the time that a healthy sleep schedule consists of 7-8 hours of sleep? Yeah it’s bs. Women need 10 hours of sleep.

    As someone who is perpetually exhausted I was pissed when I found this out. I would always wake up and be like “I got 8 hours of sleep why am I still so tired?” It’s because women need roughly two hours more sleep than men and nobody ever bothered to tell us.

  16. Pullup bars.

    The bars are way too thick, and when they have multiple sets of handles, they’re usually set far enough apart that women trying to use the machine are doing wide-grip pullups even on the narrowest grip.

    I thought I couldn’t do pullups until I ran into a gym with just a straight bar in a doorway and just busted out 3 of ’em when I could actually put my hands shoulder width apart.

  17. Every chair I’ve ever sat in. Also, the tools of my trade are ‘almost’ all made for men’s hands. 😬

  18. Every time I order several bags of litter for my cats, they put it all together in one giant box. It usually weighs 20-30kg and I have to drag it accross my garden.

  19. Everything.

    Clothes wise. Men get fabrics that last with pockets that fit things. My clothes no pockets or small enough that I can’t fit anything in them. I want a sweater or sweat pants because I’m cold? I have to go to the men’s section if I want something warm, other wise o get clothes just a bit thicker than piece of paper

    Healthcare- he walks in with a sore throat what does he get? Medicine. I go in for the same complaint what do I get? I get told to lose weight I don’t need medicine. He does something stupid and get hurt and goes to the er? They fix him. We go in because endo or pmdd are super bad that day what do I get? I get told to suck it up it’s part of being a woman and I should be use to it by now.

    Reproductive wise. He gets condoms because heaven forbid that he takes hormonal birth control and have side effects. I go in for birth control and get told to deal with the side effects. Can get rid of all my problems by having my ovaries removed? Oh no future partner might want kids so we get to suffer even if we don’t want kids because we might change our minds.

    I go to the store he gets beer regular price. I go in for pads I actually need and there’s a pink tax. That some politicians won’t take away because we would go wild and hoard all the supplies.

    Work wise. He speaks up and he is a go getter. I speak up? Oh no she’s historical, she is so rude, unlady like.

    He can’t wear as he pleases he can pretty much walk around with no shirt and it’s normal. I walk around in a short skirt and no strap shirt then I must be asking for Someone to rape me.

    Outdoor wise. He can walk at night like nothing but for me it’s not safe.

    Car seat belts are a joke. Not comfortable at all

    House wise. I can’t reach the top of the cabinets or the closet. Who are they design for.

    I mean the list just goes on. Nothing was made for me as a woman. And according to politicians I shouldn’t even have a right to decide about my body or have access to an education because it will make me think.

  20. Car seat height and pedal height.
    Women are criticized for how close we adjust our seats to the steering wheel. Really, we have to choose between sitting a safe distance from the airbag or being able to see over the dashboard and hood while still reaching the pedals with ease.

  21. Car seat belt placement. Not necessarily for men, but they’re definitely designed for tall people. I’m 5’4″ and most belts ride too high on me. It feels like it’s trying to saw through the side of my neck. I should be able to adjust the damn thing without spending extra money on adapters.

    Also, a lot of apartment storage is geared towards taller bodies. My studio has the upper kitchen shelves set at 5’10” and my storage closet has a shelf set in at 6’2″. I have arthritis and have to risk my flipping life getting on a stepladder to reach them. Why does a studio apartment have wasted non accessible space?

  22. Very specific, but I used to be the only woman working in a kitchen and all of my male coworkers would stock heavy items on the top shelf. It’s not exactly that it was too high, but it was above my head and I wasn’t strong enough to lift the heavier things to the top shelf, unlike the male coworkers of the same height. It wasn’t their fault, but it always frustrated me if I had to get a coworker to help me put something back where it went. It made me feel incompetent, even though I would have been fully capable had it been arranged more to my strength.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like