What is the dumbest thing you’ve been told is not manly or not feminine – 17 behaviours with bizarre gender hang-ups

Whether you like it or not, we live in a gender-coded society. Meaning that certain behaviours tend to fall into either the masculine or feminine camps.

Certain traits may seem obvious to categorise, however even the most bizarre and mundane things are being classed by some as gender specific. To get an insight into these odd outlooks, Disastrous_Hat_2325 put the following question to r/AskReddit:

‘What is the dumbest thing you have been told is “not manly” or “not feminine,” depending on your gender?’

Get your gender-neutral popcorn at the ready, here are the top answers…

1.

‘This is from childhood: The steps that I take when I walk are too long. Very unladylike.’
-Pale_Frame4845

2.

‘That going down on a woman isn’t manly.’
-ConcentratedStress

3.

‘So I need to preface this, I knew the dude very well for about 3 years at this point, and I could tell when he was serious and when he wasn’t. He was stone cold serious for this, legit got angry when asked about it.

‘He said I was gay because I kissed my wife.

‘The 25 other inmates (I was a guard) all were just as confused as I was.’
-Tier_One_Meatball

4.

‘Reading books from the Star Wars extended universe. This was back in the 90s.’
-Far_Review_7177

5.

‘Used to be called gay for having an umbrella. Like it’s gay to not want to get soaked. I did grow up in the 80s and 90s and everything was gay to us to be fair.’
-Melodic_Ingenuity962

6.

‘Dinosaurs are for boys. Dolphins are for girls. So, I found my way to sharks. Grey area. And then I realized it was stupid and now two of my special interests are dinosaurs and sharks.’
-Ankylowright

7.

‘It isn’t manly to care about your hygiene’
-cappymop

8.

‘Drinking certain beverages.

‘I enjoy cognac; I drink it more than any other form of alcohol.

‘I’ve been told that enjoying a glass of cognac after dinner is a “masculine” thing and it’s not ladylike, and I should have some wine.’
-Walmartian_Beta

9.

‘When I was with my son getting him a phone when he was a high school kid, he chose rose gold for his phone colour and the sales person asked him if he was sure, my son replied that he was, so the sales person told him he was brave. It was a stupid moment.’
-clairemcilvenna