Simple things that men are unable to do!

Glorianny

My GCs can do more with my phone than I can.
One of my DS's is better at ironing than I am and makes better Yorkhire puddings. Another makes better cakes.
Making lists of things men can't do isn't funny. It's infantilizing them , sadly a lot of women do it. Then they wonder why we don't have equality.

I agree with you (makes a change, eh?!).

The historic jokes about women and their supposed lack of ability in practical endeavours... not to mention their lack of logic, were all "light-hearted". We weren't meant to be upset by those adverts etc, that infantilised them.

I'm old enough to remember that 'culture' and it rankled, even as a child sometimes - especially when my male school mates joined in the banter... and the best form of insult they could hurl at each other during a spat was to accuse each other of behaving like a girl.

I'm not about to join the same stereotyping of men - all my offspring and grandchildren are male, and none of them are helpless little boys, or men.

Foxygloves

With all due respect, this makes me so cross.
My DH absolutely did not have the sort of shortcomings OP itemises, but to extrapolate from her personal experience that men are unable to do these is not light hearted banter but every bit as sexist as those dinosaurs who tell us not to “worry our pretty little heads” or claim women can’t parallel park or insist that only they can put up a shelf straight.
What century are we in for heavens sake?

I totally get where you're coming from, Foxygloves, but, in my opinion, sexism (or any other -ism) is supposed to belittle the person or group of people, coming from someone who has power over them. It's often to their face to embarrass them, in front of others who have a connection to the belittled person.

LISTEN

Iam64

Grandmas-‘so can I add wives/partners to your list. I was getting ready to go away for a week with female friends 40 years ago. A work colleague asked if i had cooked and labelled an evening meal for all 7 nights for mr I.
Nope of course not.

Mr When does all the cooking (he enjoys it, whereas I cook(ed) just to feed people) but when he went away recently for a few days he certainly did not leave me cooked and labelled meals. He would have regarded that as patronising, and so would I.

Just what's under his nose.. Totally unobservant.

So I will decline lemsip’s invitation to take myself elsewhere.
(But I get the feeling I would not be on my own if I did.)

There would be an outcry if some had posted my wife can’t use her mobile, change a toilet roll or put things away.

My Yorkshire puddings have always been below par. I generally am a good baker but once was tasked with making some unicorn cakes for younger sons school fayre. I managed to produce what can only be described as a tray of penis cakes.
For those blaming mothers for any adult mens failings if I remember rightly the best prediction of Male competence in household activities is the fathers acting as good role models in that department.

When you are single you just have to get on with tasks yourself rather than waiting around for some slacker (aka partner) to do it.

I have put up shelves both for myself and others. I own a hammer drill and a whole collection of tools. I used to do all my own decorating and did it well! Ive also wired in cookers, sockets and light fittings although Im told this is now illegal. Im no longer physically able to do these things so I employ a gardener and a handyperson when I need one.

My sister still does most of her own car maintenance.

Their parents (perhaps especially their mothers) must have enabled their incompetence oh dear perhaps especially their mothers, it's always women to blame for absolutely everything!

Sorry, the curse of predictive text. That should read Grandma70

Grandmas-‘so can I add wives/partners to your list. I was getting ready to go away for a week with female friends 40 years ago. A work colleague asked if i had cooked and labelled an evening meal for all 7 nights for mr I.
Nope of course not.

If men ‘can’t’ do these simple practical things it shows that they haven’t been brought up properly. Their parents (perhaps especially their mothers) must have enabled their incompetence. The same applies to girls.

My GCs can do more with my phone than I can.
One of my DS's is better at ironing than I am and makes better Yorkhire puddings. Another makes better cakes.
Making lists of things men can't do isn't funny. It's infantilizing them , sadly a lot of women do it. Then they wonder why we don't have equality.

Shelmiss

Foxygloves

With all due respect, this makes me so cross.
My DH absolutely did not have the sort of shortcomings OP itemises, but to extrapolate from her personal experience that men are unable to do these is not light hearted banter but every bit as sexist as those dinosaurs who tell us not to “worry our pretty little heads” or claim women can’t parallel park or insist that only they can put up a shelf straight.
What century are we in for heavens sake?

Absolutely agree!

I try but I can’t see it as light hearted, or a bit of fun to list ‘simple things that men can’t do’.
It’s just a tad demeaning.

I was about to list all the 'failings' of my DH but I won't now! 😂

I'm sure he has a list for me too (although obviously not as long...!!)

Ah well if we live on our own we have to do them all although I must admit I often shred my clothes onto the floor at night if I m not wearing good stuff So must be a man then by OP s rating 🤣🤣🤣

I read the OP as a bit of light hearted fun. Oh well. I’d bet you’re wishing you hadn’t bothered Quizzer.

True, Galaxy but we don't need to be dismissive of husbands and partners.

I can do things with ease that my husband finds tricky and vice-versa but they are not "gender-defined" things and I would only have "fun" with my failings (and his) with my husband (and maybe very close family).

I'm with Foxygloves on this one.

I dont feel bad if I am unable to change a tyre for example as long as I have the ability to earn money to pay someone who can. I dont actually think it's necessary to be able to do everything in order to get through life.

Foxygloves

With all due respect, this makes me so cross.
My DH absolutely did not have the sort of shortcomings OP itemises, but to extrapolate from her personal experience that men are unable to do these is not light hearted banter but every bit as sexist as those dinosaurs who tell us not to “worry our pretty little heads” or claim women can’t parallel park or insist that only they can put up a shelf straight.
What century are we in for heavens sake?

Absolutely agree Foxygloves misogyny is heavily criticised so why not misandry. My shortcomings far outweigh those of my husband but he is amazingly tolerant.

Another thank you to Foxgloves. We really must stop dividing the world into women's this and men's that.

Foxygloves

With all due respect, this makes me so cross.
My DH absolutely did not have the sort of shortcomings OP itemises, but to extrapolate from her personal experience that men are unable to do these is not light hearted banter but every bit as sexist as those dinosaurs who tell us not to “worry our pretty little heads” or claim women can’t parallel park or insist that only they can put up a shelf straight.
What century are we in for heavens sake?

Here hear 👏👏
I live with someone who can go from showing me how to fix a complicated sewing pattern to putting a new/ different engine in his classic car. And he does all the cooking and food shopping.

My DH suffers from the same inabilities as the OP describes.

On the other hand he does nearly all the food prep (it's wonderful to just be able to cook the prepared food) and the washing up.

Men and women are wired differently and that's a good thing, because we complement each other.

biglouis

Im sure there are many things that many men are able to do, such as:

Hanging up clothes as opposed to dropping them on the floor
Taking their fair share of parenting/childcare duties
Shopping
Cooking
Generally tidying up
Life admin/keeping track of bills
And so on

Yet if the majority of the women on Mumsnet are to be believed men routinely avoid these tasks and duties by being (or appearing to be) useless at them. Or by "faffing about" in the shed/garage/bathroom to make time pass.

Let's face it: men should be able to do all these things, but most either can't or won't.

In much the same way, as women should be able to hang up shelves, cut hedges, chop firewood, repair brakes on bikes and punctures, but many of us do not do so.

For both sexes probably because like me these people are wise enough to realise that if they once admit to being able to do tasks their spouse routinely attends to, he or she will stop doing it on the grounds that "you turned out to be so good at it" and it will ever after be added to our work load.

This is not sexist behaviour, it is a statement of fact.

As is the fact that a man who is ill makes a far greater fuss about it than any woman ever did, or ever will.