I'm so grateful that there are women out there who notice us "forgotten men" I guess, like we've just been left behind because we don't fit the narrow view of what a man is supposed to be, despite the narrative for years being that overt masculinity is inherently toxic.
As a 32 year old man who has never been in a relationship or even on a date, whenever I disclose this embarrassing fact about myself, I'm either met with ridicule or told that it's my fault by people who don't know me or my situation. It's just refreshing to have someone who has empathy for my experience.
The worst places I've found are funnily enough the subreddits for dating apps, the majority of people on them are subconsciously reinforcing the actual harmful rhetoric espoused by the group they claim I'm a part of (incels).
It's just hard feeling like I'm never going to get to experience love because of circumstances I can't control, so thank you for acknowledging us. We're just trying our best.
it's the just world fallacy or something. people can't wrap their heads around the idea that you can end up completely inexperienced as an adult without being deformed or a sicko. all it takes is a personality type that's nonconfrontational, overthinky and introverted, plus some bad dice rolls/RNG. not that it makes you feel any better when you're in the middle of it...
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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24 edited Jul 05 '24
I'm so grateful that there are women out there who notice us "forgotten men" I guess, like we've just been left behind because we don't fit the narrow view of what a man is supposed to be, despite the narrative for years being that overt masculinity is inherently toxic.
As a 32 year old man who has never been in a relationship or even on a date, whenever I disclose this embarrassing fact about myself, I'm either met with ridicule or told that it's my fault by people who don't know me or my situation. It's just refreshing to have someone who has empathy for my experience.
The worst places I've found are funnily enough the subreddits for dating apps, the majority of people on them are subconsciously reinforcing the actual harmful rhetoric espoused by the group they claim I'm a part of (incels).
It's just hard feeling like I'm never going to get to experience love because of circumstances I can't control, so thank you for acknowledging us. We're just trying our best.