“Typical man.” Ever heard a friend say that? Or be the one to say it? We’re taught that for the most part, men just don’t care as much as we do. We’re taught that they are not as sensitive as we are., that they don’t pay attention as much as we do or read into things like we do. So, to retaliate, or even just to protect ourselves, we tone down the sensitivity too. But sometimes, we go too far. There are also plenty of things we do that look just like what men do to us that piss us off, and we don’t even realize it. Like these:

Do you want to know why you don’t have to follow all of “the rules”? It’s not because they aren’t helpful. They are in place for a reason, or rather, for people who cannot think for themselves at times. But for the most part, everyone has heard so much about “the rules”—and everyone knows that everyone else has heard all about the rules—that, if your date appears to be “breaking” one, you know he isn’t some dumb*ss who never heard of the rule. Rather, he has made his own decision on how to deal with that situation. He has learned that things don’t always go catastrophically wrong if you break a rule. And if you’re breaking one of the rules yourself, most men are smart enough to know that doesn’t automatically mean things are going to play out exactly like GQ said they would when this “rule” was broken. You’ll see what I mean: