Recently, with the release of Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Manchild” this summer, a user on TikTok, @JJKNNDY, posed a question that quickly went viral: “What’s your favorite everyday thing you had to teach a man?”
As expected, the responses varied widely, offering a mix of relatable and concerning anecdotes. While we shared some of the more popular replies, there were many others in the comments worth discussing:
1.
“That we don’t pee out of our vagina. We really need to bring back real sex education in schools.”
— greyhedgewitch
2.
“I had to explain to my ex that a migraine and a headache are definitely not the same. It actually took his mother chiming in for him to take it seriously.”
— edgycoach682
3.
“Not my boyfriend, but a male friend. I had to teach him that pads stick to the underwear, not the skin. He put the sticky part on his skin! In his defense, he’s gay and has never seen a vagina, but still, come on! I also reminded him that women have pubic hair, which would be like ripping off a Band-Aid in a sensitive area. When he thought about it, he felt pretty dumb.”
— Lalalace1640
4.
“He thought burrito was spelled ‘borido.'”
— Grinchbettahavemymoney
5.
“He needed to clean under his foreskin when he bathed.”
— metallicsquirrel526
6.
“During quarantine, my roommate tried to cook more since everything was closed. One day, I heard him struggling with step one of a recipe. He was trying to peel an onion with a vegetable peeler. I had to show him how to do it. He was 41.”
— purplegrapekoolaid
7.
“Not me, but my sister-in-law had to teach my brother how to do laundry when he was around 24. He went to grab his work uniform from the dryer, exclaiming, ‘It’s still all wet!’ That’s because he got it out of the washer. He really didn’t know the difference! Luckily, now he helps out more around the house.”
— Jane Doe
8.
“That birth control pills don’t work like Plan B. I dated a guy who thought you just take a pill right before sex to prevent pregnancy. He had no idea you had to take it daily to actually prevent ovulation. He was pretty shocked to hear how responsibility comes into play with those pills.”
— Anonymous, 25, Virginia
9.
“I knew someone who believed women got their periods during the full moon because his mother called it her ‘moon time.’ I was like, ‘Uh, that’s for werewolves…'”
— clumsyflower47
10.
“I had to tell my ex that babies can open their eyes when they’re born…he thought they kept them shut for weeks, like puppies.”
— veebby69
11.
“That a woman’s uterus doesn’t ‘fall out’ during menopause, and a hysterectomy is permanent and irreversible.”
— Anonymous, 42, Georgia
12.
“I had to teach him to boil the water before adding the pasta.”
— Anonymous, 28, Orlando, FL
13.
“That bleach is not a substitute for detergent when washing clothes.”
— Anonymous
14.
“He was stunned when my niece was born…he thought baby girls come with pierced ears. I asked him, ‘Are baby boys born circumcised?'”
— Anonymous, 26, Texas
15.
“I was in my 20s and went on a couple of dates with a 33-year-old guy who didn’t know what STDs were. I had to explain how diseases are transmitted. It was a bit alarming. We didn’t end up sleeping together. He even called the next day after getting tested and claimed he caught something…from me. It motivated me to consider writing a book on health education for young people.”
— Anonymous, 33, Washington
16.
“That not all pills are chewable after he complained about how awful gelcaps taste when you bite in. He was 26 at the time.”
— Anonymous, 40, Virginia
17.
“One time a fellow medical student asked if you could just insert a speculum dry during a pelvic exam. The female student had to explain that you need lube. I felt for his wife.”
— Anonymous, 30, Philadelphia
Got any other examples to share? I’d love to hear about them. Let us know in the comments!
Notes: Some responses have been edited for clarity.
