Do you have life outside of these men???
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I'm 21, and I had my first relationship at 19. I was hoping it would be a better experience than what my friends had in their teen years because the men had supposedly “grown and matured.” I chose carefully, looking for a man who loves, cares, and is compassionate. What I quickly learned is how skillful men are at faking their personalities, which led me into a daunting relationship with this man. I settled for things I never thought I would settle for, shrinking my entire personhood for someone who never gave af.
And I’m looking around, and all women — even the happy ones — seem to have to compromise some part of themselves to be in a relationship with a man. And if not, they have to constantly maintain the relationship by making sure he behaves and yada yada.
And lowkey... this all doesn’t seem worth it to me.
I’m asking for the wisdom of all women who decided not to date, or stopped engaging with men, or any gay women’s observations on the often disappointing reality of straight relationships. Any women who gave up on pursuing it altogether — what does your life look like?