Updated
Updated · PinkNews · Jun 17
AskReddit Thread Lists 18 Things Men Were Told Made Them 'Gay' Amid 5,000 Replies
Updated
Updated · PinkNews · Jun 17

AskReddit Thread Lists 18 Things Men Were Told Made Them 'Gay' Amid 5,000 Replies

2 articles · Updated · PinkNews · Jun 17

Summary

  • Nearly 5,000 replies to an AskReddit question surfaced 18 examples of men being called “gay” for ordinary habits, from drinking tea and using umbrellas to folding laundry and doing skincare.
  • The thread grew from a prompt about the dumbest thing people were told was “not manly,” turning into a catalogue of how homophobic stereotypes still police everyday male behavior.
  • Users described being mocked for owning cats, wearing flip-flops or winter coats, driving white cars, baking cookies, keeping houseplants, even having neat handwriting or sleeping on their stomachs.
  • The responses were framed as evidence that toxic masculinity and online “manosphere” attitudes continue to reinforce outdated ideas about masculinity well beyond childhood taunts.

Insights

With algorithms fueling online misogyny, what real-world interventions can effectively build healthier masculinity in boys?
Why does the manosphere's rigid vision of masculinity appeal so strongly to young men and what societal void does it fill?
Can the male self-improvement movement be separated from the manosphere's toxic ideology, or are they fundamentally intertwined?