I do want to address this part.
This is why I don't go to great lengths to answer your posts. You said that this is not how guys act, but at my school, they did. As I'm writing this, I'm clearing picturing the basketball game where N, one of the most popular boys in my (Lutheran school class,) pulled out his wallet to show everyone his condom stash, because I can clearly remember that he pulled out the wrapper and it was blue.
And no, the girls at my school didn't "brag about their bedroom fun" -- because they knew they would be condemned for it. Again, as I'm writing this, I'm picturing S, one of the prettiest girls in her class, and all the other girls making fun of her because they said she dressed like a whore (skirts above the knee.)
But yet you are telling me how people act and completely invalidating my experiences, or else you seem to think I make them up. I don't know if it you grew up in anything like the conservative WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Synod) Lutheran church, but those were my experiences.
As for your statement that I have no idea about what men go through, first of all, let me say that I am truly sorry for all the things you've gone through with women.
In fact, with nearly every guy I meet, for the first several dates, I spend nearly all my time apologizing to him for what women have done to him in the past. I've spent countless hours listening to men tell me about women rejecting them, using them as an ATM machine, blocking them from seeing their kids, and, what I think is the most personal level of all, I have held a guy's hand on numerous occasions as he told me about the sexual abuse he suffered -- from another man.
You should have seen the letters and messages I've received from guys who have gone through hell and back, starting with their childhood (growing up as victims of pedophile stepfathers,) and now they are unsure of where to begin to find wholeness. Most believed it started with finding a woman.
This is exactly why I pay for the first date, no matter who asked. I take the check before the waitress can set it down, because I don't want a man to feel that he's just going to be used. And if I plan to take a guy somewhere for a special date (usually a theme park,) I try my very best to save up and make sure I can pay for everything so all he has to do is relax and hopefully have an amazing time. I've also helped men pay for their court expenses to be able to keep their children or gain visitation rights.
With one guy I dated, I never even got to tell him that my then-husband left for another girl until after about 3 dates because the whole time, he was telling ME about all the women who have used and rejected him throughout the years -- so yes, it most CERTAINLY happens to both genders.
One of the biggest problems I've found in dating is having to work my butt off to try to prove to a guy that I'm not the 50 girls who came before me and did all the things he's telling me about now (even if the guy has never been married; and when I try to tell him about my husband rejecting me for another girl, he acts like it doesn't count or just brushes it aside.)
So if I become interested in a guy, I already know I have start "gearing up" (emotionally and financially,) because I'm expecting that it's going to take an armory for me just to be able to try knocking on the fortress door of his heart.
Maybe one of these days, I'll find one I can break through to.
And I most certainly and definitely know that women can be the exact same way -- in fact, I have often wondered if a good percentage of dating is actually trying to prove to someone that you're not all the people whom they've encountered before.
Not everyone is like this, of course. Some people have moved past their hurts, and the rarest ones of all have never been hurt.
But it only reinforces the old saying that Love is (truly) a Battlefield.
This validates what I've been trying to say, and you and I agree that both genders have problems. This you will hear no argument from me on that. With what you just explained to me is exactly what's going on with men on a mental and spiritual level. Many women today manipulate men as if it were nothing more than a game to try to get the grand prize, which is the Chad. In the game, they will use ordinary good men so they can cruise through life without too much complication. A lot of times, many men are used as meal tickets and for their luxuries. Or they're used just for the purposes of making children and get alimony off those poor Joes.
Men are tired of being hurt and having their time and resources wasted in attempt to make a woman they're with happy or simply trying to attract. There's times where it feels like we're stepping on eggshells with these women because we say one wrong thing we could get into trouble, even if it was harmless (typically it is). In addition to that, women are basically being told not to respect men, unless if it's Chad. Not all women do that, obviously, but a lot of them don't respect us at all. It's downright rotten, and, honestly, unless if it's someone we really trust and know well, there's times where we don't feel comfortable around women.
We want to be with them, but we live in fear of them. It's not even rejection that scares us, but rather these women running off, telling their friends about us, make fun of us, and start to spread false rumors about us. It's happened to me, it's happened to my family members, and it's happened to my friends. All based on lies. We understand if it's a simple 'no' if we ask them out and they're not interested in us. We just don't the other stuff to follow because it can ruin any sort of a potential relationship with someone who does like us for us. It can even effect us at work and out on the streets. We don't want that hassle and we shouldn't have to try and squash these lies.
There are good men out there that have had their reputation destroyed just based on a false rumor of an ex or someone they asked out. It's very damaging to us. Women have their problems, too. There are bad men out there that do, in fact, lie, take advantage of them, and then hurt them. That drives me crazy because they're typically good women and they go into hiding or they simply don't want a relationship based on that bad experience. The thing, though, that women have going for them is we live in a society that favors women much more than men. Of course, if any woman tries to stand up for what's happening to good men, they're attacked. It's not right, and I can't tell you how badly I want to get rid of the fear what rumors women would spread about me if I simply asked them out.
For most men, yes, they do move on from their bad experiences with women, and, likewise, so do women. But we still have the memories that we have play through in our heads, believing that, to one degree, we screwed up, even though, in truth, we didn't.
Right now, I may have a woman interested in me. However, I don't know with complete certainty if she actually does. I remember back to everything I said to her and, so far, I know I haven't. In her mind, though, she may think I did. Just this past weekend, I've been in contact with her about getting together with a group of people. I'm starting to ask around, but I was figuring in case if we don't get people going, I better have a backup plan. So I asked her if that scenario does happen if she would still be good with going if it were just her and I. She said yes, and I said that I wanted to make sure. Then she said she was getting different thoughts, possibly thinking I'm tricking her into a date. I had to reassure her that it's not. She acknowledged that and continued talking to each other. Truth be told, I am liking her more, even though I had no interest in the beginning when I met her months ago. But, because of that little bit I just mentioned, I don't know if I screwed up or not, fearing I could have derailed any chance at a potential relationship. For now, though, I want to stay friends.
And that's the fear we men have. We shouldn't have it, but we do. Failure is one thing, but failure due to no fault on our end is far worse. I can only imagine the men you were with and how they felt, and I'm sorry you had to experience that. But this is the reality of it. I'm glad you were able to help them out, so understand that I do think you care about someone else. It's tough for us men, but it's not difficult to cheer us up if you're a woman. Just a simple "hey you look nice" or "I appreciate you" makes our day that much better, whether it be a rough day at work or if a loved one passed away. Heck, if any of you women like us, show it. We don't want to play the guessing game. Again, with this woman I talked about, that's where I'm at (although she seems like she's giving off those signals, but could be false alarms). So I hope you at least understand from our perspective where we're at today.