That'll teach him

Only one? Giving birth? The monthly curse? A uterine biopsy? High heels? Male attitudes toward women? I could go on for a long, long time...

Only YOU could bring me here again........... To answer your question though, I'd have to say the furrows in a woman's shoulders caused by bra straps. Don't laugh. They are horrible. Totally ruin one for wearing boat neck tops, or off the shoulder gowns of any type. Not to mention the WEIGHT being carried that causes them. Can we say severe back pain from puberty on..........?

The obvious ones are giving birth and menstruation. I think men could learn a thing or two about pain and discomfort from experiencing those. Then, for many women, there is the issue of trying to lose the "baby fat" for years after giving birth. Also, the fact that it's impossible for a woman to pick up some clothes which are one size and know that they will fit! Then, along with all the childbirth and whatnot, there comes the raising of the children. I know a couple of "full time dads" nowadays but, other than them, I don't think many men realise the kind of strength it takes to raise kids successfully. I think that's all for now. I need to drag my boys out of bed and get them to school before I go to work. ;)

Bleeding every month...

The strenght to go on despite of every thing!

If men could have children, they would better understand what pain and discomfort really is!

Certainly there is. Forget childbirth and all that, I think you should spend a week living with our husbands and partners!

Hi Pikey, nice to hear from you, as one lapsed myLotter to another! I thought I would come out of my lapse to reply to you. :) I know a lot of people will say childbirth and all the pain and inconvenience that comes with periods. And I would certainly agree with the periods bit. Just the fact that there is so much to think of, while trying to carry on life as if nothing is happening! And that includes the hormonal craziness and mood swings that most men probably have no idea about. Childbirth I think would actually be a privilege for men to go through. I kind of feel sorry for them sometimes not being able to experience this really amazing thing. I think that one is worth the pain. But periods are not!

I thought Christmas had come early, a P1kefish discussion, something I can actually address. So, all the above things would be good, but I wonder how most of us men would enjoy having to run the gauntlet of a bar full of drunken yobs while dressed up and painted as a woman, in high heels and with an apparently good pair of boobies. There was an interesting book out a few years back, Merlin Stone "When God Was A Woman" (also published as "The Paradise Papers"). It goes into the historical, artistic, and archaeological evidence for the golden age of matriarchy in pre-Christian times. You'd find it fascinating, I suspect. Lash

Hi P1key! Many (but not all) men would benefit from swapping places with their wives when the lights go out. Maybe there would be less rolling over and sleeping before the party begins? Just a thought...

Crikey P1key! It is great to see you showing up in my inbox once more my friend! Good to see that you are improving your feminine side by changing your mind! I think that the world would benefit greatly from most countries being a matriarchal society. There would be less war, more compassion and understanding for those who are different and more care for the environment I feel. As for something specific that we men could benefit from. Hmm, well if we were to give birth to our children, then it might allow some men to have more love for their children and to take more active roles in the raising of them. There would be no doubt in the minds of the fathers that the children are their own as well.

"Flooding" in public would be a good one.

And without hesitation, I rushed to come to your discussion and respond. lol My thoughts are to simply be human and not allow himself to behave as his environment thinks he should and or be influenced by the so call male "supposed" roles. Times are different these day and personally I feel that both genders can benefit from having an open mind and not labeling. Let's face it there are just as much as powerful women as there are women. Let's just bypass the gender and consider their experience and or skills. Thinking about one feminine trait a male can experience at least once; hmm aside from the above response about child-birth, menstrual cycle how about wearing a pair of heels for a day while addressing their country, and still come home to cook a meal, that would get them to understand a bit.

I think that the childbirth itself is not such a big deal. But what comes after that - if the mother takes all the burden to take care of her child or children! Many times she has a full time job, she makes the shopping and the cooking etc. I'd like to see a man been a mum for some time.

periods... and/or child birth... granted, I have not had the latter, but I hated every day of the former... there are enough cross dressers in the world to not say high heels or other torturous women's clothing, but those two...

I agree that menstruation is a big one. It starts in childhood and lasts for about 40 years. That is one thing all women suffer from and they call it the curse for good reason. Most female suffering is inflicted by society. Some are worse than others and some have improved the lot of women a little but it is only a few years ago that women suffered greatly. It is only in my lifetime that it has become illegal to beat your wife and children and I mean abuse, not a smack. That alone is a major problem for women. I know there are some men who get beaten by their wives and they keep quiet because they fear victimisation by other males. Woudl a matriachal society be better than the patriarchal society we have? While some women can be as nasty as some men I think it would generally be a nicer system in that it would be more concerned with the welfare of the people than the patriachal societies that seem obsessed with war and aquisition of wealth. Maybe it would be harder for the extremists to gain control because women are often more inclined to discuss things in groups than consolidate power into one person. Would the world be better off if the focus was on caring for the people and being sustainable than the way it is now? Definitely. The thing about women changing their mind is that there was no shame if they did. Some men seem to regard changing their mind as a sign of weakness, no idea why. Personally I think there must be a better system that what we currently have.

hi pikey oh yes just let our husbands go through nine monthos of pregancy, not seeing their shoes, not being able to sit through a movie without having to dash to the bathroom umpteen times. also menstruation., let him have the cramps and the weird temper tantrums we sometimes get. those are the things we often wish our men understood more thoroughly. lol lol I can well imagine if men had to have babies we would have a lot fewer babies. lol lol

Hey p1key! Great to see you again! I think that I will go with the obvious~having children, menstruation, hormonal issues, wearing high heels, uncomfortable clothes to look fashionable, having to put on makeup (again fashionable). And of course, still not being totally treated as equals in most business situations. I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but think I've covered the important stuff!

Oh god, there is so much they will never understand or be able to go through. Let's start off our monthly cycles, pms, cramping. Then we have, 9 months of pregnancy, labor, giving birth to a child and most importantly motherhood. So yes I will be the first to say "If he had to go through what we go through". Actually my hubby the other day, told me "I am so glad I am not a woman and I have to go through what you do every month, because if I did it would less painful to just shot myself and get it over with". I started to laugh and in my mind I was agreeing with him.

I really think that your idea is slowly happening already. Women have been found to be more hard working and honest. They are more dependable, and in fact, more disciplined. Somewhere along the line, this is exactly what men should think about.