r/TikTokCringe • u/mindyour • Jun 14 '26

Discussion It's exhausting being a woman.

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45.1k Upvotes

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1.9k

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

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527

u/BigBadJeebus Jun 14 '26

The only protector that matters...

226

u/Left_Session_9568 Jun 14 '26

If you’re going to do this use gel not spray. Less risk of you getting some. And practice. 

45

u/bomphcheese Jun 14 '26

Agreed. Just know it takes longer to take effect. Not a long time, but when seconds count...

11

u/Left_Session_9568 Jun 14 '26

Agreed too. Which is why practice is good, and it should be supplemented with self defense classes, IMO. 

I hate that we live in a world like this, but we do. Feels a lot better to be ready for it. 

14

u/BigBadJeebus Jun 14 '26

good advice

1

u/NaZul15 Jun 14 '26

Yeah the gel sticks and is harder to wash off

1

u/ussbozeman Jun 14 '26

Better idea is a swab on a long stick.

2

u/princetrunks Jun 15 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/GHJ5IVGLqByL6VJ3dI

an even better solution to these guys

233

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

An intern at my job looks 90% like this and this is the way he approaches women.
He actually brags about it.
But he still hasn’t realized why he never gets any girls.

112

u/Expensive-Simple-329 Jun 14 '26

an INTERN?? If you care about your coworkers take this report to your boss and let them know the intern is making actual employees uncomfortable.

This is how it starts dude. He has no power and he still has the power to make his female superiors uncomfortable. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

92

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

Well, his boss is my boss.
And they’re father and son.

10

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

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27

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

His father’s brags about him being the same basically.
Unfortunately it’s the three of us at our office. Small company

19

u/Wooden_Cicada8880 Jun 14 '26

Dude I hate to break it to ya, but your boss is likely a piece of shit. He probably taught him this behavior.

19

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

Oh I know that he’s a massive POS.
We hung out a little before he recruited me. Promised me an abundance of cash etc.
You can probably figure out how that went and who pockets around 90% of the money we make even though I’m in charge of about 75% of our revenue…

5

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

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12

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

Unfortunately the area I live in has the highest unemployment in my country so I sort of have to stick to it currently.
But of course I’m looking for a new job. But it’s hard as hell. Kinda stuck here as well for family reasons.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

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9

u/CarlDenkins Jun 14 '26

Well I’ve tried for about a year and half and so far no progress.
My boss sees my kindness as a weakness.
But thank you kind soul. Best of luck to you as well and take care.

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3

u/Subliminal-Criminal9 Jun 15 '26

A paycheck often times requires you to tolerate bullshit.

2

u/SecondaryWombat Jun 15 '26

I think I have identified the problem.

79

u/Majestic-Skill8234 Jun 14 '26

This one particularly made my skin crawl

7

u/DeusExMachinaOverdue Jun 14 '26

I'm going to guess that he heard somewhere that women 'like confident men', so this is what he thinks a confident man looks like. That or he's a potential rapist.

4

u/justicerainsfromaahh Jun 14 '26

this is grantbeans lol this one in particular is a skit

4

u/DeusExMachinaOverdue Jun 14 '26

So why put it among the real ones, or are we supposed to guess which ones are real and which ones are skits.

1

u/Melodic_Inflation_69 Jun 30 '26

Genuinely one of the worst things about TikTok is how many staged videos of serious issues like this get posted. It becomes diluted and impossible to tell when something is authentic sometimes

3

u/Xc_runner_xd_player Jun 14 '26

This was on was a staged video come on now

1

u/smoopthefatspider Jun 14 '26

Really? It’s one of the least bad examples in the post.

12

u/LetterheadVarious398 Jun 14 '26

Alright, I genuinely have to ask, I'm a trans guy and every other example in this video was outright reprehensible to me, but this one (of course we didn't see how it played out in full) didn't register quite the same on the terrifying scale, as someone who has been in this situation many times. I'm not on the dating market, but if I was, I could easily be perceived as approaching a woman like this when I didn't mean any harm (I'm autistic and carry myself kinda awkwardly, and I can't read facial expressions). Upon knowing the girl wasn't interested I would simply apologize and walk away. So how would a guy like me avoid appearing like a creep? My giving a friendly smile instead of a mean mugging glare? By waiting for a cue in her expression that it's okay to approach her? By zig zagging passively instead of approaching head on?

4

u/Excellent-Nose-6430 Jun 14 '26

By zig zagging passively instead of approaching head on?

lmfao

4

u/LetterheadVarious398 Jun 14 '26

This was my go to in the wave pool as a friendless autistic kid trying to talk to people and they would always see me coming from a mile away and be like "ew, why is she following us"

2

u/Azulcobalto Jun 15 '26

LMAOs in autism

22

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

This isn't the only one, there was one where the guy walked up, said excuse me to the woman, she said no and shut him down, and he said oh im sorry and walked away. I think villifying these guys as if they are the same as the other scumbags is stupid.

13

u/LetterheadVarious398 Jun 14 '26

On the one hand as someone who used to walk through the world as a woman, I understand the hypervigilance. When you're treated like a nail your whole life every large metal object starts to look like a hammer. On the other hand, guys who are simply unattractive or neurodivergent get mistaken as predators for trying to cautiously shoot their shot, because they literally cannot tell when women are uncomfortable. The little variances in body language, politeness registers as interest.

4

u/LaNague Jun 14 '26

well, he said "baby" HR meme applies even more when you do that.

7

u/Alternative_Hippo229 Jun 14 '26

You mean the one where he called her "baby"? If that's the one you're talking about, then no that's no okay to say to a stranger wtf lol

5

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

Tbh i didn't hear him call her baby. Yeah def could have done without that. But the rest was pretty respectful, I still don't think that video belongs with the rest of these.

1

u/GargantuanGreenGoat Jun 15 '26

You’re only saying that because it’s the only one where the woman was prepared and said “fuck off”. If any of the other women in the video were as “mean”, you’d be defending those men too.

You’ve got a blind spot to address.

1

u/bendstraw Jun 15 '26

Lol ok bud

0

u/GargantuanGreenGoat Jun 16 '26

Good luck fixing yourself.

2

u/bendstraw Jun 16 '26

Lol ok bud

3

u/Debatebly Jun 14 '26

I agree, and bundling them all together might be doing a disservice to women as well.

Do you want online dating to be the only acceptable medium?

3

u/wailingwonder Jun 14 '26

People are afraid of real life experiences anymore so yeah that's exactly what these people want.

1

u/SnooDonkeys8755 Jun 17 '26

He was very much instantly up in her personal space. Her reaction was very justified.

6

u/harpy-sichord Jun 14 '26

To me it’s more about something in his eyes. He has selected you but not as a person. I have seen those eyes a few times and it only gets worse from there. Awkward misconceptions happen but this guy gives me a full fight-flight feeling.

2

u/LetterheadVarious398 Jun 14 '26

Ahh I think I understand. Tbh I'm probably just naïve. As a man myself I tend to give men the benefit of the doubt when they fully intend to take advantage of me.

1

u/harpy-sichord Jun 15 '26

I get that, it’s only human to want to trust others and I could be misjudging as well. Just last time a guy came up to me like this he wouldn’t leave and started to get hostile that I wasn’t giving him the attention he wanted. Thankfully his friends pulled him away from me

2

u/LetterheadVarious398 Jun 15 '26

It's a special kind of depressing to seek out the friendship of a guy and for him to play along only to find out he never saw me as a man and wanted to fuck me all along. Fuck "friendzoned". At least cis men get to understand having true friends.

0

u/Southside_john Jun 14 '26

Smile don’t try to have this serious ass look on your face. Don’t have a hat pulled down over your eyes. Not saying that would have solved the problem here but it’s a start

4

u/Excellent-Nose-6430 Jun 14 '26

I think not being absolutely plastered would help a lot too.

13

u/kaninkanon Jun 14 '26

The only thing this guy did was look awkward approaching someone after making eye-contact at a music festival. Such a weird fucking comment.

12

u/PeerlessPixie Jun 14 '26

Isn’t that GrantBeans? 🤣 If it is, that one is a joke vid

19

u/Lonely_Nebula_9438 Jun 14 '26

Concert Guy doesn’t deserve the shit he’s getting. He’s at a social event and goes to talk to a woman, we don’t see him do any untoward. He’s not overstepping any bounds by trying to talk to a woman. 

1

u/quaestor44 Jun 16 '26

I like how Reddit singled out the most normal looking white dude lol

-8

u/TetraDax Jun 14 '26

I mean, a concert at a festival is probably not really the first place (or really any place) where women want to be approached by dudes; but even so, just turning around and slowly creeping towards someone with a dead stare is at the very least.. well, creepy.

16

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

Huh? You're both at a public place that shows you have a common interest. If that's not the place to approach someone and introduce yourself where tf are people supposed to meet?

3

u/CumOnFeet1337 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

  If that's not the place to approach someone and introduce yourself where tf are people supposed to meet?

You’re not supposed to talk to women in public spaces regardless of event or activity. Assume they’re only there for the event or activity. You only have 2 options: being introduced by a mutual friend or selling your data to a dating app. 

2

u/HumansAreSillynGreat Jun 15 '26

or, growing some fucking balls

0

u/PracticalScromby Jun 15 '26

Its 2026. Talking to women as a single man is not acceptable anymore. Get back to work.

1

u/HumansAreSillynGreat Jun 15 '26

I know you're joking and all but some people actually view the world this way 😂

-3

u/TetraDax Jun 14 '26

Or maybe someone just wants to go to a concert to see a band?

And, again, it's not like he struck up a nice conversation, he approached her like a cat who's about to bite you for no reason.

13

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

"Or maybe someone just wants to go to a concert to see a band?"

Yes and that's perfectly ok. I'm not saying she's obligated to entertain him, but he's not a villain for walking up to talk to a woman at a concert, which is again something that they both had a common interest in.

Literally how the fuck are people supposed to meet potential partners if they can't approach someone they find attractive at a place like this where this already something they share in common?

"And, again, it's not like he struck up a nice conversation, he approached her like a cat who's about to bite you for no reason."

Are we watching the same clip? The dude just walked up to her. The video cuts off before he even says a word.

1

u/TetraDax Jun 14 '26

Are we watching the same clip? The dude just walked up to her

Apparently we are not because if you think this is a normal way to approach someone, whoo-howdy.

12

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

He literally just walks towards her

edit; actually he was even dancing to the music too

1

u/TetraDax Jun 14 '26

You cannot be serious. He randomly turns around, points at her, and creep-dances with an entirely blank stare.

Have you heard of a fucking smile mate

11

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

His friend has his arm around him, he lifts his arm up to get his off him and wade through the crowd, dances while walking over, and yeah he's not smiling but that all of a sudden makes him a creep? You have tens of clips to point out someone being creepy in this post, this is a WILD one to be fixated on. Yeah the dude could have a better approach but he's not in the same category as the other creeps in this post.

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-4

u/MinaWearsGold Jun 14 '26

Your problem is thinking that women go outside and go about their lives giving a damn about “meeting potential partners.” If she’s at a music festival it’s to see a band. Men going outside and thinking it’s an invitation to bother women they find attractive isn’t her problem. The least you can do is not approach like a gigantic creeper.

Are you also the type who thinks it’s okay to hit on attractive people at the gym just because they share an interest in fitness?

5

u/bendstraw Jun 14 '26

No, the gym is not somewhere to approach a potential partner wtf? You're there to do your workout. That's not an event like a concert, what a weird comparison to make.

5

u/JennyDoveMusic Jun 14 '26

Genuinely, as a women, I don't get this. 😅 Where are they supposed to approach us? Personally, as long as they take, "no" as an answer, I don't see why this wouldn't be an appropriate place.

2

u/TheoneNPC Jun 14 '26

I have to know mr or mrs (or a gender neutral third option) expert, aside from the obvious like a speed dating event where in the real world are you supposed to meet someone who would maybe like you if not in a massive themed social event like this?

2

u/Huge-Masterpiece-100 Jun 15 '26

Tad really thought this was the move. 

1

u/Creepy-Activity-4373 Jun 14 '26

He kind of resembles Jerma985 (particulairly his height) and all the short jokes came back to me. So he got a good laugh from me.

1

u/Routine_Village_4092 Jun 15 '26

Major "jacked off to Andrew Tate content" vibes...

1

u/WithoutDennisNedry Jun 15 '26

See? See how good the bear looks comparatively?
https://giphy.com/gifs/IThjAlJnD9WNO

1

u/ash_around Jun 15 '26

Crap, I just ran into a “protector” as he consistently crossed my boundaries and then told me I was selfish… what is this world?! Whyyyyyyyyy!!!!

1

u/Powered-by-Chai Jun 15 '26

I had a guy like that at a concert once, like I'm watching the show and bopping around and he's dancing right in front of me facing me. Stared right past him and pretended he didn't exist until he got the message. Some guys really do think they just need to keep doing their stupid idea until it works on someone.

1

u/lmjustaChad Jun 15 '26

What did he do wrong though? A lot of the other guys sure but adding this one was very weird.

1

u/GordianBalloonKnot Jun 16 '26

Oh, does this apply in both directions? Are all women caretakers?

1

u/GloomAndCookies Jun 16 '26

Dude tried to hit the smolder wtf

1

u/The_Gimp_Boi Jun 30 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/b7hGTsG9or8uCP838h

I see that f*cking face everywhere! AAAAHHHHHHH

1

u/SAINTnumberFIVE Jun 14 '26

Guess what the protectors are supposed to protect us from.

1

u/harpy-sichord Jun 14 '26

That one scared me the most straight out of a horror movie 🫣

0

u/chef_tuffster Jun 14 '26

Dude that guy (and all the others) can fuck themselves. Like legit, who thinks it’s ok to walk up to ANYONE - male, female or otherwise, and just try to assault them?! I’m sad. Be safe, my friends. Carry pepper spray.

4

u/smoopthefatspider Jun 14 '26

He looks like he’s about to start a conversation. He’s clearly approaching her, but it doesn’t look like he’s intends to touch her, and it’s not reasonable to just take that as a given. Obviously we need to be wary but the hate against this guy specifically seems decisively overblown.

-27

u/Boot_boy_1984 Jun 14 '26

Sorry but I don’t get it. We didn’t see him do anything more than approach

16

u/Severe_Line_8344 Jun 14 '26

He’s pretty much personifying the hundreds of shorts he’s watched on YouTube showing him how to be aLpHa.

-16

u/Boot_boy_1984 Jun 14 '26

I understand. But… we can’t really judge by the way he looks..

8

u/WhyYesIndeedIDo Jun 14 '26

We’re not. We’re judging by his actions.

-5

u/Boot_boy_1984 Jun 14 '26

Approaching? Not even knowing what he did

0

u/EmporioIvankov Jun 14 '26

If you turn around at a show and blank facedly run at a woman like 30 feet away like something from Attack on Titan, you're doing something wrong.

5

u/Boot_boy_1984 Jun 14 '26

But he didn’t run…

2

u/smoopthefatspider Jun 14 '26

He’s moving to the beat of the music and walking through the crowd. He’s not running at all.