I mean the term lightly. However, I’m asking if a man should see the woman that he’s with as “the most beautiful woman in the world”, or close to it. Of course beauty is subjective. However, to me, that makes the question even more simple. Because shouldn’t she be the most “subjectively beautiful” to him?

My gf has been through alot of things that,i think, ultimately made her feel sad, tired and depressed.
It’s a combination of family drama that she’s been in the middle of and the stress of alot of small things that accumulated over time. Now she’s feeling sad and I can tell that she is very depressed through the way she texts me. She doesn’t build up on what I say nor she shows genuine affection. However that’s not problem for me as I truly understand where this comes from. The thing is, when I try to talk to her about what’s specifically making her feel this way she seems to brush it off and shifts the convo. Because I do not know the genuine reason that started this wave and what I said earlier were just assumptions of mine.
My question is How would you approach this and how can I not overthink about the way she talks and help her in the best way I can as well? because all I do is I just send her reminders that I love her and always try to ask her about her day and i feel like I force a conversation.

I’ve been pining recently over a girl and the relationship that could have been. I always liked her and it all started at a party when she came up to me and started talking. We have always been friendly but this was different. Her friends told me later she liked me and that’s when I thought something would happen. But every night out after that nothing did happen. It was close and it was like we were both waiting but nothing came. Maybe I was too scared or maybe she didn’t push but when we were together nothing came. I asked her to the end of school balland we went and had a blast, but now that schools over it’s like I’m empty and waiting for what could have been. I spent so much time thinking about something that could have happened. So many mixed signals and messages and I just keep wondering what could have happened and what I could have done differently. I put her on a pedestal I can’t take her down from. By the time the ball came we both just knew that it was as friends even tho it was never said. And I accepted that even though really I wish I just did something more.

As a man myself, the Lindsay Clancy case has really highlighted how much women defend other women - sometimes to a fault (especially with this case).

I've noticed that men do NOT do that. In fact, it seems like we are always trying to one up each other.

We don't even have each other backs like women do. Why not? Can this be changed?

I always have this though that how should you decide whether to be friends with someone or not. I’ve seen friends who will invite you and motivate you to do all sort of stuff (smoking, drugs etc) trying to be the supportive and non judgmental friends.
I personally have always been the kind of person who will stop verbally or physically (with very good friends) if I believe they are doing something wrong.

Another thing is I’ve noticed that some friends can start being jealous of you. One thing happened that made me think about all this. I’m an immigrant living quite far from home. Have a few other people who live in the same building as me. There’s one guy who is from the same country. I’ve felt like his friendship is very conditional. I usually cook a lot and will invite a few people to eat. He’s also always one of them. The last time, I cooked some stuff, it was quite good. As soon as we started to eat, he said Dude, whatever you cook always tastes the same. I was very surprised by his comment as to me it felt like a silently jealous person would say. Am I just overthinking this?
Also, a lot of times he knows that I am working ( I work from home) and he’d just come around to sit and talk. Then when I ignore in a non rude way and keep working, he leaves after a while. It’s like someone not giving a fuck about your schedule.

Did you had friends like this? How was your experience with them. Curious to hear.

I spent my whole life being extremely shy and hesitant because of harsh words from my family which completely broke my confidence to the point where I feel anxious just going to a new grocery store Whenever someone disrespects me or takes my rights I stay silent and make cheap excuses to myself thinking I am being mature when deep down I know I was just scared My biggest fear in life is being helpless if my family ever needs protection and I genuinely want to change this from the core to build discipline physical strength and true mental toughness so I can finally stand up for myself and become a reliable man I can count on

I graduated college a year back and have been working full time and living alone (no family) for a while. Most of my college friends live a bit far and also work so it’s a bit hard to plan time.

I go to places for golfing and softball pitching but most ppl I see are either a bit outside my age range, families, or something else. I’m pretty introverted but it feels impossible to find other people also have nerdy interests and also aren’t kinda “weird” about it (the more extreme ends).

Any tips?

this is a genuine question, and i'm sorry if it comes off as blunt but i just need to understand. does it feel good for you to kiss this way or have you just never really thought about it? what is the appeal? i don't want to deny my kissing partners something that feels good to them, but i'm having a hard time finding the pleasure in it. please advise

Women expect certain qualifications in men - height, money, status, etc, and hence arises a situation that we know as hypergamy. But men have relatively low expectations from women. Women are not judged based on how much money they have. Perhaps beauty, but expectations are definitely higher for men. Why? Women earn as well. Height I can understand as Biological/evolutionary, but money? Money can be a standard of judgment for women to as well, can it not?

Like making coffee with hotdog water or mixing sprite with a raw egg.

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been seeing this pattern constantly and it really makes me think.
It opened my eyes for some things and I really want to talk about it.

And just to clarify: I’m going to describe this pretty technically on purpose, i want my point to be clear. This isn’t necessarily how I personally date or choose people; I’m trying to describe a pattern I’ve been observing and understand whether other people notice it too.

I don’t mean the usual “men will sleep with women they wouldn’t date” thing purely in terms of looks/sex/compatibility etc.

I mean the social side of choosing a girlfriend.

I’ve noticed men who are pretty ordinary themselves with average/middle-class jobs, not wealthy or exceptionally successful, seem to choose serious girlfriends who have a certain kind of socially desirable life around them.
By that I mean things like: she has a good social circle, travels, has friends and connections, comes from a respected or interesting background, is socially polished, has hobbies/accomplishments, is well-liked, gets validation from other people and generally looks like someone whose life is “going somewhere.”
She may not even be particularly rich or professionally successful. It’s more that she has social capital and looks good as the woman he publicly chose.

Meanwhile, another woman may be attractive enough for him to sleep with, talk to for months, have a situationship with, seek attention from etc., but he never seems to seriously consider her as his girlfriend.
It makes me wonder whether it always works like that for most men.

Like the two different thresholds:

Private attraction versus Public partner selection

Or in other words:
“Do I like her/ want sex / enjoy her company?”
And
“What does having her as my girlfriend say about me? Does she fit into the life/image I want? Does being associated with her increase my social standing or give me access to a better social world?”

Again, I don’t mean some billionaire looking for an heiress. I mean completely normal men potentially caring about the social value of the woman they publicly commit to.

Do you take into account how socially ‘well-matched’ you look with a woman when you decide whether to make her your girlfriend?
Like, not just whether you’re attracted to her privately, but whether she fits your social circle, lifestyle and public image and whether you look like a ‘good match’ to other people?

How does it feel to know she isn’t attracted to you at all and just wants your money? Does it eat away at you?

He currently already has a mini chainsaw and he's been talking about how much a really needs a regular size chainsaw for a couple years now. I'd like to just surprise him with one. I feel like he won't get around to getting one soon cause it's not completely a need right now. So I'm going to use some money I've saved up to get one for him.

I've got $300 max to work with for this. I know he likes the brand Milwaukee a lot. But I know he wants gas powered. One of the giant Blue Spruce trees in our yard is dying and he's been talking about how much it would cost to have it chopped down and that he would prefer to just do it himself if he has the right chainsaw for the job. If you have any questions for me, I'll do my best to have answers. Thanks guys!

I (m21) have chosen to remain single forever. I do not want to be in a relationship with anyone. The problem is I don't have a template for lifelong singlehood. For most of my life most of my plans and visualizations of them (that i am now getting rid off) revolved around being a man who could eventually have and sustain his own family. Now that I have done away with those I realize that the templates I had for my future are ill fitting for this new life I've chosen. So i recalibrated.

After recalibrating, all I have is, get a high income, save and invest, be generous, be industrious, be respectful and kind, have a good reputation, develop hobbies now only for the sole purpose of alleviating boredom, ensure hobbies are challenging to slow cognitive decline without being unnecessarily time consuming, travel, get a dog or two. That's it. Feels like it's missing something or a few more things but I don't know what. Could be doing fun stuff with friends but I don't have high expectations there so I conveniently left it out. I'm not sure what else I'm missing or if my list is just fine because society hardly presents a reliable script for people who live their lives unpartnered.

For those of you who also do not wish to be in relationships and are thriving, what are some tips and pointers? I'm open to advice from others who are partnered as well. Thank you.

I'm asking men who are 30 or older, both those who are in a relationship and those who are not... Because I want to figure out how men even get to be happy in a relationship.
I know what I'm about to say may sound fucked-up and immature to most of you, probably... But I hope some of you will understand what I'm talking about:

I let time pass and see if my vision of life changes, but until now my idea of life, as a man, is still the same and gets more and more clear: the peak of life is not being in a relationship, the peak is the moment when you are dating a girl/woman, when you're flirting, eventually getting laid a few times, or just once, or even none... Maybe even before that, maybe the best moment in life is when you're able to catch some women's attention, when a pretty girl FINALLY shows some kind of interest in you and starts checking you out. And of course it's more fun when you perceive the girl as at least a bit out of your league... when it happens, and if it happens, that's just so nice, as if life shouldn't go any further... The moment you're impressing one girl is just the sweet spot.

Idk, but personally I never expected a relationship to be "fun" or fulfilling in any way... How am I supposed to have fun doing stuff along with a gf? No way it is going to be more fun than doing stuff with a bunch of friends or even alone, so you can just answer for yourself... Yes, of course there's sex and cuddles, but it still gets boring not having to "fight" for that anymore... This may sound very controversial, but having sex with a person who "loves" you and gets affectionate toward you, as if they were close family, gets less sexy... I don't know if it makes any sense.

You need a woman to have kids and build a family, all right... But why should I even desire having kids? Idk, I never understood why people would want to have kids if not just out of the pure fear of loneliness... Or, in my very personal understanding: women are the ones who want kids and are actually built to give birth to them. So I would have kids because I fall in love with a woman and give her kids... But how much should I love a woman in order to take such a huge risk and responsibility?... Idk, I never felt that way, never felt such a deep love for a woman that it made me want to take action on that.

To make it even more simple: I just lose all my motivation after getting into a relationship... even if I like the woman and I consider her to be clever and we get along well... I literally don't know where to find any energy and positivity to do stuff. Since I was an early teenager, it has worked this way: I just got myself motivated to do the shit, to study, to take care of myself, to do whatever, because if not, I'm invisible to girls. It hasn't changed since then.

I feel so fucking lonely being like that: I see most men around me, if not everyone, just can't wait to get into a relationship and settle down... like they don't even make any selection, a "free" woman is a good woman and she's long-term material... HOW?

A real question

For me it has been the robot vacuum. I absolutely enjoy not having to clean up after myself. That thing is automated to clean up my messes. Other notable purchases all live on my desktop. I think these smart lights are pretty good, the automations are pretty neat. I have even gotten myself involved in signing up for robot companions on desk or are they really just desk pets? And then another monitor that moves with the help of robotic arm so that I don't haave to actually drag the screen back towards me.

Backstory, I used to lay down on floor with my laptop placed sideways on the floor. Its one of those things where I was just too tired to lean towards the desk. I've been laying weird for a while, some reels even made me believe that I have adult adhd for laying around at odd angles.Anyways, I feel this will be a good purchase idk. Still undecided. But what about you? Even limiting to 2026, what has been your best tech buy so far?