ADVERTISEMENT

Being humble enough to accept when you’ve been wrong, and being curious enough to keep learning new things (even when your ego wants to get in the way) are two very good qualities to have as a human being.

It’s important to know the basics of life on Earth. Sadly, one area of knowledge that seems to be very much neglected is what some men know about women’s bodies and reproduction. In some cases, the misinformation they take as fact is simply staggering. You've been warned.

Sabrina Fonfeder, a development executive, noted that men should not make any decisions about women’s bodies, and gave an example of how little about biology some men know. One of her exes, for example, thought that all women got their period on the 15th of the month. The tweet quickly went viral and other women pitched in with similar horror stories.

Sabrina, who created the viral thread, was kind enough to answer Bored Panda's questions. She believes that men having major misconceptions about women is a problem with education.

"We're not taught anything about women because we're supposed to be these beautiful specimens. Get rid of your body hair, periods are gross, and don't get me started on pregnancy and labor and all the things women aren't taught their own bodies until they've given birth," she told Bored Panda. "There is so much shame about just existing as a woman that we don't ever talk about anything that makes us look like less than a supermodel."

Image credits: Sabrinafon

#1

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

probsabot2 Report

Add photo comments
POST
-
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Horrible man - and some government reps agreed with him. Basically, the bill defined a fertilized egg as an “unborn child” - so a blastocyst has more rights than the woman carrying it. The bill also included life imprisonment and the death penalty for abortions.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

In Sabrina's opinion, changing the education system in a meaningful way can definitely be done. "More women in charge would be a good start. But also it's not that hard to look at what other countries do and just do that. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here," she said that there are already great examples out there. All it takes is the courage to follow in their footsteps.

Bored Panda also wanted to get Sabrina's opinion on what grown men can do to educate themselves about basic biology. In her opinion, there's no excuse for ignorance, considering the wealth of information at everyone's fingertips.

You May Also Like:

"Men can simply... read? There has never been more access to information on any topic, so I'd tell any man to do some googling and they'll get what they're looking for. Otherwise, ask a woman in your life questions and come from a place of humility," she said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"If you scroll through the replies of my Tweet, many women talk about their male partners being adamant even when they are wrong about basic biology, and then yelling when they're told they're wrong. That's extremely annoying. I don't think they'll face any sort of shame if they ask questions from a place of genuine curiosity and a willingness to learn."

The situation when it comes to knowledge about reproduction is pretty sad in some parts of the United States. According to SIECUS, only 29 states and the District of Columbia actually mandate sex education. Meanwhile, 35 states require schools to focus on abstinence when talking about sex ed.

Shockingly, a whopping 15 states “do not require sex education or HIV/STI instruction to be any of the following: age-appropriate, medically accurate, culturally responsive, or evidence-based/evidence-informed.” What this means is that in some areas of the country, students might be misinformed at the school level.

#4

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

KellyAnneRodak Report

Add photo comments
POST
NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ooh, so this is the corresponding argument that a C-section means you aren't a real mum. So C-sections result in entirely fictional people! I'm sitting on my hands reading these so I don't facepalm myself into a coma.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

SaraBlacklock Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look at all us men queuing up for prostate exams, because of course it is so pleasurable.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

This isn’t the first time that Bored Panda has written about the misconceptions that men have about women. Earlier, 21-year-old Cataleya Jackson went viral after tackling the topic. She gave us an in-depth look at the reasons behind all the wrong info, cultural stigmas, and sex ed.

"One of my friends had a hilarious misconception about periods and my friends and I had laughed about it. They thought that periods just never end, that we'd be 99 on our death beds and still bleeding out,” she told Bored Panda about the extent to which some people are misinformed.

#7

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

excuseme_misss Report

Add photo comments
POST
Trillian
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

D***s are related to pregnancy too so no alcohol for you guys

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

"In my country, we do have sex education at ages 13, 15 and again at 17 (if they've opted to study biology in 11th and 12th grade otherwise it's just at the former 2 ages). It's very scientific and doesn't leave space for questions about things that actually matter, things that happen in real-life,” she said that the education part is pretty sterile and removed from reality.

ADVERTISEMENT
#11

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

KRoftheAR Report

Add photo comments
POST
Lovencaress
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My ex boyfriend asked did I need winter or summer pads because it was in the spring time he thought bigger pads were for winter and smaller size for summer like the bigger they we're they kept you warm

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

“Most people don't even learn, they just memorize it to be able to reproduce it during the exams, and then they forget all of it. We need better education, and it has to be more informative and relatable than scientific," Cataleya said.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to the woman, there’s a lot of stigma surrounding sex ed. And it needs to be erased. She shared an example of what happened when she was in the 6th grade.

"They called away all the girls from classes, brought us to an auditorium to discuss periods and what they are, why they happen, what we should do, etc. They gave us packets of pads and told us to keep them in our lockers for emergencies. Their heart was in the right place, but by only asking the girls to attend this, they ensured that periods became some sort of mythical and curious event in the minds of all the boys," she said.

#17

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

theyondan Report

Add photo comments
POST
adiiantryx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

periods came before calendars would be a small hint to some on this list

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

"[The boys] were not educated, they remained ignorant to what should be essential information to them. And of course, we all scrambled to hide our pads because we all thought we would rather be caught dead than holding a packet of them. They teased us about it and we, being only 11, had nothing to say to defend ourselves because the stigma around periods is very strong in my country."

ADVERTISEMENT

In some cases, the stigma is so deeply-entrenched, that it would take more than a bit of education to change things. "I have friends whose own parents make them sit on mats on the floor when they are on their periods because they are considered impure and should not touch anything in the house," Cataleya told us.

#22

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

MzStrega Report

Add photo comments
POST
GFSTaylor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was aged about 13 or 14 when our general science teacher (not one of the biology teachers) told the mixed class that the pill was something that needed to be taken every day. "If a boy offers you a single pill and tells you that's all you need to be safe, then he's lying." I can't remember how the topic came up (this was back in the early 80's), but it was sound advice.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

Lolibangbang Report

Add photo comments
POST
Poultry Geist
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We like to drag it out so we can be a bit€h longer ! I use to push it all out at once but not anymore sometimes I make it last up to 10 day just so I can be mean for a 3rd of the month ! Good times

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

"Some women aren't allowed to enter the kitchen or the prayer room, they're not allowed to leave the house. A majority of women in my country have no access to pads or tampons and use cloth which causes infection and prevents them from being able to earn a living. I could go on and on about how bad it is here for a lot of women," she said.

#25

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

audreygriswold Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Marjorie, you can have a break from the housework between 2pm and 3pm, if you could just schedule to have your period then please.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Even though most people hate feeling embarrassed, there’s no shame in admitting that you were wrong about something. "There's no shame in it if you're 30 and have misconceptions about periods. It is sad that you may not have educated yourself about it, but there's absolutely no shame in asking women to educate them or to start reading online themselves. Sex Ed is so important," Cataleya told us.

ADVERTISEMENT
#29

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

sims_simiyu Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sue
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a lot of Cuban friends who weren't allowed to use tampons because their parents thought it meant they wouldn't be virgins any more.

Mrs. Jan Glass
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These stupid, stupid men. If they paid even the slightest attention to anything, we wouldn't be having these conversations.

Brian Droste
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So a 52 yr man dating or having sex with a 16 yr girl? Wouldn't there be legal action taken against the 52 yr old man?

Mary Leverett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother tried to dissuade both myself & my daughter (when we each went through menarche) that using tampons would make us "not virgins" 🙄

Curry on...
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm thinking these guys just totally glossed over sex education in school.

Jill Hojnacki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hell of a way to announce that your wife wasn’t a virgin. It’s no one else’s business, dude!

Jill Bussey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are so many ways the hymen can be broken, OTHER than by having s*x.

BamesJond
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

New perspective on teen girls getting a nose bleed though…

Susie Kamper
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pescribed a pessary? You also have to prescribe condoms? This might be the worst thing I’ve read in a long time.

Nadja Lambacher
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It can happen that a hymen is completely closed, but that would lead to the menstuation being trapped inside the body so it will be opened by a doctor.

Load More Replies...
View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

TitanicMafia05 Report

Add photo comments
POST
NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've known women who also make that mistake regarding pad placement (so the husband wouldn't exactly be wrong!). Sex education is lacking for *both* sexes in some places.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#38

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

CocoMentos Report

Add photo comments
POST
Anna
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I didn't know you needed it. I just thought you like to store useless stuff in your vagina for no reason."

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
ADVERTISEMENT
#44

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

umgeek Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So now we know how vegetarians are created we can work together to stop it!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#46

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

parochialpariah Report

Add photo comments
POST
ScrupulousScribbler
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't agree with the third sentence, but I can understand where the miscommunication about the second sentence came from. I'm a girl, yet I was never told by my parents, family, or even my health teacher when I asked her about what times of the month can a woman not get pregnant. It's not really excusable, but it's slightly understandable, seeing as no one explained it to me despite me asking them.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#47

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

catalyst_bull Report

Add photo comments
POST
Pumpkin Spice
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can see his train of thought, though. Some children do go through prodigious puberty, and my guess is that he's clinging on to any last hope that your kid's okay.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

cassieswriting Report

Add photo comments
POST
Jihana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, I had to read that a couple of times to make sure I was not hallucinating things.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#55

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

addienotadeline Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ansi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet he also thought the morning after pill was the same as an abortion.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#59

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

jazzikiki Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So we should encourage women to be pregnant for an extra month so we can bring along the next level of human evolution?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#65

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

eg_linda Report

Add photo comments
POST
DuchessDegu
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's even worse when they're so confident about bullcrap!

View more commentsArrow down menu
#67

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

zanyusername Report

Add photo comments
POST
Raven DeathShade
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For anyone who may be confused as to how that works, you have to take it every day at the exact same time, or its effectiveness will be greatly reduced or completely removed. Doesn't matter if you're doing the deed or not.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#68

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

AudraBrock Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We should have something like this for men, make us men responsible for contraception.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#69

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

CPRAlisonalison Report

Add photo comments
POST
Jul Chv
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The cows can drown by filling with water from the but+hole, that´s right cows can drown from their a**. And girls and cows are quite the same, are´nt they?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#70

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

QuatrainGleam Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How on Earth are the two supposed to be connected? I would like to know the "thinking" behind this.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#71

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

LydMcdermott Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sina
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is possible to have periods throughout the pregnancy - however not get pregnant skip a month and then have normal periods like the guy believed O_O - I had an aunt who didn't even realize she was pregnant with her 9th kid (back in the day, no TV, greek village) until she went into labor. She was obese so she didn't have a visible baby bump, and had periods throughout the pregnancy, maybe not completely regular because she was over 40 by that point, so she took it as it being signs of menopause. When she went into labor, her hubby rushed her to the hospital because of the pain she was experiencing, and it was the doctor at the ER that told them that the woman is in labor. When later we asked her like, how did you miss being pregnant, didn't you even feel the baby all these months? She told us that every time the baby was kicking or whatnot, she thought that she had indigestion, or something she ate messed up her tummy.

#72

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

mrios78 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Laura Edwards
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's pretty common. The other one is hymen. Hymen don't just magically disappear because you had sex. Your grandma who had 9 children still has her hymen.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#73

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

AnnGwish Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ansi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oooh, this could be a whole episode on CSI. Finding period blood on the crime scene but not knowing who it belongs to... Then the theif gets away because she stops having her period so they can't prove it's her. Yeah, I would watch that.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#75

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

Jditzle8 Report

Add photo comments
POST
NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You *can* take an extremely wonky train of thought where he could be right. If you did exercise (not just push ups) and diet which results in weight loss, your boobs may shrink along with the rest of you. Not to a more manageable size (because I have no idea what is meant by that!), but by around half a cup - plus any band size reduction. Unfortunately you cannot specify where weight loss happens on your body (wouldn't that be amazing! Shrink the thighs instead of making my face look even more gaunt!).

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#79

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

rking7066 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Izzy Curer
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well... But wait a minute. There ARE signs that it's coming. I usually know the day before because of specific things my body does. And I can usually tell the week before that it's on it's way. I'm not at all regular, so I've always just had to be aware of my body to know where I am in my cycle. Not just for my period, either, but what's going on with me for the whole month.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#80

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

Sabrinafon Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did he think the pill built a temporary wall? A dam inside of a beaver if you will?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#83

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

trendymini Report

Add photo comments
POST
DuchessDegu
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should kick him in the nuts every month and say the same if he complains

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#86

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

SamanthaDarby Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ansi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I must admit it would be interesting if it was like a fountain down there. He was kind of brave/cool for daring to ask. 👍 (asking is definitly better then the men above telling you)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#87

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

svershbow Report

Add photo comments
POST
M O'Connell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can see how the general shape might give him that impression.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#88

Men-Clueless-About-Women-Bodies-Twitter-Thread

jupitergrades Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nathaniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Side note. In my area, after having a dodgy meal and suffering the results, it is known as "p!ssing through your @rse".

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu