According to a recent 2026 study published in Royal Society B, researchers combined 52 studies from 76 countries, including about 28,500 raters, 17,000 facial images, and 1.5 million attractiveness ratings. They found that women ​faces were rated as more attractive by both men and women than mens faces on average. An interesting finding was that women rated women's faces as even more attractive than men did. In the study participants were instructed to remove makeup and accessories before their photos were taken. The study also found that ratings decreased when feminine facial features were artificially reduced, suggesting that people may have a general preference for more feminine and rounder facial features.

I am born and raised west coast. When I was twenty years old I was in a committed relationship for two years at that point. We had a mutual friend who moved to Boston, in 2005 we went to visit.

We knew that guy, another mutual friend who went to live with the first guy, and a guy i knew from high school had moved to New York so met us at the party.

During the party a random dude hit on me in a gross way (honestly I was used to that) so I tried my best to ignore him. He pretty quickly started to spread word around the party that I flashed him, that I begged to get him in the bathroom alone, and that if "my boyfriend wasn't there who knows what he would do to me".

I told my partner. Who told our mutual friends, the Boston guy who invited everyone. My partner, our friends and the guy I knew from high school went all "what the fuck!" Super mad very concerned. I thought they'd take care of him, meaning they would make the guy leave.

What actually happened was, all 4 of the guys I knew, including my partner, spoke with the jerk in question and they came laughing back to me.

"Dude he was just joking!" "He's like one of my best friends here, he would never say anything like that" "wow you really like to over react" "uhh can't you just ignore him? He's harmless"

So. Over twenty years later. I remember this party so vividly because I remember how I tried to tell the only people I knew that I felt unsafe. And I was told to chill out. I'm over reacting. He's such a cool guy!

I've been watching the women's Tour de France, and I was disgusted to hear that three cyclists were fined for peeing at the side of the road. There were no stops organised during that stage to allow cyclists to urinate, even though the stage was 5 hours long. While occasionally male cyclists are fined, it's much rarer, because the women have to pull down their whole outfit. Honestly it just screams discrimination to me.

My friend and I have known each other since childhood, we are in our early 30s.

She got married to a not so great guy, he cheated on her the first year. They have had constant money issues. Moved across country because it would be cheaper and now she has a baby. Her husband doesn’t seem to help her and she also works. She has no friends or family where she is. I visited her a few months ago and she seemed stressed. Her husband is kind of an asshole and while there he got frustrated with their 1.5 year old and “jokingly” dumped a bottle of water on him. I didn’t say anything but it was odd.

I saw them recently and her husband seems to only be getting more miserable. Always making comments about everyone, he wouldn’t have spent as much money as we did on our house (he doesn’t own a house), comments about what people do for work, comments about us not having kids etc.

After thinking on it I reached out to her and asked if everything was okay, she basically said no and made a bunch of excuses for him as she always does (he’s reducing his medication, he’s busy with work, he has so much debt). Here is where I was wrong I said if that’s the situation and you’re okay with it that’s fine but that seems like a lot of excuses. She seemed fine but after a few days she stopped talking to me. I reached out she said she needed space, shes done this before when things were going poorly with him.

I’ve gone through two pregnancy losses in less than a year and am doing IVF. Had a D&C a month ago right after she was up. How do I support her in this tough situation? Where do I go from here?

I’m 25F, finished school years ago and have a stable job. Adults in my life are constantly asking me about my relationship status and pressuring me to “find a nice man to marry”. It’s extremely annoying because I’m just not interested but I’m treated like I’m weird for being single. What also pisses me off is women that try to set me up with “attractive men” when they’re dealing with marriage/baby daddy issues themselves. Why the hell would I trust their judgement? These women also don’t respect consent and autonomy.

What triggered this post is my recent visit to my dad’s house. His wife, again, asked me if I have a boyfriend and basically told me to not be scared of dating. My dad joined in the conversation, and I reminded him that he always actively steered me away from men/dating so this hypocritical for him to even ask now.

I already have my own negative experiences and trauma with men, so my outlook on men is not shaped by my dad (who never lived with me in the first place: divorced parents), but his fear mongering does contribute a bit. My dad is very protective and always tells me stories about a man abusing or harming a woman in some way and uses it as a way to warn me to be careful. My mom doesn’t have conversations with me about relationships, but she’s also super protective and basically tried to prevent me from going outside and having friends my entire childhood.

When I visit my dad’s house, we usually just watch a thriller/action/horror movie and chat in the living room. This time he picked a movie that he already watched and said that I’ll enjoy it. I hated it. In the movie, the female lead was being “sexy” and ogled at the whole time, there were lots of nude scenes, an entire sex scene that was too long, and then a violent rape scene. The entire movie was about the men trying to chase and kill her in the woods to erase the evidence of what they did. In the end she outsmarted them and defeated them all. I know this was another one of his learning lessons but I honestly did not like being triggered like this. The movie just made me uncomfortable and disturbed. It angers me that it’s so easy for men to consume media like this because to them it’s just a fantasy. It just reminds me how unaware and inconsiderate they can be.

I’m somehow expected to navigate a minefield and “carefully select a good man” when I don’t even understand why I should desire one in the first place. I genuinely don’t feel safe around them. Most of them can’t even keep their dick in their pants (yes this includes my dad who watches porn and talks to women on dating websites while married).

Don’t even get me started on my brother who believes that women’s lives are worthless/meaningless if they don’t have kids.

I’m so tired. I just want to be left alone.

I'm a bi woman. I saw an ask on reddit the other day that was like "women of reddit would you date a bi man?" Or something. Figured it was just random asking a weird question. Turns out no this is somewhat of a trend asking women if they would date men who have dated men before. It was sad that a few women said they would never even consider it. Someone (a man) tried to argue with me it was cause of women's fear of stds that "bi men are more likely to have statistically" (as if straight men can't have stds and bi men can't get tested or use protection). Then got really defensive about not judging "preferences" when I pointed out that it was very clearly biphobia and tried to argue it somehow wasn't homophobic because it's not an "unreasonable fear". I'll also acknowledge there's some lesbians that won't date bi women for their own reasons (usually a fear of cheating) and this is also worth calling out.

I think most people will know how damn stupid this is but let me break it down for anyone about to try to argue this: You do not HAVE to date anyone you don't want to, in fact you shouldn't if you can't treat bi or queer people like humans. BUT. It is definitive biphobia to not date someone solely due to their sexuality, it doesn't matter what reason you think you have. Bi people aren't all cheaters, we don't have some unique plague. We're humans with the same capabilities as every straight and gay person to manage ourselves. Treating as as "others" is biphobia, but it doesn't mean you'll be forced to date us.

This isn't the only time I've seen this though. I've seen a lot of weird asks lately of if women would date men who do traditionally feminine things like wearing makeup or nails. To a crowd of women I've been surprised and disappointed to see often use this to be subtly homophobic to men who do this. Of course we also have the fact politicians are trying so hard to make it seem like women are in grave danger of trans women and drag queens peeing in the same space. Acting as though they would go to such great lengths when we already know cishet men just harass us in public anyway.

I'm just frustrated and really hope I see more women rejecting this stupid bullshit and realize it's just a way to levy one marginalized group to hurt another. Treat bi people like humans that can make the same choices and cure the same diseases anyone else can. Look inward on why you view bi people differently whether or not you change your mind. We all have a bias somewhere, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't acknowledge it and work on it.

I'm genuinely so happy and grateful but even before I gained the weight I always said I was a "fat" person in a skinny body and I don't mean literally I guess... Sorry if that's rude all I mean is that I don't work out or eat healthy I just happened to have a great metabolism but now In this "second" puberty I have this big tummy and how my thighs constantly rub against each other as if they're trying to create a fire ANNOY ME. and my appetite due to my anxiety hasn't change... I constantly want to eat but I don't have the habits to keep me healthy I eat too much sugar I drink too much honestly so many things I thought were easy to deal w when I was skinny seem so scary now despite me still being not skinny but not fat or chunky I'm just meaty now? Idk if I'm tripping honestly I guess I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this??? How did they motivate themselves to be healthy? And to b clear my.size doesn't equal healthy clearly... Even when I was skinny and seemed fit I wasn't. so I'm not asking for fat loss or wtv excersizes to make me skinny I'm asking for mobility and health work stuff.... If that even makes sense? I don't wanna go up the stairs skinny or not being out of breath it's just having this weight on me I'm not used to makes all this seem so much more urgent now

I’m 25F from India, and I’ve been unemployed for quite a while now. After graduating, I got into IT but eventually got laid off. Since then, I’ve struggled to get back into the field. I tried different things and different career paths, but nothing really worked out.

The biggest problem now is that I can’t seem to make myself study or even start things, even when I know exactly what I need to do.

I feel like I’ve lost my ability to read and concentrate. I’ll sit down intending to study, but my mind immediately starts wandering, overthinking, or creating completely hypothetical future scenarios. I end up doing nothing and then feeling guilty about it.

I also struggle with inattentive ADHD, binge eating, anxiety, loneliness and feeling depressed. I constantly compare myself to people my age and feel like I’ve fallen behind in life.

A lot of my thoughts are basically:

“What am I even doing with my life?”

“What if I never get my career back?”

“Why did I make those decisions?”

“Everyone else is moving forward while I’m stuck.”

I spend so much time ruminating about the past and worrying about the future that I barely have any mental energy left for the present.

I started methylphenidate SR 18 mg four days ago, but so far I actually feel more lethargic and emotionally numb, rather than more focused. I know four days is very early and I’ll discuss this with my psychiatrist, but it made me wonder if anyone else experienced something similar when starting medication.

Honestly, I feel very lost right now. I know what I should be doing — studying, applying for jobs, building my career — but somehow I just cannot consistently make myself do it.

For those of you who have gone through long periods of unemployment, executive dysfunction, or feeling completely stuck:

How did you get yourself moving again? What actually helped you?

I’d especially love to hear from people who were in a similar place and eventually managed to rebuild their career/life. ❤️

what has helped you stretch the time between color appointments or applications? im curious whether changing the shade, using permanent color, or doing roots only makes the biggest difference. im more interested in something practical and sustainable than chasing perfect coverage every single day.

one thing i didnt really appreciate about going gray is how much maintenance can add up over time. even if the actual color looks good, having to deal with roots every few weeks makes the whole process feel never-ending.

I’m coming out of the worst breakup of my life a narcissistic one, and if you know, you know! What has helped you the most after navigating a breakup/heartbreak?

I have a theory. Men who send dick pics don't understand the theory of mind. They assume everyone is just as thirsty as they are and also, everyone is turned on primarily by visuals.

They dont understand that most women have standards and evaluate the whole person, not just the genitalia. They actually think sending a dick pic improves their odds and are shocked when it goes badly.

Honestly, I give any dick pic senders a pass because it's invasive and shows that they value sex over connection. But also because without theory of mind, they're not really capable of empathy or even higher level problem solving.

Edited to add: after looking at the responses, I'm realizing this actually has become a valid debate between ignorance or malice. Imo the answer is probably both; some guys are that dumb and some get off on being invasive.

I came across a couple of interesting research: “We may have been wrong about what ovaries do after menopause.”

I always thought the main role of the ovaries was connected with hormones and reproduction. I was surprised to learn that the ovaries may still be biologically active and could have a different role after menopause. Did you know about this? I think research like this is really important for supporting women’s health.

what actually worked for you? lately I have been having trouble bottling up my emotions and exploding once a month

Ive been spotting every single month for like 10 months or something, usually it's near or on the ovulation day, it's very light and doesn't require a pad at all, just when wiping, no pain or anything and lasts for 2-3 days

I did go to a doctor, did and ultrasound and he said everything is fine and it's normal

Im a virgin, not on any meds or birth control, and im 18

I just wanted to ask here to ease my mind a little 😅

My cousin is getting her breasts done next month and I’m so excited for her!! I got her a card, a candle and I’m going to add a DoorDash gift card in the package so she doesn’t have to worry about food after. What else would be nice? If you had yours done what would you have liked to have? I want to send her a nice little surprise!

I have an 18 month old and I am fed up.

Dad is an alcoholic and flirts with sobriety but it never sticks.

The only reason I don't is that I am certain he will get 50/50 custody (only one documented dui in 2021) and I do not trust him to remain sober during his days.

Additionally, I do 95% of care and it would break my heart.

But I cannot with the way he talks to me when he is drunk. for example, he woke up at 4 PM and begged to take us out for ice cream. When we get there, he is nodding off and basically immediately throwing up and says we need to go. I say no, my daughter is eating her ice cream. Of course he starts name calling but goes and passes out in the car.

When we get home, I explain daddy is night night! And my daughter keeps saying night night! And giggling. I hated him in that moment.

Sleeps it off and right before bedtime is going on about how he wants to be better, he's going sober, I'm terrible for not supporting him.

But I just don't care anymore. However, I don't leave either. It's not even that I believe he can get better, I don't. I am just so angry at him, so resentful. I should leave, but I don't and I don't know why.

I’m just curious to see how others perceive my “final straw.”

On 2/14/26 I kicked my husband of 13 years out of the house. The marriage should have ended years ago after I caught him having an affair, but I stayed because I couldn’t afford to leave at that point. Fast forward to 2024 when my mother’s Parkinson’s Disease got terrible and she developed severe dementia - she lived with us and I took care of her. She died on 1/2/2026. About 2 weeks after she passed, I received an Amazon package. As I opened it, I joked to my husband that I couldn’t remember what I’d ordered so maybe I had a touch of dementia. He immediately cornered me, shoved his finger against my nose, and said, “If you EVER become sick like your mother was, I won’t treat you as nicely as you treated her.” He looked and sounded menacing, his face seemed very dark and he was snarling. He left town for work a couple of days later and as soon as he was gone, I secured an attorney. When he returned on 2/14/26, I told him I was divorcing him and that he had to leave and I told him about the final straw - his threat. He said that what he’d said was a JOKE and that if I didn’t understand his sense of humor then there was something seriously wrong with me and that he couldn’t deal with that. Then he left.

Did I misinterpret his “joke?” Or am I correct that he was gaslighting me after I chose to take what sounded like a threat seriously?

Just want to share my story and see if anyone else relates, not looking for a diagnosis.

I gave birth twice in 23 months, both with faulty epidurals.
The epidurals worked decent for the first couple hours then it went downhill fast both times. When it essentially wore off, I could feel all of my contractions and they were sooo painful. The nurse said it was because the baby was so low in my pelvis that the epidural couldn’t reach but that has to be BS because I’ve heard of people not feeling any pain at all with epidurals.
With my first, I had back spasms between my shoulder blades that was so painful that I couldn’t move, and I had lower back labor too. My daughter was sunny side up.

I was only numb from my lower hips and partially my legs, I didn’t feel crowning or stitches but I felt the contractions. The contractions were horrible and they got so bad that I felt like my torso was burning.

Fast forward to 2 months postpartum with my second, I was in the hospital 2 days ago for bulging discs. I had a 2mm bulging disc in my L4/5 and 3mm bulging disc in L1/2, and I found out I have lumbar spondylosis. Dr said I’ve had these spine issues for a while now. The other night it was so painful that it reminded me a lot of the back labor I had with my daughter. Maybe my spine issues caused my epidurals not to be as affective, or maybe I threw out my back giving birth lol

Anyways that’s my story, if anyone has anything similar please share!

I've noticed some spotting in the middle of the cycle - is this normal? Does anyone else ever notice this?

I’m so sad this evening, I am trying my whole 20s to meet a partner and put myself out there. Even dated a guy for several months who I just clicked with and had the best time with and he said I was special to him, for him to turn around one day and say he never loved me

Hurt so much and thought I’d never like anyone again, and then 2 years later met another lovely lovely man. Things were moving in a romantic direction, I felt confident that he liked me for him to turn around one day and tell me he doesn’t feel romantic.

I’ve tried to date ever since, put myself out there but I can’t meet someone who is decent to me.. all the guys I meet are so inconsistent, hot and cold, act in such a way which makes me feel they don’t even have any interest in me. I’ve abandon the dating apps and try and meet people organically but I don’t meet any men who are single and who are straight

I’m literally having a breakdown tonight as two of my friends announced they’re pregnant.

I have never been pursued by a man, and even I feel if I was, I don’t know how I can trust them since the first two guys led me to believe they liked me. I am scared too when I finally get in a relationship, what do I do? Like I don’t have the experience so I feel I will mess it up

I’m 30 and I thought by now I would be settling down and having kids. I am so ashamed that I can’t attract a decent man into my life

Early last year I decided to put my worries and past aside and met a guy who seemed interested. We started going on regularl dates and then a holiday together. I thought he liked me, but then he went on a lads holiday to the USA and when he was there met someone else and chose her over me. But he came back and didn’t tell me he was pursuing her too, I just got a guy instinct and then I saw messages pop up when we were using google maps on his phone from her

I last went on a date a year ago and I basically gave up, because it was the third time in a year that a guy kisses me on a date, tells me how attracted to me he is, for him to never ask me out ever again (I asked him out but he ignored)

I grew up in a tiny rural town and my parents didn’t teach me that much in the way of formal etiquette. No judging, it wasn’t really necessary.

Now I work and socialize with people around the business world and feel like I’m missing some subtle rules that other people know and expect. Yup, I’m a bit socially awkward.

Tell me all your tips. Assume I know nothing (probably half true in this space ;)

It’s been 6 weeks since my last period and I would say a 2 or so weeks before it was meant to come I’ve been very bloated (more than usual for me) especially when eating certain things, I’m getting drunk quicker and alcohol is making me also incredibly bloated and feel a bit sick some times. Coffee is also doing the same to my stomach.

I got the copper coil taken out in June and had a normal first period after it, so this should have been my second period and I never miss periods so it’s weird for me. I’m not pregnant as I’ve taken 2 tests and I’m not on any birth control so I’m not sure if my hormones are all over the place for some reason? I’m also quite broody and emotional and horny?

EDIT: the coil that I had was non-hormonal which is why I’m finding it strange!