I think men might be judged harshly if they ate the same diet as women.

When I was 16, I had a therapist and a job at a restaurant. I was talking to the therapist about a regular I didn’t like: this guy was in his 60s, would come in and get 8 refills of root beer, and ask personal questions to try and flirt with me. The therapist said that she disliked him too, for a different reason, and I guessed that it was drinking an overly sweet beverage at 60 (tbf, I was a sixteen year old idiot and my father has almost no sweet tooth and exclusively drinks water and black coffee). She was surprised, but agreed, saying that it suggested he hadn’t fully matured and would be more likely to be a pedophile.

A therapist said that. She probably had at least a master’s degree, and she was spreading that shit? My initial thought was just that he should care more about his teeth and he’s probably got really bad breath, but I definitely internalized her idea for longer than I should have. It made me weirdly wary of random dudes for years, until I thought about it further instead of just automatically accepting it.

As a side note: it’s nowhere near as problematic as specious accusations of pedophilia, but women are also judged for not having a sweet tooth. I inherited my dad’s tastes, and only very occasionally want sweets- people accept this fully if you say you want to, but you’re watching your weight. When I say I just don’t really have a sweet tooth, I’ve had people tell me I’m mistaken or intentionally lying (?!?), but much more commonly, they take this as evidence that I’m a joyless person who needs to relax.

Why is food gendered?

the great irony is that wine is better for men’s health and beer is better for women’s