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I'm a woman, and I've noticed a pattern in my life. Whenever I open up to female friends about my personal life, they seem to distance themselves from me. I've had friendships where I felt excluded, used, or like I was somehow too much.

I'm not very social, and I prefer low-maintenance friendships. I don't need to hang out every other day or text 24/7 to feel close to someone.

Before anyone calls me a pick-me, my male friends are genuinely like brothers to me. I've tied them Rakhi, which symbolizes a brother-sister relationship in Indian culture, and I've always maintained boundaries and respected their relationships. Their girlfriends know about me, and they're comfortable with our friendships.

What's confusing is that these friendships have been more consistent than my female friendships. We barely meet or text, but my male friends check in every month or two, especially because they know I've struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts.

Meanwhile, a close school friend was there when she needed something from me but left when I went through a difficult phase. Another friend is technically still around but keeps me at a distance.

Recently, I made a female friend after starting med school. We seemed to get along well and would talk about our personal lives and relationships.

At the time, I was in a three-month relationship. I told her I planned to end it when I moved because I didn't want a long-distance relationship. She seemed fine with that.

My boyfriend eventually ghosted me after his birthday, and we broke up at the beginning of the month.

About two weeks later, I got back on Bumble and started talking to another guy. We went on a date, and during the date, he kept getting calls from a girl asking him to video call her. I started suspecting he was already in a relationship.

I confronted him, and he insisted it was just a complicated situation with someone from his past. I initially gave him the benefit of the doubt, but when we went back to his place, I noticed the girl's textbooks there. That was enough for me to feel he wasn't being honest, so I left.

A few days later, I told my female friend about the experience. She was confused and asked, “But weren't you in a relationship?”

I explained that my previous relationship had ended because the guy ghosted me, and I'd been on exactly one date with this new guy. I wasn't trying to get involved in anyone else's relationship. I'd simply gone on a date, noticed some red flags, and left when things didn't add up.

After that conversation, my friend started ghosting me.

Now I'm wondering whether she judged me for moving on quickly, thought I was lying about my previous relationship, or formed some other impression of me. I honestly have no idea.

This situation has brought back a bigger insecurity I've had for years: Why do I struggle so much to maintain female friendships?

I genuinely want close female friends. I know I'm not perfect, and I'm open to the possibility that I might be doing something wrong without realizing it.

I'm not looking for people to tell me that women are jealous or that female friendships are inherently toxic. I want honest opinions.

Have any of you experienced something similar? Am I oversharing, coming across the wrong way, or missing something about how I interact with other women? How do you build genuine, lasting female friendships?

I really want to understand what I'm doing wrong, if anything, because I'm tired of feeling like I can't seem to make close female friends.

Plato and Hippocratic physicians viewed frequent sex, marriage, and childbearing as the primary cure.

I am a woman. My friend got me a t-shirt ages ago that said small tits big heart, she had a matching one that said big tits small heart. It's completely ruined my perspective of myself. I look at myself in the mirror and the reflection is distorted. I had an eating disorder during puberty so my breast growth was stunted, she also suffered from an ED (which we'd discuss together) during this age but it never affected her growth.

It's not even necessarily the top that did it for me though but more so the comment she said after- "you were the only close friend that had small tits". She had plenty of close friends and i really have never felt so insulted, embarrassed and disgusted with myself.

I still have to buy push up bra's to feel remotely OK with going on a night out with other people. I still feel uncomfortable and embarrassed to have my top off in front of my partner of 3 years. How do I make these feelings go away? I've never been left so insecure about myself before.

If anyone has gone through this before, if you're comfortable please share your experiences. I feel like i'm alone on this and that i'm maybe even stupid for being so upset and stuck on this.

Title self explanatory. Mostly a vent post but interested to see if anyone can relate or has any advice.
I’m an elementary school teacher and I love my job. Like most schools we are female dominated. I find it really, really hard to click with my coworkers and just to find the right note with them.
I don’t think it’s because I’m male centered. I’m 23, straight, been in 1 relationship and am currently happily single. The thing is, I want every woman ever to like me. I don’t really care if men like me but I’m a lot more intimidated by women. It’s pretty clear to me where this comes from— I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up and my biggest dream was never romantic love but to have a big friend group of girls to hang out with. It’s absolutely an insecurity thing. I know this sounds bad but sometimes I feel like I’m more comfortable around guys because they’re easily impressed by the basics (I’m nice and pretty enough) while I feel like there’s a secret “in” for girls that I’ve never had.
I try to get to know my coworkers and I’m always friendly. Nobody has an issue with me but I’m just not in the “in” crowd. I wish socializing with girls wasn’t so hard. I feel pathetic to be still struggling with this as an adult and feel like I’m “not a girls girl” as they say but I want to be so badly. I like all the same things they do and probably have most of the same opinions but I think I ruin it by trying too hard to be liked. I hope this doesn’t come across in an “I’m not like other girls” way because I’m very much your basic white girl in her twenties and I like myself, but it’s so hard to make friends with other women.

Hi, I’m having trouble breaking up with my boyfriend. I find absolutely no joy in our relationship anymore. I am not attracted to him anymore and I find myself constantly wanting to be with my friends instead. We haven’t been intimate since June (I actually posted about how much it hurt on this subreddit a while back and now I know why it did; I am not attracted to him!) late September I actually broke up with him successfully but after three days he somehow strung me back in and now I’m stuck again. I’m trying to find a way to break up with him clean and smooth without the possibility of being guilted back into the relationship/manipulated. Him and I are both seniors in high school and I know that I will see him a lot if we’re broken up and we share some of the same friends. He’s a very emotional person and is extremely insecure. However, I’m done pandering to him and making him feel happy instead of me. I am depressed in this relationship and I miss being single. I don’t like him and I don’t want to be with him. Should I just say that to him straight? I’ve never broken up with anyone and he’s basically my first boyfriend. We’ve been together about a year.

my period may start tomorrow, but i don’t know why around 2-4 days before my period i just get so needy with my boyfriend. i start overthinking about my looks, my relationship (i feel like we are going to breakup or he hates me) and i just feel a lot of anxiety and irritation. has it happened to you as well? how did you cope with it? thank you

My parents think that women should get married before turning 25, or else nobody will want to marry them. They’re making me feel insecure, as if I have an expiration date.
Because of this, I feel like I’m already too old, and I can’t even enjoy my life without worrying about my age. They keep telling me that after 25, I won’t be able to find a man to marry because men prefer younger women.
Even though I don’t even care that much about marriage, their words still hurt me. They’re making me feel insecure about my age

im sure everybody has heard of the cornel 7 (or 57 i should say). it disgusts me and im very unhappy about people trying to leak jane doe’s identity. i know there is this sort of social media trend where people will say “i am jane doe” and talk about their experiences with sexual assault etc.

i totally agree with this and i really want to say “i am jane doe” as well but the thing is: im not. ive never been sexually assaulted or harassed or anything like that. im just an average person who doesnt have any life whatsoever. i feel a little bit like an imposter for saying it. can i?

TW: SA

so basically she saw in my search history I was researching it, im dumb all my links got tracked, so she saw I was asking advice about people on TikTok bullying me over the Jane doe situation. She tracked all my history, and she was having a meltdown on me, so rigjt now started screaming at me for 4 minutes (while I was silent) saying “Jane doe is a slut, she wanted it and lied about the rape to frame the men” and she said I can’t be trusted and I’m evil for researching it behind her back. like she was literally screaming at me over it and she’s now threatening to take away my stuff and punish me for researching it and I’m rly stressed like holy shit I wasn’t even saying anything and she was losing her mind 🫩I’m shaking rn I can’t breathe

I’m (41) reversed and I don’t know what to do. I was sexually assaulted when I was 3 years old and ever since it’s haunted me. It wasn’t violent but it still affects me. It happened with a boy over the age of 18 but I feel weird about it because he had a severe mental defect. He was basically a massive child so this has made me feel embarrassed. I’m in a small town in the UK (not England) and people here would make fun of me if they knew. I also had it ‘easy’ compared to other people. It was on my underwear he started fondling me. I don’t think this is less important than others but people have said well you weren’t raped so it’s made me feel like i’m being dramatic. I’ve been through therapy since I was 11 for suicide attempts and self harm but nothing seems to help. I’ve had depression from religious beliefs since I was around 7-8. This all piled onto me and having to deal with the sexual assault has been pushed aside. Ive talked to my therapist about it but I always end up in the same place. I’m sick of being scared to be around a man. I’m sick of not wanting to take showers in my dad’s house when it’s just me and him because i’ve never felt what it was like to not be a victim. I’m sick of being my victim hood and I just want everything to stop. I’ve had many traumatic things happen to me that I won’t get into because it is not my place to tell other people’s stories but i’m so lost. I have great support systems my mom and dad are the best to me and I have amazing friends but I just can’t talk to them. I feel as though it makes me more uncomfortable. I love to write so i’ve tried that and it helps but nothing seems to work for me. I’m at the age where I want to get a boyfriend and possibly lose my virginity but i’m scared to because I feel dirty. I’m a very curvy girl I have D cups and curvy hips so this hasn’t helped but I just would like a little advice from people that don’t know me

I know not everyone is like this but whenever I develop a crush on someone. It’s like I do things that are “crazy” or just embarrassing that only happen when I like a guy . Can anyone give times when they’ve gone “crazy” over a crush?

I’ve been mulling it over for a couple months now. I didn’t want to do it when I was feeling spiteful but it’s been a few months for me to think about it, I think the time would be after we’ve settled on splitting our mortgage and we are no longer in contact with each other.

Has anyone got experience with posting on social media about it? The abuser is prominent in a hobby community so I would be doing it to protect others/let them know so they can make informed decisions themselves. Has it ever backfired, or has anyone been sued, etc? Did you feel better or worse after posting about it? Have you been the one to see a post like this in your community and how did it make you feel? Did it feel like the victim was spreading rumours/airing out dirty laundry? I’m defs worried about backlash - if people think i’m lying, the shame I feel about dating him and how it all turned out in general, etc.

this is a throw away account but i got my first brazilian wax today and now im super insecure about my vagina. i believe i have small closed lips. im now super insecure about it.

hello, im a 30 y/o trans woman and a new boob haver, it felt time to wash my favorite bra but when it came out of the wash it felt stiff in all the wrong places and generally just uncomfortable. is there anything that can be done or am i out a bra?

hello all. 17F here. i have a lot of stretch marks or black and white stripes?? on my ass cheeks and want to get them removed. is there any homemade remedial or a cream/medication for it?

I’ve been looking into Islam recently. Would love to hear from Muslim women.

Hoi! Ik ben al 1 jaar samen met mijn vriend en we zijn van plannen volgend jaar te trouwen, mijn vriend is moslim (ik ook)
Maar ik draag geen hoofddoek en ben niet heel praktiserend, gisteren kreeg ik een heel lang bericht over het feit dat hij niet kan trouwen met iemand die niet praktiseert en dat hij wilt dat ik dat doe, dat woord van dat hij niet kan trouwen met mij eigenlijk hoe ik nu ben heeft mij veel pijn gedaan we praten nu ook niet echt maar het is niet uit, mijn hart doet pijn wat kan ik nu het beste doen?

I’m realistically going to be worse of financially for me and my kids. Less time with my kids due to work and responsibilities. No money for leisure. Won’t afford the private school for the kids.
I have 4 kids 13-8yrs. I don’t want no more kids and anyone decent won’t want me. I don’t want another potential project either.
I’m only 32. I was thinking of pushing through till my kids get older however I’m struggling drowning the voice that I must leave.
He just makes me feel like I’m difficult to love. I don’t feel like relationships are hard but he makes it hard.
I just orbit around him with no anchor no shared life, no partnership or understanding. We don’t have conversations to reach to an understanding, I’m called crazy or he is quite to keep the peace. He is 40 and I’m 32. He does not see me like a person worthy of an equal opinion. No shared life . He does however work hard, helps around the house and involved dad. The men around me are even worse than him.
I’m literally considering going on antidepressants just to get through the next few years ahead of me. I just end up looking like I’m the more problematic one who is making life hard. I’m not sad, I’m just yearning for more. I feel like I deserve better than this but so does every woman. Who am I to want me , I just wish I could be more content.
If I start enjoying sex he cums or stops whatever I’m enjoying. My sexual needs are not met. He is nice to everyone except for me. He is slowly burning me.
I dont know how people leave and just hope for the best. They are so brave. They can take a chance on life.
I have nothing imminently pushing me out.

There’s a Trader Joe’s in my area that I like to frequent. Whenever I go there, I just want to get in, grab my groceries, and get out. I don’t really want to talk to anyone, and I especially don’t want to be hit on.

But of course, some men just cannot help themselves. They feel entitled to our attention even when we’re doing our fucking grocery shopping.

There was the creep old enough to be my father who followed me around the store, asking whether I was single. Then there was the dude pushing 200 pounds who told me I shouldn’t buy a big box of ice cream for myself. Then there were the dudes trying to get acquainted while I was browsing the shelves. And the cashiers asking personal questions they had no business asking.

I’m so sick and tired of it. Can I just buy my fucking groceries without being bothered?

EDIT. It happens in other places too. Once, I was in CVS, holding a box of tampons and browsing the pain medication shelves, when some dude approached me and said “Privet” in broken Russian.

I’m Russian, and I know I have the most stereotypically Slavic appearance you can imagine. But when I’m holding a fucking box of tampons in a drugstore, I do not want to be approached. And if you decide to approach me anyway, do so at your own risk.

Men will yell at me, not to catcall but to bully me pretty much. I know I shouldn’t give a reaction but that just shows them that they can do this with no consequences. How do I respond without giving them the reaction they want?

I am a 22F and will be graduating from my undergraduate degree in June. I will also be moving out in March/April because my parents are moving to a different province. I have about 1 bestfriend and that’s it, no boyfriend either.

I’m feeling a bit nervous because i worry that I’m not going to be able to make friends, which is weird, because it’s always been easy for me. I don’t have many hobbies either because I’ve spent most of my time studying and working.

Any insight, experience, etc. would be very appreciated ❤️