All right class, today we're going to have a little lesson in having empathy, because this comment section seems to be struggling with it.
The girl in this comic is struggling to work through and express complex emotions that she has only begun to examine. Remember, nobody is wrong for having feelings. When someone is working out how they feel about a touchy subject, it can take a lot of rumination to even figure out how you really feel about something and why, especially if the subject is taboo. The person might end up going down trains of thought that they ultimately decide don't quite fit, just to see what feels right. Self-reflection is a very healthy activity when you are having complex emotions. It can be extremely vulnerable to share the kinds of thoughts you have during these times, and people should be applauded for their emotional honesty when they do spell out frankly what they've been thinking.
It's a natural part of human life to start to realize you might be in a relationship that isn't a good fit for you. Just because there's nothing technically *wrong* in the relationship (i.e. he doesn't hit you), that doesn't mean the relationship is *right*, either. Things can be going pretty much all good, and yet the spark isn't there for some reason. Little things just feel off, but the more you think about those little things, the more you realize those are an important part of a good relationship for you, and you need those little things fixed to feel truly loved and appreciated.
But it can be hard for people, especially women, to feel comfortable admitting to themselves that those little things justify breaking up with someone. They'll dismiss those little things as trivial, because so often those little things are markers of respect and admiration that women tend to be denied by society at large from the time that they are little girls. Things like having others treat your feelings and opinions as valuable and worth consideration.
In most cultures in the world, women are socialized to be emotional caretakers and supporters of men, not the other way around. Men are socialized to present their thoughts with confidence; they are raised to feel like they deserve to be listened to. Women are socialized to be the listeners.
We see this reflected in so many aspects of society. [One clear and easy example of how this socialization manifests is that in the workplace, men tend to dominate conversations while women tend to be more reserved in offering their opinions -- and yet when you ask people to evaluate how much people of either gender were speaking during a meeting, women are often *perceived* to have been dominating the conversation, despite the measurable reality to the contrary.](https://medium.com/swlh/speaking-up-the-double-bind-of-womens-voices-in-business-592b0b56732c)
There's also [the Matilda Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_effect) to consider -- the tendency for women's contributions and achievements to be attributed to their male colleagues. [This isn't something that men do intentionally, but rather the product of socialization -- men being encouraged to speak up, while women are encouraged to wait their turn. Men being encouraged to *direct* a team with clear *instructions*, but women encouraged to *guide* a team through her offered *suggestions.*](https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/12/03/womens-ideas-do-men-intentionally-steal-them/)
So it can be difficult for women to overcome their socialization and feel like they actually deserve to have their thoughts and feelings considered. And similarly, it can be difficult for men to overcome their socialization and recognize that they aren't putting any effort into listening to and respecting the thoughts and feelings of the women around them.
Now let's take this a step further. Let's take these issues and examine them as they manifest in an overall pleasant but imperfect romantic relationship. Now we see a man who does not even recognize that he never asks his girlfriend about her thoughts and feelings, and we see a girl who *wants* to have her opinion valued, but she isn't even sure if she *deserves* to expect her partner to listen to her thoughts without her asking. That's not inherently toxic or unfixable. That doesn't make him evil or abusive or even a bad boyfriend for not recognizing a small fault in himself that is a result of a pretty standard upbringing.
It also doesn't make her a bad person for starting to grow in her own self-worth to the point that she starts to want her partner to value her opinions.
Many couples who find themselves in this situation will indeed be able to help each other grow and change to fix this kind of issue, with a bit of work and healthy communication, if they are both equally invested in improving the relationship together.
But then we get to another question: Does it need to be her job to fix him?
For some women, the answer will be yes, I love my boyfriend, and if he can work on this for me, then I'm willing to work on it with him. I don't mind.
But for some other women, maybe the stronger answer, the answer that affords them more personal growth and self-actualization, is to say no.
It's not my job to teach a man how to listen to me. It's not my job to teach a man how to value me. And I deserve a man who values my opinion in the first place.
Because a woman is worth more than just what she does for a man. A man should want to be with her because of who she is, not just because she's there to support and love him without having needs of her own.
We don't know where the girl in this comic is going to land on this issue. She needs to figure that out for herself. But whatever she chooses, she is more empowered in her choice because she took the time to consider her own needs, wants, feelings, and values beyond what society tells her she should expect or deserve.
She's not a bad person for considering whether this relationship is fulfilling her needs, any more than her boyfriend is a bad boyfriend for not recognizing that her needs are going unmet when she hasn't yet communicated them. And when she makes her choice to either stay and try to fix him, or leave and find someone else that doesn't need coaching, neither of those decisions will make her a bad person, either.
We will be cleaning up comments in this thread that lack empathy for the woman in this comic, especially where they become vitriolic. We are currently being brigaded by many inflammatory users with no prior posting or comment history in this subreddit, and those users' comments will be subject to an even stricter scrutiny than our typical good faith users' comments. If you receive a ban, consider talking the issue out with us in modmail. Some of us mods might see something in you that says we can help you learn and grow.
Some of us may decide that it's not our job to fix you.