“I probably would have found this threatening when I was younger, but now I think it’s a sign of good character.”

I'm an NYC-based Viral Resident Writer covering what people are talking about online, from the culturally revealing to the deeply personal to the genuinely unhinged.

Note: We've also pulled responses from this Reddit thread. 

"Yeah, while being tall is not an absolute dealbreaker for me, it’s not my preference. I like average-height guys best (and actually, short is OK, too)."

"My husband and I have a height difference, and it's impossible to walk holding hands comfortably because of the difference in our arm length and stride. There are absolutely advantages to height similarities."

"I was going through a divorce many, many moons ago. My friend gave me one piece of advice: 'Date a nerd!' I did, it worked, and we've been happily married for a long while! :) He's a feminist, kind, caring, and funny!"

"My boyfriend is really into gaming and PC building. I have absolutely no clue what he’s talking about and won’t retain any of the information. But boy do I love hearing him talk about it. 🥰"

"So, my husband thinks I would hate him nerding. He LOVES Godzilla, and he recently learned that there's a Godzilla theme park in Japan, and he secretly wants to go, but he doesn't actually want to because he'll know I'll be bored. I'll have the time of my life. Not because of the park, but because I get to see him in his happy place, and seeing that would temporarily cure my depression. If I ever get a good-paying job, I'm taking him to Japan, and we're going to the theme park."

"I met my wife long before the manosphere was a thing. Social media was just getting big. But when we first met, she was dating a successful guy who worked in finance; meanwhile, I was broke and did not know what I wanted to be in life. She ended it with the finance guy because the dude was boring as fuck and only talked about work and money. He would take her out to fancy dinners, but was dull. Meanwhile, I would get us tipsy, then hit up the arcade or mini-golf or something. Turns out fun > rich."

"How can I even learn what men like if they're too stoic to show what's working or not? 😭"

"This is me as well. I WANT my fella to have fun with his friends, they're all good blokes, and it's just not healthy to neglect outside relationships."

"OMG nervous guys are the freaking cutest."

"AMEN. My ex was friendly with his exes before and after me. For a while, I thought it was annoying. Turns out he has very good taste in women, and he’s loyal as fuck. I’ve met four, and they’re all stellar, and we got along so well. I haven’t met his now-wife, but I know she’s a gem. He and I broke up 30-odd years ago, and I know that if I ever needed it, he’s got my back. And vice versa. He’s never spoken a bad word about any woman he’s dated."

"Being able to stay friends with women and have healthy relationships with exes says a lot about how someone views women in general."

"Yessss. It's like only the worst, creepiest men who ever approach now, and they do it in the most awful, vulgar way because every decent man got scared off from it. There's gotta be some middle ground between 'never speak to a woman in public ever' and 'badger a woman who clearly doesn't want anyone to talk to her.' Should we get flashing 'open to being approached' signs or something?"

"Same. We have overcorrected as a society, lol. Nice, respectful compliments or approaches can be lovely."

"Agreed. Obviously not if someone's creepy or unkind, but getting compliments or even just talking to someone friendly who shows interest is really nice and could eventually lead to a real relationship. People seem too scared to approach anyone these days."

"This. Granted, it's all down to personal preference. But the most attractive guy I ever met was overweight and had a decent-paying job (not six figures), but he could make me laugh all day long, and he was super understanding and respectful to everyone he met, regardless of gender. He was already married, so I never ended up pursuing him, but his wife is also equally amazing, so I just put them on a pedestal as 'couples goals.'"

"As a woman, I like providing for my family. My husband and I both work, but I will be making more money soon, and he doesn’t care. Neither of us believes in the traditional gender roles."

"I've had guys I was seeing refuse to send me dick pics because they were convinced all women hate receiving dick pics of any kind, even though I asked. They thought I must be lying because it's not possible for a woman to want that..."