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The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/placate_no_one on 2023-08-01 17:51:18.
When I’m talking, they’ll make an over-the-top demonstration of pretending they’re not listening to me / pretending they’re ignoring me. But when they talk, I’m expected to give them my undivided attention for an unlimited amount of time. I’m supposed to be enraptured by their every word. And I’m not supposed to speak.
Male acquaintences often get mad that I won’t be their friend. Dude, how do you imagine we’ll become friends? How can an acquaintence turn into a friend when we can’t have a conversation? At best, we can have successive monologs. If I monolog, the man will put on a big show of ignoring it. Then, he’ll monolog and I’ll fulfill my duty by pretending to be enraptured by his glorious words. But there’s no mutual dialog or conversation through which an acquaintenceship can turn into a friendship. They don’t want a friend, they want an audience.