Tweets spark conversation about the difficulty of being a man

A new Twitter thread has shined a light on several day-to-day struggles men go through, and sparked a conversation about the social pressures placed on them.

While one woman discloses her routine of walking to her car in the dark, hand tightened around a set of keys in fear of the guy behind her, another woman shares the time she was anxious staying in at an AirBnB with her husband's male friends.

The #MeToo era has given greater attention to the inherent difficulties women experience every day, but a new Twitter thread has also revealed the struggles men experience routinely.

Writer Caitlin Moran sparked the conversation with a thread asking what were the "down-sides of being a man - what's going with you lovely guys?"

Twitter user Lee Mason replied saying he found it hard having to cross the road and walk quicker after "accidentally" finding himself walking behind a lone woman at night, while Steve Harris is over being "blamed for everything".

DaveKidneys wants more "sexy nightwear" because "women have so many options when it comes to sexy fun times", and Jamie McHale wants the world to know that no one ever buys him flowers.

These replies might be fairly trivial for a response to the heightened attention given to women recently, but others were more touching, like how men find it often difficult to share their feelings or get their male friends to take notice when they are down.

The BBC talked to several men about the social pressures surrounding being a man.

Canadian man James Livitski said the social norm of men not being allowed to be emotional or vulnerable was dangerous and there was also a need for increased attention on men's mental health.

Phil Chan, a digital artist from California, agreed and said a lot of men struggle with expressing their feelings as it was considered feminine.

"My dad never told me that he loved me, even though I know he does. He hadn't hugged me either. Even now that he is in his eighties, I would love to hear him say it".

Gin Lowdean, a mother from Scotland, also waded into the conversation by saying that her four-year-old son said he didn't want to be a dad in the future because they "have to work all the time, they never get to dance and nobody hugs them".

Several Twitter users responded by saying that while being honest about their struggles may not change the culture, it can help some people get their troubles off their chest.

Newshub.