Mom Cancels Son's 17th Birthday Party After He Tells Her That 'Women Aren't Worth The Trouble'
She thought the punishment was fair, but others heavily disagree.
Perfect Wave | Shutterstock A mom decided to cancel her son's birthday party after he made a misogynistic comment about women.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — she explained that her son, who was turning 17, had been with his friends going over plans for his birthday party.
"I rented rooms at [a] resort for skiing and snowboarding for a 3-day weekend," she wrote in her Reddit post.
She canceled her son's 17th birthday party after he told her that 'women aren't worth the trouble.'
While her son and his friends were discussing the party, the conversation started veering off into other topics.
"They started talking about all sorts of things though, and eventually the topic of my son's sexuality came up," she recalled.
She explained that her son is bisexual and has dated both boys and girls, though he's currently in a relationship with a guy, and neither she nor anyone else in their family has a problem with it.
Her son's friends began asking him when he realized that he was bisexual, when did he decide to come out, and if there are any differences between dating a boy versus dating a girl.
While all the questions started off innocent enough, with the woman's son answering all of them honestly, his friends then asked him if he had a preference for who he liked dating.
Listening to their conversation, she heard her son answer, "naturally, I don't have a preference. I'm attracted to guys and girls the same, but after dating girls and guys, I can say women aren't worth the trouble.”
Immediately she confronted her son over his comment, asking him to explain what he had meant by saying "women aren't worth the trouble."
"I told him if women aren't worth the trouble, then neither am I so I wouldn't be doing anything for his birthday."
When he just continued to "stare" at her, she added that this is "what happens when you're a sexist jerk" while his friends were all watching.
"He hasn't spoken to me and members of our family are saying I shouldn't have said that and I shouldn't have canceled his birthday party," she concluded.
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Most, if not all, Reddit commenters agreed that the woman was in the wrong for canceling her son's party.
"This could have been a reason to have a good conversation. Ask him what makes him feel that way (preferably, without his friends present)," one user wrote.
"Express that while flippant, the comment did make you feel like he's disrespecting all women including you. Taking a vacation weekend away is far too much for a knee-jerk reaction."
Another user added, "he is 16, kids say dumb things. This could have been a teaching moment but instead, he will double down on this belief."
"Instead of talking to him about stereotypes and how dangerous they can be, you took your personal trigger and punished your kid for it," a third user chimed in.
"If you think he’s being a sexist jerk, address how that came to be and explore it. You’re his mom and you’re the one that [is] supposed to guide him."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.