Key Highlights
- A viral Reddit thread on r/AskReddit asking women to share the strangest things male coworkers have said has garnered nearly 3,000 upvotes and over 1,400 comments in 19 hours.
- Top responses include a coworker who claimed he could smell menstruation and tracked female colleagues’ cycles, a comment about fitting in a trunk, and a board member offering to help “practice breastfeeding.”
- Several commenters described HR failures, including one woman written up for “insufficient outrage” after not reacting to a blonde joke, and an internship supervisor forced into retirement after interns reported a pattern of inappropriate remarks.
Reddit Thread Exposes Pattern of Bizarre and Harassing Workplace Comments Toward Women
A thread posted 19 hours ago on the subreddit r/AskReddit by user No_Way_9230 has struck a nerve across the platform, amassing nearly 3,000 upvotes and more than 1,400 comments. The prompt — “Ladies, what’s the craziest thing a male coworker has ever said to you?” — was intentionally open-ended, and the responses that followed span from baffling workplace theories to outright sexual harassment and institutional failure.
Menstruation Tracking and ‘Odd Beliefs’ Top the Thread
The most-upvoted reply, posted 18 hours ago and sitting at over 9,000 upvotes, describes a male coworker who believed he could detect when women in the office were menstruating. According to the commenter, he avoided them during what he assumed was “that week” each month — even tracking her and every other woman in the office despite the fact that she was not menstruating due to birth control. In a follow-up, she added, “He was never rude or really discriminatory exactly, he just had this odd belief about how women worked and no one ever managed to talk him out of it.”
Trunk Comments, Bra Questions, and Maternity Leave Harassment
Another widely shared comment, posted 15 hours ago by user Aggressive_Moose3189, recounts a coworker who asked, “how tall are you?” before following up with, “I just wanted to see if you’d fit in my trunk hahaha.” A third commenter recalled a blunt one-liner: “Are you wearing a bra today?”
The thread also surfaced disturbing remarks directed at pregnant employees. One woman said a colleague’s son warned her that his own wife was “never tight again” after childbirth, telling her to “enjoy it while you can.” She did not report the incident, citing the expectation of no real consequences and her impending maternity leave. Another user reported that a board member told her, while she was preparing for maternity leave, that she could use him to “practice breastfeeding” if she needed to.
HR Failures and Institutional Accountability
Several responses highlighted systemic failures in workplace reporting mechanisms. One commenter said she was written up by HR for “insufficient outrage” after a male coworker made a blonde joke at her expense. She had not reacted, but a colleague in another part of the building reported the moment on her behalf — and management determined her response was not upset enough.
In a separate account, an internship supervisor reportedly made a pattern of inappropriate comments, including that the best way to learn a foreign language was to marry a “long-haired dictionary,” openly questioned whether a 40-year-old coworker was too old to adopt a child, and gave real estate advice based on the racial makeup of neighborhoods. According to the commenter, the interns eventually escalated the behavior to HR, and the situation “reportedly ended in his forced retirement.”
Why This Matters
The viral thread underscores a persistent culture of gendered microaggressions, sexualized comments, and institutional indifference in professional environments. While individual remarks vary in severity — from pseudoscientific menstruation tracking to explicit sexual propositions — the collective pattern reveals a workplace landscape where women routinely navigate demeaning, unsafe, or discriminatory speech with little recourse. The HR failures described, including penalizing a victim for not performing outrage and delayed action against a repeat offender, reflect structural gaps in accountability. As remote and hybrid work models evolve, such testimonials gain visibility on platforms like Reddit, forcing broader conversations about psychological safety, reporting mechanisms, and cultural change in corporate America.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What prompted the viral Reddit thread?
- User No_Way_9230 posted an open-ended question on r/AskReddit asking women to share the “craziest thing a male coworker has ever said,” which quickly gained traction with nearly 3,000 upvotes and over 1,400 comments in 19 hours.
- Were any of the reported incidents addressed by HR?
- Some were — one internship supervisor was reportedly forced into retirement after interns escalated a pattern of behavior. However, other commenters described HR failures, including a woman written up for “insufficient outrage” after not reacting to a sexist joke.
- Is this thread part of a larger trend?
- Yes. Similar threads periodically surface on Reddit and other platforms, reflecting ongoing concerns about workplace harassment, gender dynamics, and the inadequacy of formal reporting channels in many organizations.
