We swapped stock photos of 'lonely' women with 'lonely' men
Valentine's Day can be a sweet occasion to celebrate love new and old.
But there's also a reason people, especially women, dread it. Stereotypes of single ladies often portray them as sad and lonely. They're essentially one step away from becoming Bridget Jones, buried in a blanket fort eating a pint of ice cream.
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The funny thing, though, is that men are hardly ever cast in the same light. The conventional wisdom holds that bros aren't bothered by spending Valentine's Day on their own.
If you want to see how striking the contrast is, just behold the below images, or any stock image library, really.
On the the left, you'll find real stock photos of "lonely" women. But when we searched for similar portrayals of men, we couldn't find many with the same degree of desperation.
So we decided to create our own, using volunteers from Mashable's staff. Admittedly our subjects got dramatic, but when you look at the men, a couple of things are clear.
First, we rarely encounter stock images of men looking so ridiculous over love. Second, when you see how silly they look, it immediately points to pervasive stereotypes about love, desperation and women.
So the next time you see a woman rendered thusly, just imagine a man in her place and challenge the stereotype — with a good laugh.
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Topics Gender
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
