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Sep 12, 2025, 06:32am
A TikToker who says parents of boys need to set them up with their network and resources because "society is not nice to men with no value" has sparked a lively online discussion.
Sheryl Aw warns parents in her 47-second video that a man who does not have good academic qualifications or a high-paying job, or is short and not good-looking, would be a ghost to the female population.
The video, which has the subtitle, "Men have it tougher in life", was shared on Sept 6. It had 22,500 views, close to a thousand reactions and 96 comments at press time.
It was also shared on Reddit where it was upvoted 489 times and received 135 comments.
Many of the comments were in agreement with the views of Ms Aw, who makes videos on "otherhood and adulthood things".
One TikToker said: "Girls are born with intrinsic value. Boys have to earn it. Absolutely we have to give sons a boost. But I know parents who would nerf their kid due to their own insecurity."
"I can attest to this," said another. "My relatives don't blink an eye when one of the daughters don't work after graduation and laze around at home. But when it comes to a guy who got retrenched and finding it hard to find work, or when he earns less than his wife/female siblings, all the gossiping starts."
One man said society values only women and dogs: "Men have no value other than to provide. We men have to take good care of ourselves."
But not everyone agreed with Ms Aw.
"Be it a girl or boy both should be groomed as best for them to grow up well. What era are we in to still see this?" asked a TikToker.
One Redditor noted: "It's not like every single woman out there is extremely attractive or in demand. There are so many oddball women out there too and they have it just as bad cos society doesn't value them. Look at all the so called crazy cat ladies living by themselves."
"Actually similar for women tho, they're often judged based on appearance ALONE (which can be even more harsh cus no other criteria)," commented a TikTok user.
Some thought women have it worse, with one TikToker saying Ms Aw's thinking would put women at a disadvantage: "I can tell you for sure that the majority of successful men choose to marry pretty women even if she do not have much accomplishments in life. This oftentimes place women who are not pretty at a huge disadvantage as the choices they have are those men with little to no accomplishments."
There were those who commented that Ms Aw risks raising a brat with her parenting style. "If you did this he becomes spoilt, lost and arrogant. It's best to teach him how to utilise resources and skills," said a user on TikTok.
"Don't helicopter your son until he becomes an adult mama's boy. And also, be a kind mother-in-law and don't treat your daughter-in-law poorly," said a Redditor.
Another agreed: "Yes, don't helicopter and pamper your son like a gem and have the kind of mindset "this woman steal my son from me". Not my own personal experience, but I witnessed marriage/relationship tensions from such situations."
One Redditor felt that Ms Aw's views were part of the problem she mentions, commenting: "Don't blame society because you're part of society, and in particular part of the women population perpetuating this problem (whether this preference of females is an evolutionary imperative is a separate discussion)."
Not everyone was so intense, though.
"Lucky I have a daughter," said one TikToker.
'Men have it tougher in life': Woman's TikTok clip sparks lively online debate
"Society is not nice to men with no value," says TikToker Sheryl Aw.A TikToker who says parents of boys need to set them up with their network and resources because "society is not nice to men with no value" has sparked a lively online discussion.
Sheryl Aw warns parents in her 47-second video that a man who does not have good academic qualifications or a high-paying job, or is short and not good-looking, would be a ghost to the female population.
The video, which has the subtitle, "Men have it tougher in life", was shared on Sept 6. It had 22,500 views, close to a thousand reactions and 96 comments at press time.
It was also shared on Reddit where it was upvoted 489 times and received 135 comments.
Many of the comments were in agreement with the views of Ms Aw, who makes videos on "otherhood and adulthood things".
One TikToker said: "Girls are born with intrinsic value. Boys have to earn it. Absolutely we have to give sons a boost. But I know parents who would nerf their kid due to their own insecurity."
"I can attest to this," said another. "My relatives don't blink an eye when one of the daughters don't work after graduation and laze around at home. But when it comes to a guy who got retrenched and finding it hard to find work, or when he earns less than his wife/female siblings, all the gossiping starts."
One man said society values only women and dogs: "Men have no value other than to provide. We men have to take good care of ourselves."
But not everyone agreed with Ms Aw.
"Be it a girl or boy both should be groomed as best for them to grow up well. What era are we in to still see this?" asked a TikToker.
Women also face challenges
Others felt women faced similar challenges.One Redditor noted: "It's not like every single woman out there is extremely attractive or in demand. There are so many oddball women out there too and they have it just as bad cos society doesn't value them. Look at all the so called crazy cat ladies living by themselves."
"Actually similar for women tho, they're often judged based on appearance ALONE (which can be even more harsh cus no other criteria)," commented a TikTok user.
Some thought women have it worse, with one TikToker saying Ms Aw's thinking would put women at a disadvantage: "I can tell you for sure that the majority of successful men choose to marry pretty women even if she do not have much accomplishments in life. This oftentimes place women who are not pretty at a huge disadvantage as the choices they have are those men with little to no accomplishments."
There were those who commented that Ms Aw risks raising a brat with her parenting style. "If you did this he becomes spoilt, lost and arrogant. It's best to teach him how to utilise resources and skills," said a user on TikTok.
"Don't helicopter your son until he becomes an adult mama's boy. And also, be a kind mother-in-law and don't treat your daughter-in-law poorly," said a Redditor.
Another agreed: "Yes, don't helicopter and pamper your son like a gem and have the kind of mindset "this woman steal my son from me". Not my own personal experience, but I witnessed marriage/relationship tensions from such situations."
One Redditor felt that Ms Aw's views were part of the problem she mentions, commenting: "Don't blame society because you're part of society, and in particular part of the women population perpetuating this problem (whether this preference of females is an evolutionary imperative is a separate discussion)."
Not everyone was so intense, though.
"Lucky I have a daughter," said one TikToker.
