AITA for not allowing my husband to be the entire neighborhood's husband?
In a quiet neighborhood where he stands as the sole man among a sea of women, one husband finds himself unwittingly cast as the local handyman.
What began as occasional favors has blossomed into a relentless stream of requests, each ping and ring a reminder of the unspoken expectation placed upon him by a community that leans heavily on his willingness to help.
Caught between the demands of being the primary breadwinner and the cultural weight of always being the fixer, his wife watches as their lives become entwined with the needs of neighbors.
Though the tasks are small, the emotional toll grows, revealing the complex dance of kindness, obligation, and the invisible pressures that shape their everyday existence.
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Internet Users Didn’t Hold Back:
The crowd poured into the comments, bringing a blend of heated opinions, solid advice, and a few reality checks along the way.
The original poster (OP) is dealing with intense boundary violations and objectification directed at her husband by her all-female neighbors.
Despite the OP's efforts to communicate and set limits, the neighbors insist on relying on the husband for constant maintenance tasks and express inappropriate, flirtatious interest in him, citing isolation as justification.
The core conflict lies between the OP’s need for privacy and respect within her marriage and the neighbors’ collective, demanding expectation that the husband should be a communal resource, both practically and emotionally.
Given the neighbors' aggressive refusal to respect personal boundaries and their explicit demands that the OP 'share' her husband, is the OP wrong for refusing to 'just deal with it' and maintain peace at the expense of her marital comfort and security?